
Falaknuma Palace has been owned by the Nizams of Hyderabad and their descendants since around 1897. Supposedly, the first ‘Palace Guests’ were King George V and Queen Mary and the last official guest was India’s first President, Rajendra Prasad. In the interim years, this Palace hosted many distinguished guests and witnessed many lavish balls and dinners. After 1951 and the decline of the Nizam’s power, authority and wealth, the Palace was closed. At the turn of this century, however, the Palace was leased by the Nizam’s family to the Taj Hotel Group and a 10-year restoration was undertaken. The Taj Falaknuma Palace Hotel opened to paying guests in 2010. Just before Christmas this year, we booked in for dinner and were given a tour of the more public parts of the Palace/Hotel. Sitting on a hill 2000 feet above the city of Hyderabad, the Palace is absolutely stunning in both its setting and its opulence. Whilst in its heyday, diners would sit at at the world’s largest, 101-seat dinning table, with each guest attended by their own individual butler and with 450 chefs on hand to prepare their meals. The ‘menu’ was a series of paintings on the 24-carat gold-inlaid ceiling, at which the Nizam would point when he wanted a particular course. Our dinner was a slightly more casual and down-at-heel affair, but still featured some of those dishes favoured by the Nizams….and what a fabulous evening it was. There was a real sense of experiencing part of a gloriously extravagant, over-priveledged class of society and a fascinating period of history.
This photo was taken in one of the smaller, open air, dinning areas of the Palace and, as a result of the long exposure time, presents a ghostly image of butlers and guests. As such, I think it conveys a sense and feel of this Palace’s glorious past.