When one visits Hyderabad, there is a vast array of things to include into the itinerary. From an aesthetic café culture to a vibrant shopping experience, with historical architectural gems and a beautiful skyline- this place has it all. As a part of our Hyderabad itinerary, we decided to visit the Chowmahalla Palace. As soon as we parked our bikes, I realised that I need to do things a bit differently here. Hence, I shot all the images inside the palace compound for the #monomad challenge! I shot all the images on my iPhone 15.
Let’s get into the history bit of the palace!
In India during the pre-independence era, the Brits majorly controlled most parts of the subcontinent. However, the Nizams of Hyderabad who originated from Persia and Uzbekistan, settled in the Deccan region of India back in 1724 and ruled the region for 224 years until 1948. The Brits allowed the Nizams to continue to rule their princely states as client kings. The Nizams then went on to develop the railway, introduce electricity, develop roads, airways, irrigation and reservoirs; in fact, all major public buildings in Hyderabad City were built during their reign during the period of British rule in India!
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The Chowmahalla Palace was the official residence of the Nizams during their reign. The construction started in the year 1750 and was completed in 1880. Although the palace has been open to the public as a museum, the palace is still owned by the last Nizam ruler, Azmet Jah.
The Nizam’s ordered the building of four palaces from which the nomenclature of Chau Mahalla is derived. The word chār or chahār, and its variation chow, means "four" and the word mahal means "palace" in Urdu, Hindi and Persian. The Palace has a four main complex, Aftab Mahal, Afzal Mahal, Mehtab Mahal, Tehniyat Mahal.
Read more about this here. If this peaks your interest, find even more details here!
There were strictly no professional cameras allowed inside the premises, and they had an entry fee 100 Rupees (1.14 USD) per Adult for Indians, 40 Rupees (0.46 USD) per Child (Below 10 Yrs) for Indians, 400 Rupees (4.56 USD) per person for Foreign Tourists, 50 (0.57) for Mobile phone camera. They accept cash, online payment as well as debit and credit cards.
The palace was built around large walls and massive gates. As we entered, I noticed a blend of Indo-Saracenic, Mughal, Persian, European and Rajasthani styles influenced the palace’s construction. These top-of-the-line styles made the palace unique in every angle. The details in the work spoke of true craftsmanship.
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To my surprise, the crowd was very limited inside which helped me get a few decent shots without a random person being in my frame. As I was walking through the corridors, I couldn’t stop but think that at one point, the royals used to walk and live here and just by the thought of it would give me goosebumps.
As we were crushing our daily step count walking through the entire palace, I was awestruck at how the rulers never backed down from showcasing their immense power and wealth. From the fire-resistant wardrobe to a four-barrel pistol, they were not shy!
The palace showcased their cutlery and art collected from around the world, formal portraits of the family members across generations, weaponry (from guns and rifles to swords, shields, daggers and some straight up torture devices) and a lovely collection of the vintage cars they possessed.
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As we moved towards the tower clock that has been ticking for 250 years, I noticed an interesting fact. The plaque stated that back in the days the public would use the tower clock to calibrate their watches, since the clock was always precise with the time displayed. This spoke of the true wealth of the Nizams.
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Since the palace restoration that was done in 2005,the Palace has been maintained well ever since. After admiring the palace, their beautiful Buggi Khaana (Urdu for Car Garage) and the surrounding gardens for almost 2 hours, we made our exit to visit the next place on the itinerary.
