If pictures could speak, then the ones at Nizam Museum, dating back to 1917, would share one of the glorious histories of the city — that of Osmania University.
“The photos are priceless. For instance, the temporary structures which came up after a formal nod for the University in 1917. It is here that the first classes were held. Not many know that the Arts College building that exists to this date was actually inaugurated only in 1939,” says Dr Bhaskara Rao, the curator of the Nizam Museum, where pictures of Osmania University’s early days are up on exhibition.
Osmania University’s foundation stone
About 50 black and white photographs come from the personal collection of Mukarram Jah, the grandson of the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, who was the visionary behind the setting up of the University.
Gold bowl and trowel used during OU’s foundation ceremony.
A closer look at the photos reveals an inscription in the corner in running hand that reads Emanuel. He is the man behind the photos of some of the most historic moments of Hyderabad, CA Emanuel. “I’m surprised how my father clicked these photos in those days with no formal knowledge of the art,” says Lenny Emanuel, the son of CA Emanuel.
Lenny, also a photographer, explains that the large wooden camera that was used then had to be carried on the shoulder with a black cloth on top, making photography a tough task. The senior Emanuel was part of the photography team that clicked photos of the royalty.
“There used to be protocols and they couldn’t walk ahead of the royalty, but now they can jump around in front of the PM,” he jokes.
On his father’s panoramic shot, he says, “There are some shots of the 1400 acre work site, with construction taking place at multiple points and a single railway line at the site that was used to bring in the big stones. Such shots need utmost precision.”
He says that to get such shots, three pictures had to be clicked from point A to B to C to get a 180 degree view. These had to be of the same exposure and density. The shots would be processed and pasted to get a larger frame.
