I2Q
the prevalence of the^cusped arch peculiar to the
Indo-Saracenic style. It has come down from
the times of the Qutb Shahi kings and has not yet
ceased to be a favourite. Even in bungalow
fronts it has found accommodation by the good
taste and ingenuity of some of our modern archi-
tects who did not pride themselves on a cheap
scorn of the antique.
" Many improvements were carried out
under Sir Salar Jung I and architecture was one
of them. The Hyderabad railway station and
the walls and gates of the Public Gardens presented
an elegant well-thought-out style—the chief fea-
tures of which were arches with deeply curved
sides resting on massive square or hexagonal
pillars and supporting turrets , surmounted by
cupolas. The railway station building was grand
and unique ; there was nothing like it so far as
I know, in all India. The engineer-architect who
designed it (said to have been a Mr. Wilkinson)
must have possessed great talent, for the style
he created bears the stamp of a superior mind.
The picture of the old Hyderabad railway station
had a place in my affections and I am ashamed
to say that it has given place before my eyes to
a shapeless modern block !
" Turn wheresoe'er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen
I now can see no more."