Sept 17, 1948: Operation Polo – Understanding Hyderabad’s annexation to India, the importance of oral history and trauma
September 17 this year (2021), will mark 73 years since the annexation of the princely state of Hyderabad to India in…
Beyond Charminar
Beyond Charminar – explores the cultural heritage of Hyderabad. Narrated by Yunus Lasania, aka “That Hyderabadi Boy”, the series brings incredible stories from the city's 428 year history. Remember the first time you saw Golconda Fort? When you were awestruck by its labyrinthine passages and imposing ramparts. Every episode will recreate similar moments from some of the well-known to little-known places in the city. We also ask some important questions- why is Hyderabad's rich history often ignored in textbooks? Why is there apathy and little interest in protecting the structures and culture around it? What does heritage truly mean?
Show Host: Yunus Lasania
Season 2
Will Hyderabad’s Qutub Shahi tombs make it as a UNESCO World Heritage site?
If there is one place in Hyderabad that can usurp the Charminar and Golconda fort and replace both as the…
House of Memories
When we think of history, we often ignore the most important and closest things – our own material possessions which…
Is the historic Moula Hill shrine in danger?
Many Hyderabadis often go to the Moula Ali shrine, sometimes with religious intent, and otherwise just to go up the…
How Hyderabad under the Nizam dealt with a pandemic 100 years ago
The corona virus pandemic today has changed the world, and one by one, country after country, is dealing with challenges.…
How to survive patriarchy, the Fatima Ahmed way
In a city where students are still expected to study engineering, anyone choosing arts and social sciences is a step…
When old is real gold: How Mahboob Radio Service survived the test of time
Gone are the days when owning a radio even registered in our minds. Over the years, as we moved from…
Let’s talk Dakhni Part 3
One of the idiosyncrasies in Hyderabad is its language – Dakhni. Known as ‘Hyderabadi’, ‘Hyderabadi Hindi’ or even ‘Hyderabadi Urdu’,…
Let’s talk Dakhni Part 2
One of the idiosyncrasies in Hyderabad is its language – Dakhni. Known as ‘Hyderabadi’, ‘Hyderabadi Hindi’ or even ‘Hyderabadi Urdu’,…
Let’s talk Dakhni Part 1
One of the idiosyncrasies in Hyderabad is its language – Dakhni. Known as ‘Hyderabadi’, ‘Hyderabadi Hindi’ or even ‘Hyderabadi Urdu’,…
Hidden Treasures – Hyderabad’s historic churches
Most people identify Hyderabad as the “city of Nizams and Nawabs”, but that's only one side of the story. While…
The Hyderabad that was- How the city transformed into a modern capital of the 20th Century
The city of Hyderabad has witnessed many vicissitudes, but one of the most important ones was its transformation from a…
Hyderabad Floods: Lessons from the past
In 1908, Hyderabad witnessed its worst ever rainfall which resulted in The Musi river and other smaller lakes flooding the…
Osmania Hospital – Another heritage structure down the demolition road
The state-run Osmania General Hospital has been serving people in Hyderabad for nearly a century, which today primarily includes providing health…
Season 1
Meet the Pucca Hyderabadi
Hyderabad’s heritage & history when told by journalist Yunus Lasania sounds so intriguing in the weekly history walks that he…
The curious case of Errum Manzil – When custodians want to become owners
In this episode of Beyond Charminar podcast, we continue our conversation with Yunus Lasania, who will host the subsequent episodes…
Operation Polo – Hyderabad’s accession to India
History, as we know, is told by the winning side, in the way they’d choose to. During Indian independence, the…
Operation Polo – The story retold
In Part two of our episode on Operation Polo, host Yunus interviews Mr Mohammad Khaja Mohinudeen, now in his eighties.…
The times of anti-feudal Telangana armed struggle
While the Nizams stood against acceding to India or Pakistan, the peasants from rural Telangana revolted against the landlords with…
Dakhni as we know it
“Even most Hyderabadis don’t realise that what we speak today is Hyderabadi, definitely not Dakhni, it is closer to the…
Secunderabad and an old timers tale
The twin City of Secunderabad, established in 1806/7, was built as the British cantonement, after the East India Company signed…
The tale of Irani chai and its origin in Hyderabad
Recently, Hyderabad was included in the UNESCO’s culinary heritage list, as the Creative City of Gastronomy. Hyderabadi’s love their daily…
A house frozen in time
Imagine living in a house where the furniture hasn't changed for over 100 years. That's the kind of heritage Zubair…
Reimagining Golconda
The Golconda or Qutb Shahi dynasty founded Hyderabad in 1591. Its history isn’t known to much of the Hyderabadis, let…
Growing up in Hyderabad as a woman
History is mostly written by rulers and by men! Hyderabad is no exception to it. Regardless of what we know…
The Nizam-era banking scandal which shocked Hyderabad
We all know of the Nizams and their wealth, especially of Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam. He appeared on…