“It’s the nizam! The nizam!” Suddenly, there is a cascade of royal salaams, an
elaborate davening as Hyderabad’s elite and guests flown in by the Taj hotel
company for the grand opening of its newly renovated property, the Taj Falaknuma
Palace, raise their hands toward their faces, bow their heads, and pay tribute
to the prince who managed to lose what was not so long ago the largest fortune
in the world. Music! “Is this a goat festival?” I ask my guide. Prabhakar
Mahindrakar, the Taj Falaknuma Palace’s historian, it said. Golconda Fort You go
through a dusty warren of streets and arrive at the massive ramparts and stone
walls. (Urdu is another major language in Hyderabad. Babu, his brother insisted,
was one of the dealers who had been brought in by the nizam to unload his
basements of storied treasures. One of his sons, a friendly young Australian
real estate man, spent some minutes looking for the nizam’s vanished
medications. After years of court fights, the government of India whirled in and
took the gems for a national museum. It was dusk, and the lights of the old city
glowed in the pink sky.com; doubles from $250. Time to eat: my first dinner was
at the bustling Paradise Restaurant, a shrine to Hyderabad’s prized cuisine,
biryani. We drove up a two-mile hill and discovered yet another Ruritania. “He
loses everything. The clubs and the golf courses that used to ban Indians are
now just as exclusive and reserved for Hyderabad’s professional elite. Scheming
financial advisers managed to plunder most of the estate. That lagoon reflects
the paradox of Hyderabad and of the vast state of Andhra Pradesh. He eventually
wound up in a small apartment in Turkey.G.) I was on my way to Ramoji Film City,
the largest moviemaking facility in the world, a good hour from town. See and Do
Chowmahalla Palace Khilwat, 20-4-236, Motigalli; 91-40/2452-2032; chowmahalla.
The star of the current epic hit had spoken out against the separatist movement.
the Nizam’s Museum Near Purani Haveli, Old City; 91-40/2452-1029. One of the
more compelling, and possibly apocryphal, stories was that the jewels—and
hundreds of millions of rupees—were kept unattended and unlocked in the
basements of the Chowmahalla palace. It means ‘mirror in the sky. Hyderabad has
the medieval grace of the Persian and Urdu courts. “Everyone is working too hard
now in India,” one told me. Stuck in Goa last year with bad weather and a newly
arrived throng of beefy tourists from the Ukraine at our hotel, I came across a
tattered copy of The Last Nizam, Australian journalist John Zubrzycki’s riveting
history of the court. How else to explain the peculiar magic of this city deep
in south-central India? Part Brigadoon and part Epcot, it pulls you almost
immediately into its hallucinatory past.in. No.H. All of them were covered in
webs of dust (one of the nizam’s most stirring beliefs was that dust protected
his riches from theft). Over and over again, Mahindrakar repeated: “Falaknuma.
Eat Aish The new Indian restaurant at the Park hotel outfitted by fashion
designer Tarun Tahiliani. As we drive into the Chowmahalla palace complex, I
hear the astonishing cascade of goat brays, horns, and the call to prayer. Stay
Great Value Park, Hyderabad 22 Raj Bhawan Rd. Northeast of the lake is
Hyderabad’s twin city, Secunderabad, an oasis of green space and low yellow
buildings used by the British military during colonial days. From the desk, I
could see out to the front entrance where the nizam’s original carriage galloped
up the hills, passing gardens and gatehouses. Tollywood is almost as huge a
movie industry as Bollywood, yet the films and TV shows it cranks out each year
are rarely shown outside the state. “Has anyone seen my father’s pills?” he
asked me. When I walked into his office, Rao, who made one fortune from the
manufacture of Priya brand chutneys and other prepared foods, stared gloomily
into a wall of TV’s, each screen with a different broadcast. “It was my dream to
be here,” he said., Secunderabad; 91-40/2784-3115; dinner for two $17.,
Somajiguda; 91-40/2345-6789; dinner for two $75. You go through a dusty warren
of streets and arrive at the massive ramparts and stone walls., Somajiguda;
91-40/2345-6789; theparkhotels.com. Dark and faded, the front was stamped in
white: mixed bag 26 september 27 to june 1937. The library has now been
restocked with the nizam’s nearly 6,000 rare books and manuscripts. State
Department about riots by a local separatist movement. The fort towers over a
granite hill and is protected by massive gates with iron spikes to obstruct war
elephants. In a long room filled with noisy families, I shared a table with two
young software engineers diving into mounds of the pillowy rice-and-meat mix.
