The Lost Heritage of the Deodis

The once picturesque Bhagmathi, the old city of Hyderabad, with her gardens, lakes, open spaces and rich architecture, survives today as a soulless urban sprawl, stripped of her beauty and assets. The city, at one time, was home to more than 1200 Deodis, the old style stately homes of the Hyderbadi feudal lords, which thrummed with life. Life in the city revolved around the Nizam and his lords, who presided over the fate of the Hyderabad state. It is in those deodis that the famous Hyderbadi Tehzeeb evolved and flowered. Music, dance, poetry, literature and fine arts flourished around those deodis, where the nobles vied with one another to patronise them. Hyderabad then was a tapestry of ethnicities, cultures, languages, cuisines and tastes.

Each deodi, be it that of a Hindu or a Muslim noble, had its own architecture, ambiance and rhythm, reflecting the identity of its owner. Sprawling townships grew around each deodi, the relationship between the two being symbiotic. Jewellers, master craftsmen, weavers, carvers, embroiders and nakkashi workers, calligraphers and werek makers had their hands full, with the wealthy classes giving them more work than they could handle. Poets and versifiers, Quawwali singers and storytellers alike crowded to those stately homes looking for patronage. In a unique blend of Ganga Jamni culture, these men were rewarded for their art, never mind their faith or origin. This is the beautiful heritage that the city of Hyderabad lost in the aftermath of the dismantling of the erstwhile Hyderabad state.

A talk by the author Rani Sarma will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

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