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.