The writer David Shulman, an expert on Indian languages, describes Telugu’s
mesmerizing musicality as having more syllables per second than almost any other
spoken language. Famously ascetic, he lived in one room in the vast complex and
served visitors a single tea biscuit, yet he donated a squad of fighter planes
to the war effort during World War I, for which a grateful England gave him the
title His Exalted Highness. Inside, a frail older man in a black jinah makes his
regal way through a bejeweled audience in his former childhood home. The lake
divides the city and has a Muslim name, Hussain Sagar—sagar meaning ocean in
Hindi. Microsoft, Oracle, Infosys, and Dell are also here, and Facebook chose
the city for its first office in India. In November, during the grand opening,
Hyderabad was awash in nizam nostalgia. Tibbs Frankie 38 Rd. When at last the
storerooms were opened, it was discovered that rats had nibbled their way
through $30 million or so. Rd. Passing the Tata Motors showrooms I saw broken
windows. And that money was frozen by litigation.com. Ramoji Film City
91-84/1524-6555; ramojifilmcity. In the 17th century, the citadel was able to
stave off the Moghul armies for months. That carriage had been reconstructed
from parts in the storage rooms for a lavish weekend of lunches, dinners, and
rides. The surrounding rooms had solid silver and gold tributes from his silver
jubilee. A whisper goes through the crowd.K. Once the finest royal residence in
the country, this palace in the old city was a derelict Xanadu for decades.
Suddenly, I see goats. Our first stop was not the massive Salar Jung museum,
mentioned in the guidebooks, but the smaller H. After a 10-year restoration,
this former palace of the Nizam of Hyderabad (once the world’s richest man) is
now a living museum, with 60 opulent guest rooms done up in ivories and golds.
Inside was a sepia world of old Hyderabad—nawabs posed in their turbans, playing
tennis. Rao could not wait to plunge into the day’s news.E. the Nizam’s Museum,
the home of the sixth nizam, who ruled from 1869 to 1911. Getting There
Hyderabad is a two-hour flight from New Delhi or a one-hour flight from
Bengaluru (Bangalore) and Mumbai. Paradise Restaurant The busy restaurant is a
shrine to Hyderabad's prized cuisine, biryani. No. When his then-34-year-old
grandson came back to Hyderabad in 1967 to take over the title, he discovered a
snake pit of intrigue. Taj Krishna Hyderabad Park, Hyderabad Sleek geeks meet at
the gleaming bar of the Park, Hyderabad, a new hotel with a terrace that
overlooks the lake in the center of town. He wore a white shirt and spoke in a
low tone.H. The more than decade-long Taj hotel renovation project was the dream
of the nizam’s former wife, Turkish socialite Princess Esra. “Can you tell me
the history of this?” I asked. Ramoji Film City The largest moviemaking facility
in the world, yet the films and TV shows it cranks out each year are rarely
shown outside the state. Mahindrakar gasped. Although vast fortunes were made
here in the granite and cement industries, Hyderabad at first appeared grimy and
run-down. “The separatists are ruining our business!” For the next hour I was
treated to an inside-India barrage of political intrigue that few outsiders
could ever hope to comprehend. Mayer. Sitting at a desk now used by guests in
what was the nizam’s office, I reached for a sheet of stationery that said
falaknuma castle. Taj Falaknuma Palace Engine Bowli, Falaknuma; 91-40/2438-8888;
doubles from $510. His dying grandfather was convinced that he would be
poisoned.February 14, 2011 The draw of Hyderabad is its astonishing backstory,
which can make you feel at times as if you are in India’s Oz. I stopped to see a
little-known building marked the retreat and discovered an elegant bungalow
where Winston Churchill stayed when he was posted to the east. After leaving
Ramoji, I stopped at the Golconda Fort, necessary to understand Hyderabad’s
grandiose xenophobia. “I’m Babu’s brother,” the manager said, with the snobbery
of old Hyderabad and the assumption that I would know who “Babu” was—or care.E.
