Compared to other princely States, Hyderabad had a unique culture, known as Ganga Jamuna Tehjeeb, stemming from a wide variety of religions, different languages, and different cultures. Here, many religions and castes intermingled and flourished jointly together. Rulers were Muslims and the subjects were Hindus. Important festivals are celebrated by one and all, without any communal tinge or preference. The religious synthesis of Hindu and Iranian Islamic cultures can also be seen in art and architectural aspects, such as the depiction of cultural themes in paintings and the construction of a blend of Indo-Islamic architectural styles, making Hyderabad’s tradition rich and unique.
Asaf Jahi’s rule is very well noted for its composite and cosmopolitan culture. Persian, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi, and Kannada are the primary languages that prevailed in Nizam’s dominion. Domestically spoken Hyderabadi Urdu or Deccaniboli includes part of humor, as its specialty. Besides these, Hindi and English were also spoken. Because of the cosmopolitan nature of Hyderabad city, people from all parts of India and foreign lands flocked to it and lived harmoniously. The literacy rate in Hyderabad State was very low at 4.8%, while the literacy rate among the Telugu people was 3.3%. Urdu used to be the language of instruction in Primary, Middle, High schools as well as university, which contributed to the educational backwardness of Telugu people. After Salar Jung reforms, the literacy rate slightly improved.
Among performing arts, music, qawwali, Kuchipudi, dramas, painting, and calligraphy became popular. Shadow puppetry is another famous art performed with leather puppets and bamboo sticks. All these indicate that Hyderabad remained a city in which many cultural strains are intermingled. The paintings of Hyderabad are noted for their brilliant colors, exquisite gold decoration in the background, fine arabesque flowering trees, gorgeous costumes, sweeping postures, etc. The production of large-size paintings on cotton cloth is the most remarkable feature of Deccan.
