Hyderabad Art Deco

Bachelors Quarters, built in 1940 (photo credit - Nitya Gonnakuti)

"There may once have been a terrazzo floor here. They were common in buildings across the city but many have been lost now," said Nitya Gonnakuti as we entered the Bachelors Quarters building in Central Hyderabad. She has been documenting the city's art deco architecture since 2019 and shares her findings on a dedicated Instagram page. During my recent time in the city, and despite the extreme heat, she kindly showed me some of her favourite buildings.

Bachelors Quarters was built in 1940. Its central glazed stairwell, flat roof and open walkways show both art deco and streamline influences. It originally offered accommodation to poorer students from distant towns and villages who came to Hyderabad for more opportunities. Rents collected from the rooms were used to help fund scholarships for women. According to the Telangana Today newspaper, the building was commissioned by the Seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, but it has not been possible to find details of the architect responsible for its design. "This is a problem common to many of our art deco buildings. It is hard to find this kind of information or the date that they were built,” said Nitya. Today, it is used entirely for commercial purposes and houses several small business. Despite the absence of terrazzo, some original features remain, particularly the wooden doors and window fittings. Also original, is the Arabic inscription in the lobby which bears the Islamic date 1359, equating to 1940 in the Gregorian calendar.

Bachelors Quarters staircase

 A cultural hub for the Urdu language

Bachelors Quarters was not only a student hostel. It became a cultural hub for the preservation and celebration of the Urdu language. Publishers, newspapers and cultural organisations had offices there. In 1955, poet Suleiman Areeb began publishing Saba, an Urdu magazine, from room 17A. Areeb was politically active as a member of the Communist Party in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He was imprisoned twice, including on one occasion for reading a revolutionary poem in public. Saba became influential in popularising modern literary trends and ideas and drew many politicians and trade unionists to the poet's office. 

Poetry had a prominent role in the building. Mushaira - a gathering of poets to read their works in public - were held there. This art form was particularly prevalent in Hyderabad and it is likely that many of the performers passed through room 27 which housed a fine arts academy frequented by composers, artists and even comedians. From the late 1950s, Urdu began to decline in importance and this rich cultural scene started to fade away. Despite this Shugoofa, a monthly humorous Urdu language magazine was still being published from the building as recently as 2021. 

In 43 degrees of heat, dust and with the noise from the heavy traffic outside, it was hard to imagine the cultural and creative activity that once took place here. It was also difficult to photograph the long facade as it is practically impossible to find a break in the traffic for a clear shot. The extremely strong light and the width of the building was also a challenge. In 2007 proposals were brought forward to demolish Bachelors Quarters due to its then dilapidated condition. Fortunately, the threat receded and restoration took place in 2020, when each of the resident companies contributed to the cost. Despite its cultural and historical significance, it is not a protected building and remains vulnerable to “development” due to its city centre location. 

Nitya owns a successful branding and social media company. As we climbed the paan-stained spiral staircase, I asked her how she became interested in art deco. “Although I work in communications, I studied architecture and had to do an essay on a favourite building. I chose one that I found out was in this style and I wanted to know more," she said. 

Porthole with a palm tree, Moosa building

A porthole with a palm tree

The Moosa building is a short walk from Bachelors Quarters. According to the date on its tower’s facade, it was built in 1942. Despite the encroachment of signage from the ground floor commercial units, it remains a handsome building. Its balconies and roof terrace are reminiscent of the modernist buildings found in many European cities as well as in Melbourne, Tel-Aviv and even Asmara in Eritrea. It too was designed as a hostel, a function it still fulfils. 

Little is known about Moosa, for whom the building is named, but the friendly manager told us he had been an auctioneer. The tiny office contained an original 1940s wooden key-holding fixture, complete with numbers in an elegant typeface and the keys of unoccupied rooms. After some discussion, the manager agreed to let us see inside the upper floors and instructed an employee to give us access to all areas. 

