Hyderabad: The Pearl City Of India

During late 16th century there was a water shortage at Golconda, which made the reigning Qutb Shasis and so Mohammed Quli and his royal family forced to relocate to the banks of the Musi River. The city Hyderabad was established, with Charminar as its centerpiece. In 1724 Asaf Jah, which took advantage of Mughal waning power, declared Hyderabad as an independent state with himself as a leader. This was the beginning of the dynasty of the Nizams and the Islamic traditions flourished. Hyderabad's overflow of rare gems and minerals - the world-famous Kohimoor diamond is from here, later more about that - furnished the Nizams with enormous wealth. During the Independence in 1947 Osman Ali Khan considered amalgamation with Pakistan and opted for sovereignty. But with a military intervention Hyderabad joined the Indian union in 1948.

Hyderabad is known as the "City of Pearls" due to its role in the trade of those precious jewels. Until the 18th century the city was the only global trade center for large diamonds. The storied wealth amassed under the 200-year reign of Hyderabad's Nizams, naturally called forth a precious-jewelers industry. From the year 1724 until 1948 untold quantities of gems and pearls passed through the Hyderabad's jewel shops on Patthargatti Road. Under the Nizams there was always peace and always a strong demand for gems. The mines close to the Golconda fort gave the world the Hope and Kohinoor diamonds, now in the Smithsonian Institution and the British coronation crown respectively. Enough diamonds once were there, but it is pearls that have, over time, left the mark on Hyderabadi culture and trade. And today it is the city's pearl dealers who are champions of the jewelers market. According to Sanskrit texts on Gemology, a metaphysical genre known as ratnapariksa, or "appreciation of gems", pearls join diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires as the five "god-given" stones, or maharatni.

Once retrieved from the substantiality of the sea, pearls in historic days, reached India in two ways: from the Gulf of Mannar in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) via the south Indian city of Madurai, and from the Arabian Gulf via the port of Goa. Then, the finest quality pearls were said to be Ceylonese; they were uniformly white, and they were rare. Today, Ceylonese pearls are unknown in Hyderabad, but the slightly yellowish ones from the Arabian Gulf, known as Basra pearls, are readily available both in newly necklaces and in precious old settings. The pearls most commonly sold today are the freshwater variety from China. But most of the pearls that are sold today are fake. Many traditional and historical bazaars are located in the city, especially the Laad Bazaar and nearby markets have shops that sell pearls, diamonds and other traditional ware and cultural antiques.

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Hyderabad , The Pearl City

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