400-yr-old tombs in a shambles
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A structure at Kulsumpura near Jiaguda, Hyderabad, dating back to the Qutub Shahi period (1518-1687), is today strewn with debris and garbage, having been neglected by the state archaeological department. Made of a rare black stone, it is said to consist of the tombs of two dear friends of the last ruler, Abul Hasan Tanasha. They were brothers: Hannan and Mannan Khan.
Located near Kulsumpu-ra police station, the structure has been vulnerable to encroachments by residential settlements. Historian Syed Ali Asgar Bilgrami states in his book, Landmarks of the Deccan: A comprehensive Guide to the Archaeological Rema-ins of the City and Suburbs of Hyderabad that Sultan Abul Hasan Tanasha, who ruled the kingdom of Golconda between 1672 and 1687, was very close to Hannan and Mannan. When they died, he constructed a double-storied dome beneath which they were buried.
The upper storey, paved with plaster, has no sarcophagus, the vaulted lower storey is comparatively more secure. The central grave is of polished black stone and the other is of ashlar masonry.
The Andhra Pradesh State Wakf Board has notified the structure and the surrounding land as the Wakf property.
With around 2,000 sq yards of land, the tombs and mosque were notified in the state gazette, with No. 1816 in the second Wakf survey done in 1985. But the Wakf Board has not shown any interest in protecting the structure or the land.
Syed Ali Asgar Bilgrami narrates in detail about the structure, though contemporary history throws no light on the structure.
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