Mohd Quli remembered

Darulshifa: A motley crowd gathered at Darulshifa Ashoorkhana to celebrate the 453rd birth anniversary of Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah V, founder of Hyderabad and the man behind the historic Charminar here on Wednesday.

Heritage activists, students of architecture and people belonging to old Hyderabadi families gathered in the evening and lit candles as remembrance. Veda Kumar, heritage activist said, “Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah was a visionary who built the Darulshifa Unani hospital which was so well planned, so close to the Musi River near the southern bund. It was the first teaching hospital in this part of the world. The place should be protected.” Darulshifa was built in 1595, four years after Charminar was constructed.

Bemoaning the present state, Safiullah, managing trustee of Deccan Heritage Trust said, “Most part of the building has been encroached over time and the government can protect what is left.” Historians believe that there were hamams and are trying to trace them. There has been a strong Iranian and Turkish influence on Hyderabad and the use of hamams was common during the times of Qutub Shahis and Asifjahis. There is also a hamam at the Unani Hospital at Charminar but is not in good condition.

BY Mohammed Younus