Last standing Kos Minar of Qutub Shah era is tottering at Kulsumpura

HYDERABAD: The historic Kos Minar at Kulsumpura in Old City may soon disappear if no conservation measures are taken. It is one of the only two surviving Kos Minars of Qutub Shahi era. Encroachments around the Kos Minar have robbed the structure of its beauty, while lack of maintenance for decades has weakened it.

Kos Minars or milestones on the erstwhile silk route of Golconda-Machilipatnam helped travellers during the Qutub Shahi and early Asaf Jah periods to measure distance. The ancient highway between the Qutub Shahi capital city of Golconda-Hyderabad and the port city of Machilipatnam were dotted by Kos Minars on either side of the road at every 3.2km, which during the Qutub Shahi period was known as Kos.
Today only one Kos Minar survives in Hyderabad. The other one in Nalgonda district has also become weak and is crying for attention. The Kos Minar at Kulsumpura is incidentally the first milestone from Golconda fort, which completes 500 years of its construction on December 27. It represented the grand old Caravan route of yore.
The last of the Kos Minars, one of the few surviving relics of the Qutub Shahi era, is in a bad state of neglect. Built of granite stone and lime mortar with stucco work, the Kulsumpura Kos Minar represents the unique Qutub Shahi style of architecture. Much of the stucco has been lost and chips of mortar are falling off exposing the granite stones.
Kos Minars of the Qutub Shahis are different from those of the Mughal rulers, explains INTACH city convener P Anuradha Reddy. “Qutub Shahi Kos Minars are short and they are always in pairs unlike those found in the north. They were constructed on either side of the Golconda-Machilipatnam highroad a Kos apart. The Qutub Shahis also redefined Kos and other units of distance,” she said, emphasising the need to conserve the last of Kos Minars in Hyderabad.

Kos Minar of Kulsumpura is more than a unit of distance. It reflects the grandeur of Qutub Shahis and the number of foreign travellers and traders Hyderabad of yore had attracted thanks to its booming diamond and pearl business those days, Anuradha Reddy told TOI. Most of the Kos Minars were demolished during widening of Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway.