Falaknuma Palace Attractions and Tour Pleasures

Come to Hyderabad and you would feel the royal grandeur of a past era. Come here and enjoy the pleasures of being in a royal ambience and enjoy the lovely palaces and forts that dot this region. There is something elegant and graceful about this place, and it is a great feeling to visit this place and experience the royal past that existed here.

Falaknuma Palace is also one of the finest monuments in this part of India in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Earlier a part of the Paigah, this is one palace that belonged to the Nizams. Situated on a 32 acre area, this beautiful palace is situated around 5 km from Charminar. Constructed by Nawab Vikar-ul-Umra, who was the Prime Minister of Hyderabad, this is a land which is filled with the maximum travel pleasures and is dotted with the greatest cherishable sights. The name Falak Numa represents the phrase like the sky. It also means the Mirror of the Sky. This is actually the only Indian seven star hotel.

I had been to Hyderabad recently and had gone to meet my cousin there, who had stayed over in this elegant hotel. It was an English architect who designed this structure and it took around 9 years to complete this magnificent representation of elegant workmanship. Sir Vicar lived in the Gol Bangla and the other notable rooms of the Falaknuma Palace in the year 1889. Totally made out of Italian marble this spans over an area of around 93,971 sq metres.

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Constructed like a scorpion, the entire design totally mesmerized me and I was taken in by the glory of past constructions. The two stings of the scorpion spread out like beautiful wings and the entire palace had the royalty of the past grandeur and the modernity of today’s hotels. The central portion has the kitchen and the main building. The southern portion has the Gol Bangla, the harem quarters and the Zenana Mahal. The palace architecture has the best of the royal influences and the Nawab has a lot of influence on its design. Having traveled a great deal he brought in the ideas from across the world in its construction.

A total amalgamation of the Tudor and Italian kind of architecture this has lovely glass stained windows which lend a beautiful hue to the rooms. As the glass windows seem like a spectrum throwing colours in all directions, the Falaknuma grace seems to exude a certain kind of charm unbeatable to the eye and totally mesmerizing to the mind.

The private resort of Prime Minister of Berar and Hyderabad, Sir Vicar, the palace has changed hands many times and the structure was finally taken over by the sixth Nizams of Hyderabad sometime in the year 1898. The monogram VO is found in all the furniture in the palace denoting it to the Sir Viqar ul-Umara who was the maternal grandson of Nizam III and the Prime Minister of Hyderabad.

A very costly construction, this palace led the Vicar to borrow beyond means and by the time he completed it, he realized that he had outdone his financial stability. His wife Lady Vicar then told him to invite Mehboob Ali Pasha Nizam VI to the palace. This guest liked the structure so much that he decided to buy it. Thus Sir Vicar was eased of his financial problems. Then the Nizam VI used the palace as a guest house and he liked it a lot because of the scenic delights the place gave him.

This palace went through a silent patch in the 1950s when it had almost finished patronizing all the dignitaries and the royal hosts across the globe. The last guest to stay here was the first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad. He stayed here in the year 1951.

Then the restoration process started and getting together the structure was a major challenge. The magnificent blend of Baroque, Renaissance, art deco and French type of construction lent an element of beauty that was simply irresistible and so the Nizam flavour had to be retained. Thus the upholstery and the redone furniture and the beautiful wings attached to the palace all had to restored such that the original grandeur could be maintained.

Today the palace with this lovely state reception room with a decorated ceiling having the best frescoes and gilded reliefs lend beauty to the eye. This ballroom has an organ which weighs two tons and is said to be the only such kind in the entire world.

With around 220 extravagantly done up rooms, and around 22 halls which have huge spacious areas, this is a palace and hotel today with the best collections of the grand Nizam family. There are paintings, manuscripts, furniture, statues and books which make a visit here a perfect treat for the eye. There is the jade collection here which is said to be the most exquisite of such kind in the whole world. The dining hall here has the capacity of holding 100 people together then there is the furniture which is very aesthetic to the eye. With chairs made of rosewood and upholstery of green leather, the gold and crystal tableware attached with fluted music and the beautiful balustrades that decorate the palace with the marble figurines in the interiors make a stay here absolutely fascinating.