“I grew up in a house deep in the woods near Wuppertal, Germany. Nature was part of my everyday life. Trees, birds and the changing seasons were always around me. That early connection to the natural world stayed with me and quietly guided many of my choices later in life.

I moved to Hyderabad in 1975 after marrying someone from the city. While settling into a new place and culture, I began noticing something that stood out in the landscape here. Granite rock formations were scattered across the region, rising naturally from the ground. These ancient boulders felt timeless, almost like natural sculptures, and I found myself drawn to them.

By the mid-1990s, Hyderabad was changing rapidly, and many of these rock formations were disappearing under expanding development. In 1996, a group of artists, photographers and nature lovers came together to form the Society to Save Rocks. I joined from the very beginning. Our aim was to protect Hyderabad’s unique rockscapes before they were lost.

At the time, many people appreciated the rocks for their appearance but did not see them as something that needed protection. We began organising rock walks, exhibitions and awareness programmes to help people understand that these formations were part of the city’s natural heritage and not vacant land waiting to be built upon.

In 1997, the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority included rock formations in its Heritage Regulations and invited our inputs. That recognition was an important step. Based on our suggestions, Rock Heritage Precincts were identified in 1998 and again in 2009. There were setbacks as well. In 2015, those heritage regulations were removed, which made protection more uncertain. Even then, we continued our work.

Funding has always been a challenge. While the Tourism Department supported a few initiatives, sustained financial backing was rare. Most of our efforts have continued through personal commitment and volunteer support.

If there is one message I would like to leave behind, it is this. Every small act matters. The earth needs care, attention and people willing to speak up for what still remains.”

— Frauke Quader, Environmentalist