One of the major challenges will be to bring the ground to its original level, as more than one feet of debris has accumulated over the years, says an architect

On October 22, 1807, Francis Sydenham, the then British resident, was buried in the cemetery yards away from the Residency Building on Koti Women’s College premises. Years later, two more residents and another 39 Britishers living in Hyderabad were laid to rest at the same place, adding to the city’s history.

Largely forgotten, the cemetery is a case of neglect leading to some of the tombstones having been damaged over the years. For instance, the grave of Sydenham is built on a pavilion, which now has damaged columns. Similar is the fate of other graves, including that of the second British resident George Busby. The head of his grave’s tombstone lay broken there, while some others have collapsed.

However, there is a good news for the cemetery, as it will be restored along with the Residency Building, which is currently under restoration. N.R. Visalatchy, Director of State Department of Archaeology and Museums, said work there will also be taken up in the coming days. “There is a lot of damage there, and as of now, the cleaning has been completed,” she told The Hindu.

Work at the cemetery will jointly be taken up by the State Department of Archaeology and Museums, Osmania University, the World Monument Fund (WMF), Deccan Heritage Foundation and the British Association for Cemeteries in South Asia, said Ms. Visalatchy. “We realised that the cemetery is also part of the Residency Building’s history, which will soon go into the second phase of restoration,” she added.

One of the officials working at the site said the graves are built of granite stones, which can be found in other cemeteries of Britishers who were buried in different cities in India. Among the graves is also that of Arthur Austin Roberts, the third and last British resident who lived in Hyderabad back then. He was buried on May 10, 1968, just two months after he came to Hyderabad, according to the inscription on his tombstone.

One of the major challenges in restoring the cemetery will be to first bring the ground to its original level, as more than one feet of debris has accumulated over the years, said an architect who is working on the restoration of the Residency Building.

He added that the overgrown vegetation has also impacted the structural stability of the place, which had a garden when it was first built.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Yunus L. Lasania / Hyderabad – January 04th, 2017