If the Taj Mahal symbolises Shahjahan’s love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, Hyderabad’s Aza Khana e Zehra symbolises Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan’s love for his mother. Situated on the northern bank of Musi before it curves away, the squat hulking building is saved by graceful cupolas. It is a house of mourning built in the tradition introduced by the Qutb Shahi sultans in Hyderabad. For 10 days during Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, the building is transformed for solemn meditation and occasionally loud singing and wailing to recall the martyrdom of Husayn in Karbala in 680 A.D.
The Aza Khana e Zehra perfectly symbolises how religious barriers were fluid in Hyderabad. Though the Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan was a Sunni, he commissioned this house of mourning for his mother Amtul Zehra Begum who was a Shia. The Nizam drafted his favoured architect Zain Yar Jung (Zainuddin Husain Khan) to build the monument on a scale to match the power of the kingdom. Zain Yar Jung was in the process of completing the Arts College building of Osmania University whose designs were created by Ernest Jasper, a Belgian architect much influenced by Egyptian architecture.
Aza Khana e Zehra
The entry through a small portico is underwhelming. But once the stairs are crossed, the massive open space with a play of light green and yellow without pillars takes the breath away. It is a feat of construction that the teak rafter ceiling is 45-feet high but without any supporting pillars. The total space is estimated at 4,500 square yards and its seating capacity is calculated at 25,000. The upper stories of the building have jali frame for women mourners to listen to the majlis during Muharram.
“We light the chandeliers for only a short time as the lamps are precious and the electricity bill jumps,” says a caretaker of the place. Once the chandeliers are lit up, the place is a delight for photographers and visual artistes.
Aza Khana e Zehra
As mourners troop in and touch the rows of ''alams'' (battle standards), some of them glisten and gleam with the glory of colourful diadems. Sadly, in 2003, thieves ferreted away one of the ''alams''. The mystery has not been solved of the missing ''alam''. Now, visitors have to see the ''alams'' behind a grille. Behind them, Zain Yar Jung’s touch is visible with the small grottos reminiscent of the ones above the doorway of Osmania Arts College. Another tweaking of the structure happened when the papier machie ceiling was modified to a Plaster of Paris one.
Fittingly enough, the place is also called ‘Madre e Dakhan Ashoorkhana’ after the Nizam’s mother. Mir Osman Ali Khan used to visit his mother who lived at Purani Haveli every day. It was part of his day’s routine.
Now, the name of the lady remains in memory thanks to her son.
