Exactly 55 years after the doors of the Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad were opened for the coronation of titular Nizam VIII Mukarram Jah, the grand entrance arch through which the prince entered has been restored to its former glory.
Visitors no longer see the brown tawdry hulking structure they used to glance at before entering one of the palaces. Instead, the 80-foot high ceremonial gateway looks as imposing as the Khilwat Mubarak where Mukarram Jah had his coronation ceremony.
While the palace ensemble has been restored over the past 20 years, the ceremonial entrance remained on the backburner till monsoon intervened. “It was at a planning stage when our schedule was disrupted due to COVID. Then in July 2020, a chunk of plaster from the gallery overlooking the road crashed. We hurriedly put together scaffolding to protect road users,” says Anuradha Naik, who has been part of the project to restore the palace complex.
“Working on a high structure like this is a challenge and the material varied from stone at the lower level to bricks at the higher level. We have restored it with an additional coat of breathable water repellent layer,” she says.
The palace has been under threat of encroachments from all sides and the gateway that overlooks a playground on the other side of the road has been a victim.
In 2016, a massive clean-up drive was taken up by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation outside the walls and the upper floors of the building surrounding Chowmahalla Palace were removed.
“The encroachments are still there. People were creating nuisance on the other side of the entrance and we have cordoned that portion to prevent damage,” informed G. Kishan Rao, who has closely worked with Princess Esra to help restore the palace. The palace is a Grade-I heritage structure but the civic body has not been able to help keep its surroundings free from encroachments.
The Chowmahalla Palace complex has emerged as a principal draw for tourists in Hyderabad as they get access for a small fee and it has a number of galleries of interest like maps, arms, Korans, clothes, crockery, and cutlery of the Nizams.
The palace complex was built sometime in 1750 by the Nizams when the British and French were trying to get a toehold in the Deccan. However, the restored arch has been dated to the early 20th century and shares architectural features with the Kachiguda Railway Station and other buildings built during Osman Ali Khan’s times.
