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Hyderabad Municipal Maps, Malakpet & Chanchalgura Area, Reduced Map Sheet No - 12 Front

Leonard Munn, A.F Chinoy, and A.T Mackenzie

Kalakriti Archives

Kalakriti Archives
Hyderabad, India

The Malakpet locality, to there, one has to approach through the Oliphant Bridge, there would be located prominently the Race course, vestibules of prominent people including a palace built by the Nizam Mir Osmani Ali Khan, and inevitably gardens are visible on the map. The Oliphant Bridge was one of the four Bridges crosses the river Musi. The Bridge was built by the Colonel James Oliphant, hence named after him. An inscription carved on the Bridge attributes the date of construction to 1831 by the order of fourth Nizam Nazir-ud-Daula and was during the Ministry of Chandu Lal. Malakpet was major suburbs during the Nizam period, but it was the peripheral village since the Qutb Shahi times. Qutb Shahi Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah granted the village as Jagir to his servant Malik Yakoot who built a residence there, hence the area got named after him. If the area or locality is low-lying in nature, then the name ends with "Pet', so, Malakpet. Malakpet was famous for the Racecourse indicates Hyderabad's racing tradition back to more than hundred years. From the Malakpet Road, diverged another road to Surur Nagar and to the south of it lies Sarf-I-Khas infantry Lines, the regiment of Sarf-I-Khas infantry and cavalry. Sarf-i-Khas was crown land, every resource under this department would be for royalty including the Sarf-i-Khas army. Beyond the Malakpet, located Chanchalgura locality where the situates Central Jail, in particular, the principal jail in the Nizam State, which could accommodate 600 prisoners at a time.

