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“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