MOAZZAM JAHI MARKET - Moksha

MOAZZAM JAHI MARKET

 Located at the cross roads of Jam Bagh, Begum Bazaar and Station Road, the City Improvement Board (CIB) built this granite building with graceful arches and a central dome between the years 1933-1935. It was named after the CIB President, the junior Prince Muazzam Jah (1907-1987). It cost four lakh rupees when built.

The arcades, which accommodate around 100 shops are topped with a flat, terraced roofs supported by jack arches. Built from granite and embellished with beautiful decorative elements in stoe, the market has a large, open courtyard in the middle, which is embraced by the generous, semi-circular arms of the arcades. The courtyard originally had a fountain in the middle, which used to act as a natural cooling system

Item ranges from household commodities, meat, vegetables it has a famous Ice cream shop. During early morning periods fruits go on a wholesale rate at the nearby Jambagh road with large quantities. At the same time opposite to the market you can find the famous Ram-ki-Bandi selling some tastiest dosas in the city.

The Moazzam Jahi Market is not just a fruit market, as it’s commonly referred to, but is an identity of the city of Nawabs. The Nizams did everything in style and grandeur and this historic building stands tall as testimony to the fact.

Yes, even a fruit market was built with utmost care and calculation. History has it that the market was constructed during the reign of the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan in 1935, and was named after his second son Moazzam Jah Bahadur.

Originally meant to be a fruit market, it soon turned out to be a place where one could find just about anything – fruits, vegetables, flowers, groceries, ammunitions, paan, ice-cream, dry fruits, hookahs and ittar and buy them at wholesale prices.

In fact, a few traders at the Moazzam Jahi Market say that not many know that this place was once a huge paan bazaar. “Different varieties of paan were sold here. Now, all those shops have gone. The fruit market itself was shifted to kothapet market in the 1980s and some of the other shops to Begum Baazar and Osmangunj. The famous Jambagh flower market was a part of the Moazzam Jahi Market but was shifted to Gudimalkapur market in 2009”, says Ramdeo, a fruit seller, who has been running a shop here for the past 30 years.

Even today, the market boasts of the busiest streets in the city with hordes of visitors. Advocate S B Sinha, whose ancestral property is located just across the Moazzam Jahi structure, and is as old as the market itself, says, “This structure was built especially as a connecting point between old and new city. There was no such thing as the old and new city back then, but the spot was chosen because it was in the heart of the city.

It was built with the idea that people from every corner of the city could visit this market easily. More importantly, fruits of all kinds would be taken from this market for the Nizams residing at the Falaknuma Palace. The Peshawari fruit shop here is one of the most famous shops.”

Ammunition bazaar

Apart from fruits, the market was also a place where arms and ammunition were sold during the Nizams’ rule. And since this market was located in the center of the city, it was easy for the Nizams to shop here and buy arms. Also, there was a cavalry of the Nizams close to this market, which gave them a reason to house more and more arms and ammunition shops here.

Famous ice cream

The ice cream at this market is indeed famous. Even celebrities are known to indulge in it. The Famous Ice Cream shop at this historic structure has become as famous as the building itself. Anybody visiting this area cannot help but stop by to gorge on these handmade fruit ice creams.