Chowmahalla Palace opens its doors after hours with curated royal experiences

When the 19 Belgian Crystal chandeliers, of the 300-year-old Chowmahalla Palace successful Hyderabad’s Old City are lit, the infinitesimal feels astir theatrical. I person visited the palace respective times — arsenic a tourist, a newsman and a wedding impermanent — and each acquisition has felt distinct. But seeing Chowmahalla aft sunset reveals a mentation of the palace that fewer ever encounter.

Usually unfastened lone during the day, the palace has present begun hosting The Chowmahalla Experiences (TCE): private, guided evening tours followed by a philharmonic programme and a royal dinner. The inaugural reflects a increasing involvement successful experiential practice hospitality, wherever monuments are not simply preserved but thoughtfully activated to prosecute modern audiences.

Launched successful November, TCE is simply a premium offering inspired by the popularity of supper clubs, curated dinners and backstage practice walks. “The thought was not conscionable to beforehand the palace, but the civilization of the metropolis astir it,” says Aamir Tameen, curator of The Chowmahalla Experiences.

Guests get aft nationalist hours, successful constricted numbers, and statesman with a guided practice locomotion done the palace. “The acquisition goes beyond a accepted dinner,” Aamir explains. “It starts with a elaborate walkthrough of cardinal halls and courtyards, designed to contextualise the architecture, royal customs and lesser-known stories of the Nizami era. The locomotion unfolds arsenic an immersive communicative alternatively than a modular depository tour.”

For the ones who are not alert of this palace successful Hyderabad, Chowmahalla’s operation began astir 1751 AD during the reign of Nawab Salabat Jung, the 3rd lad of Asaf Jah I. When Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II shifted the superior from Aurangabad to Hyderabad, helium added respective mahals during his reign, shaping the analyzable into the ceremonial bosom of the Nizams.

Even during the guided walk, the palace’s collections stay a highlight: the Nizam’s backstage Quran collection; the fleet of vintage cars — including a 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, a 1934 Ford Tourer, a 1953 Packard, 2 1906 Napiers and a Buick convertible; royal garments and textiles; and, of course, the chandeliers imported from Turkey, Belgium and Venice.

The food

For visitors, nary royal acquisition successful Hyderabad would beryllium implicit without Nizami cuisine. The nutrient and beverage programme is cautiously considered. A six-course, sit-down paper — disposable successful vegetarian and non-vegetarian options — draws connected accepted Nizami recipes. The courses are divided into shorba, gazak, dastarkhwan, akhri and khilwat meetha. In the menu, Marag with sheermaal is simply a changeless on with Shikampur and Patthar ka gosht. Some of the dishes to look guardant to are Zafrani biryani, Nizami handi, dahi ke kebab, treble oregon qubani ka meetha.

Behind the elegance lies meticulous planning. “Operationally, hosting an evening lawsuit wrong a protected practice monument requires extended preparation,” says Aamir. This includes securing peculiar permissions, coordinating security, designing heritage-safe lighting, mounting up controlled electrical systems, readying acoustics for unrecorded classical oregon ghazal music, grooming unit successful palace etiquette and adhering to strict preservation protocols to guarantee zero interaction connected the artefacts and architecture.

The curated lawsuit is ticketed, terms depends connected the events and menu. To publication this experience, support a ticker connected their Instagram leafage @thechowmahalla_experience.