Raymond was highly respected by the locals and they found his name difficult to pronounce ‘Monsieur’ and the Hindus called him as “MusaRam”, and the Muslims as “Musa Rahim”.
Hyderabad: Raymond's Tomb, a protected monument in Malakpet, is set to get a facelift, following repairs and restoration being undertaken by the state heritage department. Later, the site will be used for holding cultural programmes.
The monument lost its glory and remained closed to visitors following anti-social incidents and security lapses. The tomb had been neglected for decades and the pavilion collapsed due to heavy rains.
Spread across eight acres, the heritage department, along with the tourism department, undertook restoration works, including construction of a compound wall, railings and walkways, in 2016. However, the monument was left neglected as there was no maintenance.
The department is now preparing a detailed plan to seek financial assistance from donors for conservation works. The proposed works, include the signages in the park, visitors' amenities, walkers' facility and will be used to conduct cultural programs.
The officials are also planning to install CCTV cameras and improve security measures, increasing the height of the compound wall. The description boards and signage boards for the monument will be added, providing the historical importance of the site to visitors.
“The vast open ground has been used by youth groups for gatherings. Due to some incidents, we have closed it,” said maintenance staff.
The site was the resting place of Michel Joachim Marie Raymond, the French adventurer, military commander and the trusted aide of Nizam. When he was 20 years-old, Raymond reached Puducherry in 1775 to trade, like his father. When Puducherry fell to the British in 1778, he started his military career and served under Hyder Ali of Mysore.
Later, Raymond joined the French Corps under Basalath Jung, the Nizam’s brother and entered the service of Nizam Ali Khan, the second Nizam of Hyderabad. Raymond died on March 25, 1798 when he was 42. He was laid to rest beneath a pillared pavilion representing the Greek structure, beside an obelisk.
Raymond was highly respected by the locals and they found his name difficult to pronounce ‘Monsieur’ and the Hindus called him as “MusaRam”, and the Muslims as “Musa Rahim”.
Historians noted that to strengthen his army, Raymond established a foundry — today’s Gunfoundry — to prepare the cannons and guns to support the Nizam government. They had also planned irrigation projects at Jagtial and Kaleshwaram but they were halted after the French army was defeated.
