Hyderabad was one of the last mythical sultanates... until the 50' the Nizam of Hyderabad was the richest man in the world. Hyderabad, a city-state or city-empire even, was a central trading post in jewels, pearls, spices but also culture and politics. The great diamonds of the British crown, the Kohinoor, the Great Mughal, and many others came from the Nizam's mines in the Golconda fort, and have been pouring out for centuries. One of the Nizam's minister's hobby in the 30s and 40s was to built palaces, gardens, gates and towers, generally created as mementoes to poetic moments, for love, for fun, as gifts to foreign emissaries, to spite the view of his rivals in their palaces, and all the reasons one may feel to express oneself: this minister literally would make a napkin drawing as he was walking with his retinue, next day his architects would draft the plans and if approved construction would just start within the week. The Nizam would have a stream of custom Rolls Royces throughout the year. And people of all kinds would meet at his courts, where the delights of the 1001 arabian nights would meet inventors, politicians, artists and mercenaries. Truly world class as it is rarely seen today.
Yet the city has changed radically in the last 40 years and it shows nothing of that splendour, for political reasons mostly: the importance of city states in the new Indian federation, the muslim-hindu relationships, economy trends, decadent luxury, etc. palaces, gardens and nobility have been abandoned and ostracized. Modernity has struck here too, with armies and cannons of course, out to get the Nizam, or rather his riches and political alliances into the Indian fold.
As a conaisseur of melancholy I highly enjoy the romantic pain of this nevertheless real cultural loss. Nostalgia for the nonexistent is the best :)