Hyderabad Municipal Maps, City Area, Sheet No - 28 Front

The river Musi and the historic structure Victoria Zenana hospital are the wonders of the map. The river Musi covered half of the map. The river Musi, a tributary of the Krishna River, originating from the Ananthagiri Hills near Vikarabad is famous as much as Hyderabad famous. The original city of Hyderabad was founded on the southern bank of river Musi by Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 A.D, and over the centuries, the city has grown into both banks of the river. The old city lies on its southern bank, which was the seat of power till the 7th the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Also, the people of Hyderabad will never forget it due to the recurrent floods in it, and the worst one occurred in 1908 which led to the reorganization of the city itself. Subsequently, the Nizam shifted his residence, since then the city center saw a shift into the northern banks in particular. So, the role of Musi is inevitable for the city of Hyderabad both positively as well as negatively, not only in the past but also at the present too, in the forms of canals and dams constructed over it for the distribution of water.

The parts of the flourishing city of Hyderabad, especially on the southern banks of Musi river covered another half of the map, where places around Victoria Zenana Hospital are highlighted well. The Victoria Zanana hospital presently known as Government Maternity Hospital was founded in 1906 A.D. The foundation-stone of which was laid by the Princess of Wales, and this hospital was reserved exclusively for women. The entrance from the Victoria Zenana Hospital road to the picturesque hospital, beautified well with lawns and Chahar Bagh with fountain, depicted well. As well, the different sections of buildings like maternity wards, medical wards, out patient’s room, patient’s ward, isolation ward, surgical wards, paying patient’s ward, office room, mortuary, house surgeons quarters, nurses quarters, house keeper’s quarter’s, and servant’s quarters are also clearly showed on the map. The catastrophic flood of 1908 had caused partial destruction of the hospital, therefore, rebuilt again in 1911.

A very thickly inhabited area around the hospital, where many buildings, of those, some are marked as in a ruined condition, and the prominent building is Badshahi Ashur Khana, visible. The Badshahi Ashur Khana, known as the Royal Ashur Khana, was built by Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1596 A.D. Ashur Khana literally means a house of the 10th day Muharram or Shiite house of mourning. A mourning place for Shias during Muharram festival constructed in the memory of Imam Hussain. There are many Ashur Khanas identifiable in the city of Hyderabad, and construction of those are traceable back to the Golconda Sultanate, indeed, indicate the Shiite affiliation of Qutb Shahis. Apart from these, a canal diverted from the river Musi for the distribution of water, graves of people belongs to the Muslim community, and temples are visible on the map. Out of these temples, some are dedicated to Lord Hanuman, while others are dedicated to Mata.