Place of the richest generation of world, Nizam generation is unique in the country. They were the exceptionally rich people in India with their hobby of collecting antiques from all over the world. Hyderabad was their home town and thus Hyderabad shines in the name of classy Nizams. No doubt they made their presence felt in the city till today by their exceptionally beautiful palaces, their extraordinary museums and artefacts.Falaknuma Palace is one of their finest residences in Hyderabad and even though it is more than a century old but still its splendour is worth praising. The foundation stone was laid on 3rd March 1884. The construction took almost ten years to complete and in the year 1893 it was ready to welcome its first owner Paigah Hyderabad State with all its grace. It took sixty lacs to build this palace at that time. Soon it was bought by the Nizams. Spread over on sprawling thirty two acres (13 ha) of land the Falaknuma Palace is located just five kilometres from the famous historical monument Charminar.You must be wondering what Falaknuma Means. Let me help you. Falaknuma is an Urdu language word. ‘Falak’ means sky in Urdu and ‘numa’ means just like. Thus Falaknuma means just like the sky or Mirror of the sky. The palace is built on a 2000 foot high hill and thus it seems like it is touching the sky. This lavish palace was built by the Prime Minister of Hyderabad of that time and uncle of the Nizam VI, Nawab Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Bahadur. His name was Nawab Vikar- ul-Umra. For personally supervising the finishing and designing work of the Mardana part of the palace he shifted to the Gol Bangala and Zanana Mahel of the Falaknuma Palace in December 1889. Italian marble is majorly used to create the palace. It is built on an area of 93,971 m2.The speciality of the palace is that it is built in a shape of a scorpion unlike other palaces. The two stings of scorpion are spread out as wings in the north direction and the centre part is used to create the main building and kitchen while Gol Bangla, Zenana Mehal and harem quarters are situated in the south direction. The nawab was a keen traveller and he travelled around the world and thus its influence can be clearly seen in the architecture of the palace. Italian and Tudor architecture influence can be noticed from the design of the palace. It is actually a rare combination. Stained glasses were used in the windows of the palace that create a vibrant spectrum inside. Initially used as residence by Sir Vikar this palace was later sold to the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad in the year 1897 – 1898 because of some financial issues.The creation of this lavish palace crossed the budget and Sir Vikar had to borrow money to complete the palace. To repay the borrowed maney he sold the palace to Nizam VI who loved this palace at the first sight and used it as a royal guest house. This palace witnessed never ending royal celebrations and hosting of numerous parties for royals and dignitaries from all over the world for years. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of Independent India was the last guest of the Falaknuma Palace in the year 1951. Since then the Palace was usually closed. Keeping in mind the age of the structure a lot of restoration work is going on since that time.The palace has currently :
- 220 luxuriously decorated rooms
- 22 spacious halls
- The reception room with decorative ceiling
- The ballroom one of its kind in the world
- Collection of Nizam like rare paintings, statues, furniture, manuscripts, books, etc.
- A grand dining table with a capacity of hundred people with chairs made of intricately carved rosewood and green upholstery, the table’s length is 108 feet and breadth is 5.7 feet with 2.7 feet height
- Gold and crystal tableware with fluted music
- A library with walnut carved roof with finest collection of Quran in India
- A billiards room which had two identical tables once but one is now in Buckingham Palace in England and the other is here.
- Walls are covered with outstanding paintings of royal members
- Largest collection of Venetian Chandeliers that takes six months to clean each as the palace has forty such Chandeliers in its halls
- One of the largest electrical switch boards in India
Currently this palace is leased out to Taj Group of hotels by the present Nizam Prince Mukkaram Jah Bahadur in the year 2000 for thirty years. Since then it is going through major renovation and restoration work in order to keep its originality as it is. It is now open for public. One needs to take prior appointment to visit the palace.RUCHI MAHAJAN