The Nizam is history but his legacy is still worth a ton. British art auction house Christie has valued the Falaknuma Palace, home to the sixth Nizam Mehboob Ali Pasha, at £10 million, a reminder to the eclectic and ostentatious lifestyle of the erstwhile Nizams of Hyderabad. The valuation was a conservative appraisal of the premises.
A display of grandeur, the palace, in its new avatar as a heritage hotel under the Taj group, comprises three heritage rooms, besides 60 other rooms and an exquisite jade room.
One cannot help but marvel at the architectural wonders that ornate the palace. The 100-seater dining table of rosewood imported from Burma, elaborate wood works carved out of 16 varieties of woods, including the mahagony, teak and Indonesian wood, an elaborate spread of marble structures, an unique 10-foot tall organ, besides the murals, gold-rimmed lamps, Venetian chandeliers, first edition of books and other oriental artefacts have enthralled the visitors for years together.
The reception room, with exquisite frescoes on the ceiling, is another highlight of the palace.
Another attraction, the ballroom, houses the manually operated organ weighing around two tonne.