Summary:
If the Taj Mahal symbolises Shahjahan’s love for wife Mumtaz Mahal, Hyderabad’s Aza Khana e Zehra symbolises Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan’s love for his mother. The Aza Khana e Zehra perfectly symbolises how religious barriers were fluid in Hyderabad. Behind the alams, Zain Yar Jung’s touch is visible with the small grottos reminiscent of the ones above the doorway of Osmania Arts College. The Nizam drafted his favoured architect Zain Yar Jung (Zainuddin Husain Khan) to build the monument on a scale to match the power of the kingdom. Though the Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan was a Sunni, he commissioned this house of mourning for his mother Amtul Zehra Begum who was a Shia..