I first came to Hyderabad by accident. Salar Jung Museum. I asked to meet the
reclusive billionaire, Ramoji Rao, who is South India’s Rupert Murdoch and
controls the largest Telugu newspaper and all the screens—television and
film—and was amazed when he agreed.” Was he trying for a double entendre?
Indeed, the nizam had managed to squander most of what was left of his meager
inheritance. As steely and determined as she is visionary, she oversaw every
detail with autocratic zeal—reportedly, hundreds of carpets were rejected until
she was sure that she had the correct color—meticulously restoring the
neo-Palladian whimsy. Air India offers direct flights to Hyderabad from Dubai.
1, Banjara Hills, 91-40/6666-2323; doubles from $217. Golconda Fort Located 7
miles west of Hyderabad. 22 Raj Bhawan Rd. I was staying at the Taj Banjara, and
one day, killing time, I sorted through a stack of dusty curios in a shop off
the lobby. Jah shared the belief and pitched a tent on the palace grounds.H. All
that weekend, he conducted tours for Bo Derek and Princess Michael of Kent,
among many others, of the Falaknuma’s wonders. We stepped into a dingy but vast
hall that once served as an enormous closet. 1, Banjara Hills; 91-40/6666-9999;
doubles from $195. “What has happened to our way of life?” Hyderabad has become
a hub of India’s high-tech boom; Google’s India headquarters is in what’s known
as Cyberabad, just a short drive away. When he fled these now-restored palaces
to tend a sheep station in the Australian bush, he left behind a legacy of
titles: His Exalted Highness, the Regulator of the Realm, the Rustam of the Age,
the Aristotle of the Times, the Victor in Battles, the Leader of Armies. An hour
later I was still in the shop. Taj Banjara Aish The new Indian restaurant at the
Park hotel outfitted by fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani. Communications guru
Suhel Seth always comes to test-market his campaigns in hitec (Hyderabad
Information Technology Engineering Consulting) City, Cyberabad’s official name.
Descended from the caliphate of Islam, the seventh nizam (the current nizam’s
grandfather) made his fortune from the vast stores of minerals and diamonds in
the region—and the tributes paid by people who requested an audience with him.
Marie Brenner’s most recent book is Apples and Oranges: My Brother and Me, Lost
and Found. We were forced to consider the 150 empty walnut cabinets and the
pulley elevator with just a flashlight. Soon after, he discovered the open
vaults of the nizam’s treasures—emeralds and rubies and parrots made of enormous
Golconda diamonds. Wander the property if you like: nothing is off limits,
including the library of rare books. Tibbs Frankie Chowmahalla Palace Once the
finest royal residence in the country, this palace in the old city was a
derelict Xanadu for decades. Paradise Restaurant Paradise Circle, M. Jah was
paid $40 million—a fraction of the stones’ worth. In the center of the lake
there is an island with a towering statue of Buddha. The city was only a
two-hour flight away.’s. Guide T+L A-List agent Ellison Poe (epoe@poetravel.
With 20 million Hindus and 3 million Muslims in his territory, the canny nizam
wanted a separate state when India became independent and had a militia to back
him up. Children carrying goats on the backs of bicycles, goats in rickshaws
being held by young boys in white kurtas and caps. A short drive away is the
nizam’s elegant Falaknuma Palace, on its own granite hill to the south of the
city. Soon after, Jah fled to Australia to ride around on tractors most of the
day. At night, sleek geeks meet at the gleaming bar of the Park, Hyderabad, a
new hotel with a terrace that overlooks the swampy lake in the center of town.
If you half closed your eyes in the city, you could imagine the current nizam’s
grandfather still shuffling around the palace, hoarding a secret treasure of
priceless diamonds, rubies, and pearls the size of jawbreakers. I spotted an
album that looked like a prop from The Jewel in the Crown.
