Days gone by... The undying allure of the Paigah Tombs and other forgotten places of Hyderabad.

Dear visitor,
This blog was made to salvage and resurrect the memories of forgotten people and places. The annals of human civilisation are replete with instances of once-greatness and glory now relegated to the dust-heap of history. India, like many other countries, is not unique in its possession of a rich cultural past. what is unique is the fact that unlike many other places , the indian subcontinent exhibits an almost stratified accumulation of centuries of varied cultural deposits. The Ancient Indus and Harappan civilisations are verlaid with later Hindu/ buddhist/jain cultures. The last millennium has seen this rich tapestry again rewoven with christian and islamic cultural influences. Over the years this rich ensemble has come together to form a cultural smorgasbord that is uniquely indian in taste and sensibility. Islamic art and architecture in India is uniquely subcontinental in its expression and cannot be found anywhere else. Today much of our heritage, except for the more fortunate world-renowned icons like the Taj etc, are languishing in a state of neglect. The pressures of modernity manifest themselves in many ways on this monuments. Growing population has meant a need for more land. Monuments that were spread over large tracts of land, are now reduced to cramped spaces and find themselves hemmed in by burgeoning human habitations. General State apathy and indifference compounds the problem of conservation, rather than being of any help. While many people may actually question the very idea of heritage conservation as being unnecessary and a drain on precious resources, it also must be noted that cultural/ethnic heritage is an important source of group identity and fosters a healthy sense of belongingness.