Lit up by hundreds of LED lamps, the Hussainsagar looks like a shimmering sheet of water. In the morning, it is a promenade that is thronged by yoga enthusiasts, joggers and pigeon-feeders. In the evening, the promenade turns into a carnival with balloon sellers, snack vendors and rides and games for children. This was not always the case. The Tank Bund was out of bounds for most citizens. Only Britishers, the ruling nobility of Asaf Jah dynasty and Paigah nobles could use the Tank Bund road as they feared that the it would be damaged by others.
“There is a great tank by the name Hussainsagar between the two (Secunderabad and Hyderabad). A fine road has been laid on this Tank Bund for use by the English moving in elephants and horse carriages; guards are posted on six places of the road to prevent men and vehicles from walking on this road and spoiling it. Foreigners alone can use this road and others can do so only by permission,” is how Enugla Veeraswamy chronicled the restricted access of the Tank Bund on Hussainsagar Lake in 1830.
Veeraswamy was a traveller from Madras going to Varanasi. HIs day-to0day chronicle in Telugu called Kasi Yatra Charitra gives a glimpse of the city as it was at then. The 1830 visit was the second one and he recalls how the city has grown over the past 20 years due to the fertility of the soil.