There is the matter
of the language—Telugu—which most people outside India have never heard of but
that is spoken here by a population larger than the U. I was greeted by a man in
an elegant jacket who handed me his card.E. This nizam was rumored to have never
worn the same outfit or pair of shoes twice. Tonight, there are prayers,
tomorrow, they will be halal. Hyderabad has long vexed the rest of India. Goats
being led toward festive striped tents. H. On the way back, I ate a quick dosa
at Tibbs Frankie, a new chain of stands that you find in places where India’s
surging upper-middle class lives, such as nearby Banjara Hills and Jubilee
Hills. Goats with horns painted pink and yellow, wearing bells. I bought the
album to discover that I had indeed found an authentic royal book—but it had
belonged to a lesser heir. Thousands of goats. Adding to the fairy-tale setting,
at sunset you’ll hear the lilting strains of a flute in the courtyard. Not that
long ago, the Hyderabad court threatened the creation of the new nation. I was
strictly warned to stay off politics. In the back, we discovered the smaller and
very run-down former servants’ quarters, kept only half lit and overseen by what
appeared to be a single geriatric attendant. Related: The Best Beaches in Goa
Here, in the old city, was the Islamic center of India, the center of Deccan
arts and culture, known for its gracious court manners and such lavish jewels as
the Jacob diamond, which the previous nizam once used as a paperweight on his
desk.
Taken by golf cart to his corporate headquarters, I found Rao in an office
to rival that of Louis B.” The quick and holy execution of ritual slaughter
continues in Hyderabad as if its storied former ruler, the nizam, still hid his
jewels in the engines of his rusty Rolls-Royces in his 60-car garage. There were
travel alerts from the U. On a balmy night in November, down the narrow lanes of
the old city, we drive through the pearl bazaar and the throng of auto rickshaws
near the Charminar, the grand arch and mosque that is the central artery of
Hyderabad. Gazing at the group gathered, the nizam, Mukarram Jah, managed to
look both terrified and furious, as if he were none too happy to be on display
along with the newly reupholstered sofas and refurbished chandeliers from his
grandfather’s day. Then the lights went out. Soundstages, Indian villages and
train stations, and Ramoji’s Tuileries were eerily empty.’” I looked out to the
courtyard to see the nizam’s gazebo, where Princess Esra greeted guests.S. Salar
Jung Museum Afzalgunj; 91-40/2457-6443; salarjungmuseum. H. I look out the
window to see clusters of women in hijabs gliding slowly through the pearl souk.
Read The Last Nizam Australian journalist John Zubrzycki’s riveting history of
the court. The next day, I landed in one of the most automated airports in the
world and drove past ugly quarries of dusty granite, passing women walking on
the road wearing hijabs and herding goats. The cash was hidden in newspapers. 3,
Banjara Hills; no phone. Great Value Taj Krishna Rd.
The call to prayer suddenly
blared from below. He had been hired decades earlier by the Indian government as
a security guard. “That is the nizam’s original letterhead!” he said. Taj
Falaknuma Palace You’ll trade your car for a horse and carriage at the gate of
the Taj Falaknuma Palace, which crowns a hill above the city, and be showered
with rose petals when you ascend the marble steps. In the 17th century, the
citadel was able to stave off the Moghul armies for months. No. “Madam, no! This
is the night before Eid al-Adha—a most holy day on the Muslim calendar. The fort
towers over a granite hill and is protected by massive gates with iron spikes to
obstruct war elephants. China
structural rivets Factory The next day, Babu himself offered to take me on a
brief tour of the old city. The day we went to Ramoji, the studio had been
virtually shut down by the news on the front pages. A wall of goats. the Nizam’s
Museum The museum was the home of the sixth nizam, who ruled from 1869 to 1911.
The royal ruler had multiple palaces, hundreds of acres, 200 wives, 14,000 legal
dependents, and a kingdom half the size of France supported in part by the
diamonds that came from the nearby Golconda reserve.com) organizes tours of the
city’s major cultural sites. There were thousands of harem photographs, family
albums, and warehouses of ceremonial coats with solid-gold threads. Riots had
erupted at some theaters. I followed Babu through a decaying and dusty garden
that fronted a school. Great Value Taj Banjara Rd
