devdi

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}

{{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}}

Devdi or Deodi is a noble mansion where the Nawabs of Hyderabad lived. Dozens of them, with grand halls and serene courtyards, held the secrets of a distinct nobility.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gounesco.com/devdis-forgotten-heritage/|title=Forgotten Heritage: The Devdis of Hyderabad - Go UNESCO {{!}} GoUNESCO|website=www.gounesco.com|date=2 February 2017 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-08-05}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rBmnAQAACAAJ|title=A Guide to Architecture in Hyderabad, Deccan, India|last=Khalidi|first=Omar|date=2008|publisher=Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, MIT Libraries|language=en}}

The word devdi used to originally mean a hut, but the nobility started referring to their mansions as devdis in a deprecating way. Thus it came to be the word for the mansions of the nobles.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f5w9_mkaCYkC|title=Days Of The Beloved|last=Lynton|first=Harriet Ronken|date=1987|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=9780863112690|language=en}}

File:Devdi Iqbal ud-Dowla.jpg

Today, only a few are left standing, in various states of decay. Some important devdis are:

• Khurshid Jah Devdi{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/150-year-old-palace-ruins-authorities-continue-neglect-khursheed-jah-devdi-55782|title=150 year old palace in ruins, but authorities continue to neglect Khursheed Jah Devdi|date=2017-01-16|work=The News Minute|access-date=2018-08-05}}
• Dewan Devdi
• Devdi Iqbal ud Dowla{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Monumental-apathy-Iqbal-ud-Dowla-Devdi-lies-in-a-shambles-in-Old-City/articleshow/55682222.cms|title=Monumental apathy: Iqbal-ud-Dowla Devdi lies in a shambles in Old City|work=The Times of India|access-date=2018-08-05}}
• Fareed nawaz Jung devdi