The architectural uniqueness stirs romance and the stunning structure blows the mind. The unspoiled edifice reveals majesty and is the nucleus of the 95-year old Osmania University. This is the College of Arts and Social Sciences of the famed OU, popularly known as the Arts College. It is one of the major heritage structures in Hyderabad. A team of experts travelled around the world to find the right design and the right person who could design this historic masterpiece.
The credit for the architecture goes to Monsieur Jasper, a Belgian architect.
Jasper prepared a detailed plan of all the university buildings. The execution of the plans was done by Nawab Zain Yar Jung, who was later awarded a Padma Bhushan for his outstanding service to the field of architecture.
The building in pinkish granite stone represents a harmonious blend of pillars and lintel style of Ajanta and Ellora.
The arches of the building are of Indo-Saracenic tradition. Octagonal pillars similar to the columnar architecture found in Ellora and Ajanta caves support the entire construction of the first floor.
The college exterior can be broadly divided into the centrepiece consisting of a grand arch which has a huge doorway designed after the Persian Pishtaq or the mosque of the yesteryears. On the either side of the centrepiece are two double-storied colonnaded galleries, each reflection of the other. The huge doorway with its marvellous arch, welcomes the staff, students and all the visitors to the striking interior.
Inside the college you’ll find the flooring, staircase balustrade and railings covered in pink terrazzo.
The flooring of the first and the second floor was done in Shahabad stones.
Atop the centre of the hallway you’ll find a fantastic dome with chandeliers set.
The dome is double-decked in structure, the first deck has sixteen sides and the second deck, a downward extension of the first, has sixteen windows related to each side of the first deck.
The dome has 32 inverted “A” symbols with 16 windows. But the uniqueness and strength is not confined to the building.
The youngsters shaped by the college over the years have turned out to be equally outstanding in their chosen spheres and the majestic building never fails to evoke nostalgia among the people who had passed through this portal of knowledge.
(Video link at >www.thne.ws/hyd-artscollege )
Text, photos and video by
Deepak Pawar, Srikanth Varkala, Nusrath Jabeen, Lavanya Madhava, Eshfaq Ur Rahman, Lavudi Sharada and A. Priyanka
Dept. of Communication & Journalism, Osmania University
