Secunderabad Club blaze destroys a slice of Hyderabad's history

The building destroyed in the blaze was a gift of Salar Jung and was earlier used as a hunting lodge

Only the granite pillars stood intact amidst the swirling smoke and slush of overnight rain and water poured by 10 fire engines. Security staff created a barricade and stopped people from entering on the morning of January 16 as the city woke up to the news of that left the main building of Secunderabad Club in a charred hulk. “It is unrecognisable now. It was a building with extensive use of wooden beams, wooden staircase with Mangalore tile roof. Now, the sky is visible,” said Anuradha Reddy, a club member and historian.

Club members who visited the site in the morning informed that the burnt section included the Colonade, the British-era men only bar, the iconic wooden staircase, billiards and snooker room and the ballroom. While the Colonade was filled with hunting trophies and other antiques, the blaze also destroyed an 1878 snooker table.

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