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  • Title: Hyderabad Municipal Maps, Malakpet & Chanchalgura Area, Reduced Map Sheet No - 12 Front
  • Creator: Leonard Munn, A.F Chinoy, A.T Mackenzie
  • Date Created: September, 1915
  • Provenance: These sets of maps were created by the Hyderabad Municipal Survey during 1912-1915. The devastation caused by the flood of 1908 in the river Musi, prompted the Nizam’s administration to devise a plan for urban Hyderabad. This was led by an engineer Leonard Munn (1878-1935). The other people, who were part of the survey under Munn, was A.F. Chinoy as the assistant and A.T. Mackenzie as chief engineer from the P.W.D. What makes these maps much more precious is that each and every thing are depicted in it. The names of streets, landmarks, and even residents appeared prominently on the map. The dominant opinion on the creation of the municipal maps is the 1908 flood, which took over many lives as well as even merged some areas into one. After the flood, Nizam decided to change the future of the Hyderabad city, who could realize the pitfalls of unplanned growth, resulted in the formation of a planning body called city improvement Board (CIB) in 1912 under the able guidance of M.Vishveshwarya from Mysore. The following years marked by the development activities by the CIB such as improvement of the Musi river banks, slum clearance, construction of houses, construction of bridges and lakes, road and sewerage, and stormwater drainage etc. Also, M. Vishveshwarya submitted a comprehensive planning and some recommendation for the future modification of the city in 1930. The net result also included the idea of Municipal Survey, because without survey modification of the city would be impossible. Thus, survey became inevitable and became the base for everything. The original survey which was started in 1912, done using trigonometric methods with reference to Global Telecommunication System (GTS) points, took over three years to complete it. The origin of the survey was the S.E minaret of Afzal Ganj Masjid. The survey divided the city into 848 parts, which were grouped into 16 sets and each map showing 1000 feet north to south and 1400 feet east to west. Since the maps are at a scale of 50 feet to 1 inch, showing each and every building that existed then. So what noticeable is that, once the first survey got over, in 1915 the surveyed areas again divided into 18 sets, the criteria for this not well known, and the number of sheets reduced. From the one particular area, took some sheets, then joined together, and produce less number of the sheet. The new 18 areas were Begampet; North Hussain Sagar Tank; Heading, Symbols etc.etc.; Khairiatabad; Saifabad & South Hussain Sagar; Hughes Town & Mushirabad; Asaf Nagar; Chadarghat& Residency; Lingampalli; Karwan; Northern Half City Area; Malakpet & Chanchalgura; Mir Alam & Bahadurpura; Southern Half City Area; Phisal Banda; Border; Falak Numa and Border. So the maps of reduced map sheet number from each area are also made in 1915.The survey divided the city into 848 parts, which were grouped into 16 sets (area). These 16 areas were Chadarghat & Residency; Mir Alam & Bahdurpura; Asaf Nagar; Falak Numa; Khariatabad, Karwan; Golconda; Chilkalgura; Lingampalli; Malakpet & Chanchalgura; North Hussain Sagar Tank; Begampet; Saifabad & South Hussain Sagar Tank; Hughes Town & Mushirabad; Phisal Banda, and City area. The number of sheets from each of these areas were more in number. Since the maps are at a scale of 50 feet to 1 inch, showing each and every building that existed then. The main roads along with streets and branch roads; building footprints like whether the building has one or more than one stories; bungalows, and gardens whether it is major or tiny like laid out along with homes or with graves, and finally even minute details. The minute details are interesting because it did not leave even to mark fire plugs, dust bins, letter box pillars, urinal, latrines, baoli, water trough, well, hills, cart tracks, drain channels, hedge, ponds, and lakes etc. The landmarks like the Temple, Mosque, Church, Dargah, Police Station, Dhobi Ghat, Brick Kiln, Tanneries, etc are also well depicted. The residents of prominent people in the form of vestibules along with stables always attached to it are also noted. Also, the graveyards are well marked based on the names given like cemetery, kabristan, masan, and samadh, which makes one easily understandable to which community it belongs. The nature of the soil is also marked well by indicating whether the land was wasteland or else hilly, marshy, and cultivable land etc. Another interesting thing is that the flood level of 1908 also marked by highlighting high and low water marks areas.The general index to the areas, those were the core places of the survey, are given on the back of the map. The index to the sheet numbers from the particular area is also given back of the map. And, it is even mentioned that some sheets have not been printed, because those were blank sheets and showing only water surfaces. Also, 60 symbols and abbreviations are listed on the back indicating whatever things and places come under the survey. Apart from these, the methods used to conduct the survey, Hyderabad Municipal Survey office seal along with reproduced sheet numbers, and even marked whether it is the special edition or not, are also showed clearly on the back of the map.
  • Subject Keywords: Oliphant Bridge, Kabristan, Malakpet Road, Dhobi Ghat, Musallam Jang Br, Kabristan, Naka Road, Hari Lal, Surur Nagar Road, Sarf-i-Khas Chhaoni Road, Lukman-ud-daula Br, Ashraf Nawaz Jnag Br, Kala Dera, Mahbub Yar Jang Br, Sarwar Jang Road, Firoz Manzil, Deorhi Junaid Yar Jang Br, Chanchalgrua, Nawab Sarwar Jang Br, Dabirpura Road, Kala Dera Road, Officer's Quarters, Central Jail, MAhmud Nawaz Jang Br, Masan, Bardari Mir Ahmad Ali Sahibzada, Samsam-ul-Mulk Br, Mir Tilawat Ali Khan Sahbzada, Kabristan, Khawaspura, Makbarah Samsam-ul-Mulk Br, Chhaoni Road, Chaori Bazar Askar Jang, Nawab Askar Jang Br, Asfiya Sahib, Mama Ramzani, Sultani Daira, Asfiya Sahib, Mir Hidayat Ali Khan, Nawab Muzzaz Yar Jang Br, Raja Shadi Lal, Raja Hari Prasad, Dharmsala, Nawab Dawar-ul Mulk Br, Ahmad Hussain Sahib, Nawab Zulkadar Jang Br, Kabristan Ujale Shah, Sarai, Nawab Intikhab Jang Br, Nawab Akbar Jang Br, Quarter Guard, Parade Ground, Sarf-i-Khas Infantry Lines, Bell of Arms, Band Lines, Nasar-ullah Khan, Shahi Bagh, Mahbub Mansion, Ranga Reddi, Malakpet, Sardar Villa, Malakpet road, Malakpet Race Course, Grand Stand, Stables Primces's Body Guard, Deorhi Anwar Khan Sahib, Bansi Raja Br, Malakpet Street.
  • Type: Map
  • Rights: Prshant Lahoti
  • Medium: Paper
  • Survey: 1912/1915
  • Publishing House: Hyderabad Minicipal Survey
  • Map Size: 69 x 51 cm
  • Image Size: 51.7 x 35.5 cm
  • Creator's Lifetime: 1878/1935
  • Creator's Bio: Leonard Munn, an engineer, who was the chief inspector of the mines under the Nizam rule. Munn was born in Madresfield village in Worcestershire in England on May 31, 1878. He graduated as a mining engineer and had worked in the mines in Australia and Africa well in the 1890s. Munn arrived in India in 1902, worked first for a private firm as a gold prospector and then became the chief inspector of mines under the Nizam's government. He worked as a mining engineer with Municipal Survey Department during 1909-1919. Then he became the special officer in charge of Well-Sinking and Geological Department and even served as the Director of the Geological Survey in 1928. In 1929, Munn shifted his residence to the Lingsugur, a place in the northern Karnataka, was part of Nizam's dominion in those time. Munn died at Lingsugur on October 21, 1935, and buried in an old British cemetery. An inscription found from his gravestone about his achievement especially on supervising the construction of 1200 wells in the famine zone of Raichur district.
  • Commissioned by: 7th Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan
  • Collection: Kalakriti Archives
Kalakriti Archives

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