Days to go before the beginning of Muharram, the Telangana Department of Archaeology and Museums is carrying out emergency repair works on the 400-year-old Badshahi Ashoorkhana.
“Large cracks have appeared on two of the wooden capitals capping the columns and one of the beams is showing signs of sagging along with signs of leakages,” informs Mir Abbas Ali Moosavi, the caretaker of the Ashoorkhana. For the first 10 days of the Muslim calendar month of Muharram, the Ashoorkhana or house of mourning becomes a site of Ziyarat (pilgrimage) as alams (battle standards) are installed and people from all faiths offer prayers.
“We are applying Tapecrete, a polymer-based waterproofing coat, on the 20th century cement concrete covering the original lime concrete layer to prevent water seepage during monsoons. We expect to finish the work in three days so that Muharram observances are not interrupted,” says Prashant Banerjee of Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which is carrying out the repair work. Three years earlier, the DAM carried out temporary measures to protect the building. “The western wall with the tile work has no seepage thanks to that repair work. But portions of the ceiling have become wet affecting the wooden roofing,” says Mr. Moosavi, pointing to the damaged portions of the ceiling.
The wooden ceiling is at a height of 27 feet and a single wooden column holds up the four interlocking beams above the capital.
“We are doing anti-termite treatment in crevices of the interlocked wooden beams placed above the capital. New 6 mm thick and 90 mm wide metal strips being welded along the octagonal profile to brace the capital from further bulging out,” informs Mr. Banerjee. A 27.2-foot high metal truss column is also being temporarily-deployed to take the structural load of the wooden beam which is sagging.
The Badshahi Ashoorkhana is among the 27 heritage sites in Hyderabad that are being monitored by the Telangana High Court for their conservation effort. The ashoorkhana (the 10 day of Muharram is known as ashoora) is an important landmark in the growth of Hyderabad as it was commissioned by the builder of the city, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah.
For many years, encroachers occupied the open area of the ashoorkhana and other buildings in the complex collapsed. Now, the main Ashoorkhana building has become a tourist destination, where visitors get a glimpse of medieval architecture and knowledge of chemistry used to create the haft-rang (seven-coloured) tiles and calligraphy.