160+
Years rooted in the Deccan
Rajasthan to the Deccan · 160+ years · The Hyderabad State
From a village in Rajasthan to the heart of the Nizam's Deccan — a century and a half of enterprise, philanthropy, and devotion to Hyderabad.
Origins
The Lahotis trace their roots to Gullar, a village in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan. From there the family first came to Gulbarga — then a Kannada-speaking district of the Nizam's Hyderabad State — some 160 to 170 years ago, making the Deccan their Janma Bhoomi, the land of their birth, and Karma Bhoomi, the land of their work.
A Maheshwari trading family by origin, they were part of the wider movement of Marwari merchants who settled across the Nizam's dominion and helped build its commercial life. From that first foothold in Gulbarga, the family put down roots in Hyderabad and Secunderabad and in Latur, while their trade reached the headquarters of the Nizam's state and beyond — and their enterprise and generosity spread across all three regions of the old state: Hyderabad–Karnataka, Marathwada, and Telangana.
The Enterprise
The family's commercial life was anchored in its ancestral firm, M/s Dayaram Surajmal — indigenous bankers, cotton merchants and commission agents whose dealings ran across the internal borders of the Nizam's dominion, financing agriculture and industry from the Karnataka districts through to Hyderabad.
It was this enterprise that carried the family from trade into industry. The firm served as managing agents of the Mahboob Shahi Kulbarga (MSK) Mills at Gulbarga — among the largest and earliest integrated textile mills in the Nizam's dominion, employing thousands and anchoring the cotton economy of the region. It is why the family's deepest institutional roots remain in Gulbarga to this day.
Honour & Trust
In recognition of his public works and his standing as a merchant, Rai Saheb Pannalal Hiralal Lahoti was honoured by the administration of the day with the titles of Rai Saheb and Rai Bahadur. His legacy, however, rests less on the honours he received than on what he chose to do with what the family had built.
Through his charitable trust, he set aside a quarter of the family's estate, in perpetuity, for schools and for hospitals.The thread from a 19th-century trading house to a 21st-century foundation
That single decision, made generations ago, still guides the family's giving today, and the trust remains active in education and medical philanthropy across the region.
Across the generations
The family comes from Gullar, in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, to Gulbarga — adopting the Deccan as home.
The ancestral firm grows into a house of bankers, cotton merchants and commission agents across the Nizam's dominion.
As managing agents of the Mahboob Shahi Kulbarga Mills, the family anchors Gulbarga's industry; Pannalal Hiralal Lahoti is honoured Rai Saheb and Rai Bahadur.
Puranmal S. Lahoti of Latur represents the erstwhile Hyderabad State in the first Rajya Sabha of the Republic.
A quarter of the family estate is pledged, in perpetuity, to schools and hospitals.
The same devotion continues through Kalakriti India, its archives, and the Krishnakriti Foundation.
The people behind the legacy
The family came to Gulbarga and from there settled in Hyderabad and Latur, with the line branching across the towns of the Nizam's state. Set out here in the order it grew.
A living legacy
Rather than direct them from afar, the Lahotis endowed land and funds to local bodies, so that each institution would belong to the community it served. Many still carry the family name.
Among the alumni of the Seth Shankarlal Lahoti Law College is Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, who studied law there before a lifetime in national public life.A lasting testament to the institution the family helped found
What they stood for
From a Rajasthani trading house to the textile mills of Gulbarga — the family built before it gave.
A quarter of the estate, pledged in perpetuity to public welfare — a promise kept across generations.
Schools, colleges and a polytechnic across Marathwada and Hyderabad–Karnataka, rooted in their communities.
From Gandhi and Osmania hospitals to the Lahoti Eye Centre — care for those who could not afford it.
The maps, photographs and palaces of the Deccan, preserved for the generations to come.
For over a century and a half, the Deccan has been both Janma Bhoomi and Karma Bhoomi.
Philanthropy · Foundations & Trusts
From a charitable will written in 1956 to a living bridge between India and France — the family's giving has grown across three generations of institutions, each building on the one before.
The foundation stone. Rai Saheb Pannalal Hiralal Lahoti directed that one-fourth of his estate be set aside, in perpetuity, for hospitals and educational institutions across the former Hyderabad State.
Founded in memory of Krishnachandra B. Lahoti, widening the family's philanthropy from education and medicine into the world of art and culture — supporting 50+ students each year.
A joint initiative with the Embassy of France, unveiled during President Macron's 2018 state visit — a bilateral platform for educational mobility across every discipline.
Krishnakriti Foundation · Every January
Hyderabad's oldest and most distinctive annual festival of art, culture, and heritage — held every January since 2004, free and open to all.
Founded by Prshant Lahoti in memory of his late father, Shri Krishnachandra B. Lahoti, the festival brings together artists, scholars, performers, and the public for four to five days of art, conversation, and celebration. Over twenty years it has become one of India's distinctive cultural platforms — each edition built around a curatorial theme, with 20 to 30 events placing Hyderabad's culture and history at its heart.
Established and emerging artists alongside the Kalakriti Archives — historic maps, vintage photographs, and rare prints in conversation with contemporary practice.
Hindustani classical music, theatre and poetry, with scholars such as William Dalrymple, Alka Pande and Ranjit Hoskote.
Heritage walks through the old city, hands-on workshops and residencies, film screenings and open photo competitions.
The modern chapter · Est. 2002
The same enterprise, generosity and rootedness in Hyderabad live on today through Kalakriti India — an umbrella brand devoted to acquiring, preserving and promoting the art, craft, and culture of Indian origin.
The idea is to take art that's both beautiful and affordable to every household and workplace, so that you can appreciate it every day.Prshant Lahoti · Founder
One of South India's foremost private gallery institutions.
kalakritiartgallery.com →10,000+ historic maps and 9,000+ vintage photographs of the Deccan.
View the archive →Original Indian art to buy, rent and commission.
artcafe.in →A Nizam-era palace restored as a living cultural destination.
Learn more →Heritage experiences across the city the family calls home.
Learn more →Scholarships, public art and Hyderabad's January festival.
Learn more →