For much of my childhood, the Golconda Fort was a portal to fantasy and adventure in my imagination. I badly wanted to see it, but never did—even though, from the ages of 7 to 11, we lived in Secunderabad, the twin city of Hyderabad.

I cannot say for sure what made Golconda so alluring for me. Perhaps it was just growing up on things like the Bournvita Book of Knowledge where I read, round-eyed about sites with names like Arabian Nights pastries: Gol Gumbaz, Charminar, Buland Darwaza, Golconda. Forts are always made special by rumours of secret tunnels, secret treasures (Golconda once housed the Koh-i-noor), tricky acoustic architecture and whispering galleries, where a sound in one corner can be heard atop the citadel.