Hyderabad has a lot of beautiful ashurkhanas and Aza Khana E Zehra is definitely a grand one. It is actually one of the largest ashurkhana in Hyderabad.
Ashurkhana is a public place where the Shia Muslims congregate and mourn during the month of Muharram.
I was fortunate to pay several visits to the place, during my Photowalks in Hyderabad. That helped me capture the beauty of the place on different occasions.
History:
Aza Khana E Zehra (also known as Madre-e-Deccan' Ashurkhana) was built in 1930 by Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, in memory of his mother Amtul Zehra Begum. It was designed by the architect Zain Yar Jang.
Location:
It is located on the banks of the Musi river, adjacent to the Salarjung Museum.
Architecture:
This building is a great example of the Indo-Saracenic style / Osmanian style of architecture. Derived from the Mughal and Deccani style of architecture, this building has chhatris and eaves with brackets.
The walls and ceiling of the hall is covered with intricate enamel work depictign the verses from the Holy Quran.
In 2008, this architectural marvel had undergone massive repairs first time in 67 years after it was built.
This house of mourning was conferred the Intach Heritage Award in 1999.
During the month of Ashura, the beautiful gold and diamond-studded Alams are displayed for worship for the mourners.
Alams are symbolic representations of the martyrs who died on Ashoora day. Each alam is in memory of each of the 72 persons who died with Imam Hussain – his brothers, sons, nephew, friends, and followers.
Some pictures:
This post is written by Saurabh Chatterjee. He is a travel photographer and a photography trainer.He strives to make every camera-owner a great photographer through his Photography workshops and Photo Tours and Photowalks. All rights reserved. No copying without permission of the author Saurabh Chatterjee
