Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Meet the Hyderabadi  ‘heritage buff’ trying to preserve precious silverware that belonged to the city’s royalty.

Hyderabad:

Riaz Ziaee, a blue-blooded Hyderabadi, has provided a worthy home to silver antiques that were made around the world for the city’s former royalty and nobles.

The techie-turned-real estate developer has two homes, one in Hyderabad and the other in Toronto, Canada, where he keeps dozens of pieces of original silver artefacts that salute the culture of a bygone era, the “time when people had time”, as he puts it.

A regular visitor to his ancestral home in Hussaini Alam, Riaz (47) spoke to Telangana Today from Toronto about the heritage he is trying to preserve.

For Riaz, the collection is a reminder of his roots. “I preserve these pieces, most of which are more than 100 years old, so that I can show my children, relatives and friends how we used to have the luxury of time when we were growing up in Hyderabad,” he said.

According to Riaz, a lot is being missed out due to life in the fast lane these days. “These collections, along with other heritage symbols, were our prized possessions. My ancestors collected antique silver artefacts, especially those pertinent to Hyderabadi culture,” he said.

Some of the items were inherited and many other pieces were collected later by Riaz. “Though several homes in Hyderabad still have such antiques, most are unable to use them due to the sheer lack of time. The importance of such precious aspects of our culture is losing ground with the new generation of Hyderabadis,” he pointed out.

In his exquisite and finely maintained collection are rare items such as kaandaan, which is different from paandaan in that it was used to keep fresh paan in its original heart-like shape.

“I also have an atardaani with pure silver filigree and a tray made in Italy for the Nizams. I collected these items from Hyderabad and from flea markets around the world. We also have silver scrolls, which were used to hold rolls of important documents,” Riaz revealed.

There is a bidri tray which was used for serving nuts and dry fruits to guests, and which has lovely calligraphy on it. There is a gulab pash, which was used to sprinkle rosewater on guests during Eid and other functions. “I still use these items on special occasions and maintain them regularly so that they stay on in our home as a reminder of where we come from and what we have lost,” said Riaz.

source: http://www.telanganatoday.com / Telangana Today / Home> Hyderabad / by  Sharjeel / March 05th, 2018