Each room contains three to four beds and a few pieces of vintage, mismatched wooden furniture, including mirrors, desks, dressing tables and cabinets. Many of the tables had been overlaid with formica tops, presumably to protect the wood or possibly to hide damage. Each room has a fan and although they lack natural light, some have access to a balcony. Guests can stay here for a few hundred rupees per night.

Each cream-painted room door bears geometric motifs and art deco “waves” - although the latter are in pairs rather than adhering to the usual “rule of three”. Some original terrazzo flooring remains, including on the balconies. There is also a roof terrace, where laundry had been hung out to dry and where one resident slept under a canopy, taking refuge from the heat. Porthole windows are a classic art deco feature, but the Moosa building adds a local flourish, with an elegant palm tree and birds in flight on one of the landing windows. 

An ugly, abandoned and unfinished structure stands at the rear of the hostel. It conceals a large art deco villa, adjacent to the Moosa building and visible only from its rear balcony. It is in poor shape and in the process of being reclaimed by nature. There were signs that it is still occupied and despite its condition, there are hints of how elegant it must once have been. Its future must be uncertain given its condition and prime location.

Staircase window, Moosa building

Door with deco motif, Moosa building

Architectural influencers

Despite the dearth of documentation for many buildings, two architects are known to have influenced the acceptance of art deco in Hyderabad. Mohammed Fayazuddin (1903-77), studied at London's prestigious Architectural Association before returning to India in 1934 and beginning an illustrious career. In 1944 he produced a masterplan for Greater Hyderabad. He would go on to design the art deco influenced State Bank of Hyderabad on Abids in the city centre, and also the Ravindran Bharathi, a major cultural centre completed in 1961. Fayazuddin was a highly cultured man and enjoyed playing the sitar. Perhaps he played at Bachelors Quarters.

Karl Malte von Heinz (1904-71) was a German architect connected to the Bauhaus. He fled the Nazi regime in the 1930s seeking refuge in India and settling in Hyderabad where he designed a mansion in the Banjara Hills for the Raja of Wanaparti. He would go on to work for Robert Tor Russell the architect responsible for Connaught Place in Delhi. Heinz also worked for Russell on the Pataudi Palace in Haryana. It is likely that if either Fayazuddin or Heinz had been responsible for Bachelors Quarters, it would be known, but the design demonstrates influences they would have been familiar with.

Villa, Jeera Colony

Villa, Jeera Colony

“Om" in Hindi script, Jeera colony.

An art deco Hindu temple

Our final stop was in Jeera Colony, a neighbourhood in the Secunderabad part of the city. "This area was established in the 1930s. The original residents included affluent Gujarati, Marwari and Telugu families. The plots were allocated on a leasehold basis which means the residents do not own the land and permission to carry out works on the properties involves an expensive bureaucratic process. This has led to some of them falling into disrepair,” said Nitya.  This arrangement also brings other risks. As the leases approach their end, residents may choose to leave, making the buildings vulnerable to demolition, changing the character of the area, dispersing a century old community and erasing its history.

For the moment several art deco villas remain in Jeera’s quieter streets. Many have retained their original balconies, glazed stairwells, decorative iron gates and railings. There is even the occasional porthole, one of which bears the word “om” in Hindi script. This is an example of “Indo-Deco” - where local symbols, motifs and other design elements are amalgamated with art deco style. “Om” is a word chanted during meditation, to help energise the mind and the body. Perhaps the original owners had the inscription included to bring positive energy to their home.

Before we returned to the city centre, we made a stop at the Arya Samaj Mandir on Rashtrapathi Road. This Hindu temple has the date 1947 inscribed above its main entrance. Arya Samaj was founded in 1875 as a Hindu reform movement, so it is appropriate that the temple should be built in a style contemporary to its date of construction. The striking pink exterior, decorated with Hindu motifs was a fitting finale to our tour, and the possibility of seeing inside at some point, a reason to return to the city.

Arya Samaj Mandir, built in 1947.

Photo credit - image of Bachelors Quarters facade - courtesy of Nitya Gonnakuti. All other photos by the author.

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