Matter of heritage

The 150-year-old Errum Manzil or Iram Manzil is a massively spread-out, spacious palace situated in the heart of Telangana's capital Hyderabad. Built around the year 1870 by Nawab Safdar Jung Musheer-ud-daula Fakhrul Mulk, a nobleman of erstwhile Hyderabad state, it is located on top of a hillock adjacent to the now busy Punjagutta metro rail station.

According to Narendra Luther who chronicled Hyderabad extensively, under the Nizam there was a hierarchy of nobles. The highest was Paigas. They were the only ones who inter-married with the Nizam`s family. The next came the Umrah-e-Uzaam, meaning the great nobles. The majority of these were Shias and included two Hindu families. One of the Umrah-e-Uzaam was Nawab Fakhr-ul-mulk. His son was Fakhr-ul-mulk II (1859-1934). His real name was Mir Sarfraz Hussain and his titles included Safdar Jung, Musheer-ud-daula, Fakhr-ul-mulk, etc. Incidentally, he was the first noble who came out of the old city to live in the newer part of the city.

According to Luther, consequent to a dispute over property sharing between Fakhr-ul-Mulk and his elder brother, Nizam advised him to shift to a quieter place from Asad Manzil where he was living. Thereupon, Nawab Fakhr-ul-Mulk undertook the construction of a palace at an elevated place in Punjagutta with a commanding view of the Hussain Sagar Lake. He named it Iram Manzil.

According to one story, wrote Luther, Fakhr-ul-Mulk had a bet with Sir Vicar-ul-Umrah, a Paigah as to who would build a higher palace. The Vicar Manzil and Iram Manzil were built as a result of his competition. As each was more or less at equal height, the match ended in a draw. The Asad Manzil, vacated by Fakhr-ul-Mulk, is now the Nizam College. The Fateh Maidan is now a stadium.

The nearly 2.2 lakh square feet huge mansion in about 3 acres land is located atop a hillock now known as Yerragadda or Red Hill. That might be the reason why Nawab Fakhrul Mulk decided to name the palace as Iram Manzil, the Persian version of Paradise Mansion. It was also painted and coloured red.

Errum Manzil was used for royal banquets and other grand events. Later, the palace was taken over by the government to be used as a records store-house. It was in the possession of the Nawab's descendants till late 1940s. After some years it was transferred into the hands of the Public Works Department. Presently, this palace houses offices of the Engineers-in-chief and the Chief Engineers of the Roads and Buildings, Irrigation and Command Area Development departments. Adjacent to the old structure, there is the Jala Soudha building which again is about 2 lakh square feet area as an extension of offices of the irrigation department.

Built in the Indo-European Baroque style of architecture, during its heyday the two-storeyed palace, once a listed heritage building, spread over a huge area, was full of decorative works, consisting of drawing and banquet halls, had over 150 rooms furnished with Louis XVI furniture, nine-hole golf course, polo ground, stable for about 200 horses and a dairy farm of 100 buffaloes and cows. The palace was full of ornamental works and furnished lavishly with expensive artistic works.

The palace used to overlook the Hussain Sagar but this view has now been blocked by other buildings. By virtue of its strategic location and an elaborate front yard, decades ago, the palace was visible from a distance. With all sorts of structures and huge signboards occupying the entrance to the lane leading to the palace, it's no more seen from the outside.

Iram Manzil was sold to the government during the period of Sir Mirza Ismail's prime ministership (1946-47) to discharge debts of the family. Sir Mirza made a number of changes in the palace and according to Mir Moazzam Hussain, a grandson of the noble who was a member of the Hyderabad Civil Service and later was a director in UNICEF, Sir Mirza `uplifted' the palace. He also planted some terrace gardens of the Mysore variety in the compound.

With the integration of the state in 1956 when Andhra Pradesh was formed, this building was used to house the Public Works Department. That department made other additions to suit its needs. Since it was used as an office, the earlier beauty of the palace has been missing. A shed was erected at the entrance to park bicycles and gradually the palace was surrounded by a lot of habitation.

With Chief Minister KCR's decision to construct new Assembly buildings, the Errum Manzil once again has been in the news. Because of being a heritage building, few people are arguing against its demolition. However, the majority are of the opinion that considering its survival for nearly 150 years and also because of its dilapidated state, it's no longer safe to further utilise it beyond the limit. In fact, the building is not yet listed as heritage construction as per the new heritage Act of Telangana state government.

Telangana Assembly did something remarkable by passing the first of its kind heritage bill anywhere in the country. This is for the first time that a law was enacted that addresses heritage as a sector in totality, including natural, archaeological monuments, historic buildings, and heritage of all types. Prior to this, a year ago, the government scrapped Regulation 13 of the HUDA Zoning Regulations, promulgated in 1995, for the conservation of 137 Listed Heritage Buildings in Hyderabad. The regulation, the government felt, was inadequate, inconsistent and insufficient as it was also narrowly applied to only Hyderabad.

And hence, with the changing times and needs, it is all the more necessary to put this area into proper use by constructing the new Assembly buildings.

(The author is Chief PRO to Chief Minister of Telangana. Views expressed are strictly personal)