Who’s coming for dinner?

The famous 101 dining hall at Falaknuma Palace will seat Ivanka Trump and Narendra Modi this time

The bigger the better. This seemed to be the guiding principle of the Nizams. If Purani Haveli boasts of the world’s largest wardrobe, the Falaknuma Palace has something equally big to brag about. It has the world’s longest ever dining table. Hold your breath – it can seat 101 persons at a time. No need to raise your eye-brows, after all anything is possible with the Nizams.

The dining hall is the most talked about room in the palace. The sixth Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, used to sit right in the middle of the rosewood carved dining table while playing host to visiting dignitaries.

Now this magnificent dining hall is set to play host to delegates of Global Entrepreneurs Summit 2017, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and US President’s daughter, Ivanka Trumpthis week. For the delegates, as well as Ivanka, this is bound to be a memorable experience, one they will cherish forever.

Past and present

A notable feature of the dining room is its acoustic system which helped the Nizam pick up even whispers. The grand room hall boasts of sophisticated wood interiors, ornate crystal chandeliers and tableware of gold plates and crystal glasses. Time was when an English organist entertained the guests at dinner on the lines of the bagpiper who played music for the guests of Queen Victoria.

Falaknuma, meaning ‘Mirror of the sky’, is the last word on eastern opulence. Nawab Vikar-ul-Umra, then prime minister of Hyderabad, took 10 years to build it in 1893 and 22 years to deck it up. More than a century later, the Taj group took another decade to bring the palace back to its original shape. Now it forms an exceptional addition to the Taj’s collection of palace hotels.

For ordinary mortals now it is possible to savour a day in the life of the Nizam. Of course one has to cough up jaw dropping tariff to relish experience extraordinaire. Painstaking restoration has given a new lease of life to the Falaknuma palace. Princes Esra, the former wife of Prince Mukarram Jah, who played a key role in capturing a slice of royalty, legend and romance.

Spectacular view

Situated 3 km from Charminar atop a hillock 200 ft high, it provides a panoramic view of the entire city. The opulent interiors of Falaknuma which holds one spellbound. Ornate inlaid furniture, rich hand-crafted tapestries, intricate frescoes, Venetian chandeliers – all lend a fairytale charm to it. The staircase leading to the upper floor is a marvel with carved balustrades supporting marble figurines with candelabra. The Jade room, Darbar hall with parquet flooring and walnut wood furniture, library, billiards room, Hookah room and Jiva spa are simply out of the world. One can also see the Nizam's study with the wooden carved writing table and the revolving Victorian chair.

There is an interesting tale of how the sixth Nizam came to occupy the palace. Having heard about the magnificent palace, he got himself invited for a dinner there. When the Nizam expressed his fascination for it, Vikar-ul-Umra was left with no choice but to honour the wishes of the ruler. He simply walked out leaving the palace and everything it contained to Mahboob Ali Khan.

Big mystery

Another version has it that Vikar-ul-Umra did not gift the palace but offered it in lieu of the four million he owed to the Nizam. Whatever, the splendid palace, which combines Italian and Tudor architecture, did not auger well for its builder. The Italian architect died while boarding a ship in Bombay. Vikar-ul-Umra, who constructed the palace, could live here for barely five years before he handed it over to the Nizam. Later he was poisoned to death in a hunting camp, it is said.

Mahboob Ali Khan himself suffered a concussion on the head when he fell while rocking in a chair in the Falaknuma verandah. He slipped into a coma and breathed his last ten days later. The seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, who succeeded his father, did not occupy the palace out of superstition and used it as a guest house.

The scorpion-like shape of the palace with two stings spreading to the north as wings is believed to have brought misery to its occupants.

Traditional ambience and modern trappings leave visitors gasping for more. Seeing is believing.

-J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in The Hindu,

Dated 27 of November, 2017.