An exhibition of rare photographs, witnessed by thousands of visitors including the crème da la crème of Hyderabad, marked the 150th birth anniversary of sixth Nizam of Hyderabad Asaf Jah  Mir Mahbub Ali Khan who was popularly known as Mahbub Ali Pasha.

The exhibition, organised by the Deccan Heritage Trust at the magnificent Chowmahal Palace, part of the legacy of the Nizam era, featured more than 100 photos covering various aspects of the personality, life and times of the sixth Nizam.

Asaf Jah the sixth had got the title of “Mahbub” or the beloved from the people reflecting his immense popularity with the masses reflected in several legend and folk stories associated with him. “He was undoubtedly the most popular of all the rulers of Asaf Jahi dynasty”, said Mohammed Saifullah, the managing trustee of Deccan Heritage Trust and the brain behind the event.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Nawab Rounaq Yar Khan, the great grand son of Mir Mahbub Ali Khan.

Saifullah said that most of the photos in the collection exhibited were from Basalt Jah, son of the sixth Nizam. “I had persuaded him to share some of the photos for the posterity and that was the genesis of the exhibition”, Saifullah said.

“Each of the photograph here has a story behind it”, he said. Pointing out at one of the photos, featuring the king as a commoner wrapped in a Chadar, he said, “this is how he used to roam around incognito to find out the well being of the people by minglging among them”.

As Mahbub Ali Khan was legendary hunter one of the photographs showed him and his party with tigers hunted by him. One of the photographs was of 1870 when Mahbub Ali Pasha was crowned as a toddler after the death of his father Afzal ud Dowla. Another photograph featured him with his two sons Basalat and Salabat Jah.

“The purpose of the exhibition is to educate the new generation of the history and the contribution made by the Kings of Asaf Jahi dynasty of Hydeabad”, he said.

Earlier, people paid tributes and laid wreaths at Mahbub Ali Khan’s grave in the court yard of the historic Mecca Masjid.

Safiullah said that the Trust will make a representation to the State Government to make the history of Qutub Shahim Asaf Jahi and Kakatiya kings part of the school syllabus and preserve their legacy for the posterity.

Recalling the contribution of Mahbub Ali Khan to the development of the Asaf Jahi state and Hyderabad city, Safiullah said that he had started several educational institutions, Asaf Jahi library, Dairatul Maarif, a research Center in Arabic language and also introduced postal system and Nizam Railways during his tenure. He had also changed the Persian as the official language of his state and replaced it with Urdu, he recalled.

The celebrations was organized when the 68th anniversary of the end of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and merger of Hyderaba in to Indian union on 17th September 1948 was fast approaching. Mir Mahbub Ali Khan was followed by Mir Osman Ali Khan, who was the seventh and the last of the Nizams.