Hyderabad: Our city is known for its heritage and historical monuments, especially its medieval era structures like the Charminar and Golconda fort. And in such cities the idea of heritage itself usually gets muddled between monuments and famous establishments in its contours. Very often do buildings that we use everyday get recognised. That is why Jeera Colony in Hyderabad is a hidden gem, because it is home to what one can call a museum of Art Deco buildings.
Last month, Hyderabad celebrated 100 years of Art Deco architecture and its history on April 29, where an event was held at the Telangana Governor’s residence, which is also another Art Deco building. Such buildings in Hyderabad, constructed between the 1930s and 50s (mostly) in Hyderabad, are not even categorised as heritage buildings thanks to lack of recognition. And that is why Jeera Colony is not only a very important place, but is also a place that needs to be protected because of its uniqueness.
A visit to Jeera Colony, or just a simple stroll in the area might just change our very perception of what we constitute as heritage. These Art Deco homes are not grandiose monuments, but structures designed with symmetrical and geometrical patterns which about a century ago were ‘modern age’ monuments that can be found in different areas of Hyderabad like Abids and even Banjara Hills.
So what is Art Deco architecture?
100 years ago Art Deco architecture, or at least the designs that gave birth to it, were on display at the L’exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes’ (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) in Paris. The exhibition showcased new styles of art, architecture, decorative arts, and industrial designs coming up in Europe and across the world. It was meant to ideate and move away from Victorian architecture which prior that dominated landscapes in Europe.
The word ‘Art Deco’ in fact was popularised much later in the 1960s, but it essentially a form of design in the 1920s and 30s came up as a need to have futuristic designs. It has three forms: zigzag or jazz moderne, streamline moderne and classical moderne.
Zigzag buildings are more opulent (some included inspiration from ancient Egyptian and culture), while classical Art Deco was more muted as the Great Depression in the 1930s made its impact in the US. The third one, streamline moderne, stuck to industrial designs, with buildings often designed to look like ships, or planes, or even automobiles.
In Hyderabad
Cities like Bombay and Chennai, which were founded and run by the British, had Art Deco buildings a little earlier than Hyderabad. These buildings continued in some cases to be built even in the 1960s as well.
In Jeera Colony, a few of the buildings are absolutely striking and hard to miss in terms of the geometrical patterns. Among them is that stands out is a beautiful Art Deco home built by Vrajbhai Amin in 1939-49. WIth its standout colours and geometrical patters, the structure is hard to miss. Amin’s descendants still live there and the home is in near perfect condition.
Apart from Jeera Colony, other areas like Abids have Art Deco buildings like the Bachelors Quarters and the Moosa Building. Other similar buildings in Hyderabad can also be found on the Ameerpet-Yousufguda and Punjagutta areas as well.
