Walking through Old City, it’s easy to pick up a guide book and understand the basic foundations of how Hyderabad came to be; talking to the locals, though, brings a new charm to the surroundings.
One of the most insightful ways is to raise conversations around the buildings that house diverse stories.
Hyderabadi history-lover Phaneendra Boosala observed the rise of storytelling groups in the city but saw a void; heritage and travel. He was inspired by a friend in Delhi who is doing something similar and he brought the idea home with him, kicking things into gear with Dastangoi’s first event in September in Golconda. The group’s name is coined from the Urdu word dastan which refers to a form of narration.
Heritage values
But the event that gained considerable traction, as seen on social media, is the October 22 event where a walk through Old City was organised to examine architecture and thresholds.
Aptly titled ‘The doors of the old city,’ Phaneendra shares the event attracted about 20 people, adding, “With the 7am start, there were people who couldn’t meet the early start and wanted to meet later, but finding us in the busy areas of the Old City was challenging.”
However, those who turned up found the experience to be a rewarding start to the day and stuck with the group through and through.
So, why doors? “Doors are very symbolic and they reflect various architectures of the different cultures that passed through the area: European, Irani and so on,” describes Phanee, who is for now Dastangoi’s one-man team, “We walked through various gallis— Marwadi, Irani and more, and we saw different architectural patterns.”
Aspects analysed oriented around structure, colour, material all in terms of the more human narratives beyond the doors, making for a memorable discussion.
What Phaneendra found insightful and a little jarring is the rapid deterioration of many buildings in the Old City. “A while ago, I saw a remarkable door in the Pathargatti area and a short while later, I saw the door and building were no longer there.” The awareness around the preservation of this realm of history became a core mission of the event.
Going places
While Dastangoi is just a single person at this point, Phaneendra shares that through the events he’s organised there are a lot of people who share an deep-rooted interest in looking at familiar parts of the city through new eyes.
- The Valparaiso neighbourhood in Chile is known for its arrays of remarkably intricate and colourful doors. Graffiti artists pick and choose where they paint their creations, sans permission. They don’t remain entirely anonymous though; many of the prominent street artists sign their work.
“I found a few architects and historians who want to see more of these event; I’m excited to see where it goes.”
The next event organised for November is on Paigah Tombs; Phaneendra explains the shrinkage of the necropolis from 40 acres to a mere two acres is worth a storytelling interaction. The Old City walk-through is the springboard Dastangoi needed to give the history chat new life through these interactive means.
Reach out to Dastangoi through their Facebook page.
