Outside the fort-like mausoleum of Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro, street dogs roam around piles of rubbish, relentlessly barking. I had heard that this mausoleum of the founder of Hyderabad – also known as the 'Shahjahan of Sindh' – was in a state of decay, but I was not prepared for the extent of neglect I saw upon reaching it.

We had turned into a narrow lane with cars parked on either side, when our coach driver turned to inform that he was pulling up here, as attempting to go any further would risk the vehicle getting stuck and unable to turn around.

'Is it far from here?' I asked, while stepping towards the coach exit and he gestured ahead to say that it was right here.

Then, why couldn't I see it?

Well, that was because of the heavy encroachment in the surrounding land. The extent of vandalism and illegal construction all over the place could be judged by the fact that some uncaring souls had even broken down one side of its outer fortified walls – made of mud, covered by baked bricks – to build their houses there.

Yes, Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro's mausoleum was right there. The oldest building in Hyderabad is in desperate need of conservation and restoration, or it will soon disappear from the face of the earth.

One of the most powerful rulers of the Kalhora Dynasty in Sindh, Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro's rule began in 1757, when the Kalhoro chiefs appointed him ruler of Sindh in place of his older brother Mian Murayab Kalhoro. He ruled this region when it was a part of Ahmed Shah Durrani's Afghan empire.

Besides dealing with internal tugs-of-war over his throne, Mian Ghulam Shah's rule was characterised by strategically crafted military victories that resulted in the expansion of Sindh.

Also see: A photowalk through historic Hyderabad

Between 1762 and 1765, he led three decisive campaigns against the Maratha Rao of Kutch, which earned him the title of 'Samsamuddaolah' (sword of state). He was also entrusted to pacify various rebellions in the derahs of the north, for which he was rewarded with a portion of Dera Ghazi Khan, along with the subordination of its governor. He was also given the title of 'Shah Wardi Khan' by Ahmed Shah Durrani.

Seen as a visionary, Mian Ghulam Shah was responsible for the construction of several great monuments throughout Sindh. Two of these architectural marvels are the Sufi poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai's mausoleum, built in 1762, and of course the second being the establishment of the city of Hyderabad, which he built on the ancient foundations of Nerunkot, and made the new capital of the Kalhoro Dynasty. This is marked by the construction of the massive Pacco Qillo (strong fort), the largest military garrison in the region, in 1768.

The third architectural endeavor also sadly turned out to be his last. This was in 1772, when he ordered the foundations of the mud fort to be laid on a hillock in Hyderabad. But that hillock was sacred to the saint Haji Mohammad Makai.

The construction required a number of graves of Makai's followers to be destroyed. People say that this is what earned him the wrath of the saint. That very year, Ghulam Shah was struck with a severe paralysis attack, which eventually led to his demise.

Shah's own mausoleum has had plenty of bad luck thus far. Trustee and Secretary of the Endowment Fund Trust (EFT) for the Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh, Mr Hamid Akhund, who is looking to restore it and has already started some work there, said that as a child, when he used to play cricket nearby with his friends, they could see from afar that the mausoleum was missing its roof.

“The roof, in fact, had collapsed sometime in the 1890s and was not even repaired by the British,” he informed.

Explore: The crumbling tombs of Talpur Mirs

With no picture or drawing available of the mausoleum in its complete form, its repair and restoration brings up plenty of challenges. Therefore restoration is only possible after a thorough study of the contemporary tombs of the area and the material used in building them.

Earlier, restoration attempts had done more damage than good. The now non-functional Federal Department of Archeology and Museums tried its hand at some kind of repairs, but the work was carried out in cement, which instead of arresting the decaying process, it accelerated the pace of deterioration.

What the EFT, in collaboration with the Department of Culture of the Government of Sindh, intends to do now is consolidate the mausoleum's areas threatened with unrecoverable loss, waterproofing the structure, restoring the deteriorating exterior and interior kashi tile work, flaking the interior frescoes and damaged white marble tombstone, along with its railing and giving the building its missing dome.

In this regard, they held an open house discussion at the site recently, where various conservationists, art historians, architects, engineers, artisans, students and thinkers were invited to give their input on how to go about the conservation work in a way that does not harm the monument.

Many useful suggestions came up. Some also pointed out that encroachments had left the monument so hidden that most people from even Hyderabad had not visited it yet. Some suggested starting study tours for school children here, some hoped for the involvement of local students of architecture in the project. Mr Akhund agreed that this was a good idea and said that if any students wished to help in the project, he would arrange for them to receive a stipend from EFT.

On display on the floor outside the tomb lay some pieces of kashi work from the walls.

“We picked up these pieces of fallen off broken tiles from here and there and tried putting them back on the walls but it's all like a puzzle. It cannot be conserved, obviously. It is just too old so there is a need for reconstruction,” Mr Akhund pointed out.

Inside the burial chamber are two graves. The big one in the centre is that of Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro. It is erected over a marble platform measuring 14'-4” in length and 11'-6” in width.

The other, rather small grave erected over a low platform near the western wall is that of Fazal Ali, his grandson. Inscribed on it is the year 1764, when Mian Ghulam Ali was still alive. Actually, he died in 1772. Either the date has been wrongly inscribed or he was buried later, beside his young grandson. Therefore, either the mausoleum was erected during his lifetime after the untimely death of his grandson, or it was constructed later after his death and burial next to the child.

The interior also has paintings, glazed tiles and Quranic calligraphy. The murals adorning the interior of the mausoleum are lined with pure gold, which became evident during a recent process of cleansing with mild beauty soap.

The marble cenotaph of Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro's tomb was damaged when the dome above it fell down. The height of the present flat roof of the mausoleum is around 44'-4” from floor level.

Outside in the courtyard there are a few more graves, all in need of repair and where no one comes to offer fateha anymore.

—Photos by author