Falaknuma Palace

Sir Wiqar al-Umara, the Paigah nobleman, commissioned this palace in 1884. Allegorically meaning “Heaven-like,” Falak Numa is the most famous of all Hyderabadi palaces and one of the most magnificent built in nineteenth- century India. Falak Numa was so named in contrast to the other Paigah palace, Jahan Numa, which meant “World-like.” It was designed by William Ward Marrett (1840–1903), representing the second in three generations of architects in the Nizam’s Dominion. Palladian in inspiration, its imposing Neo-Classical façade is raised high on a rusticated lower story. The central pediment wing has columns supplied with exuberantly fashioned Ionic and Corinthian capitals. Colonnades in curving symmetrical formation to either side lead to two cubical pedimented end wings, as quarters for Wiqar al-Umara’s sons. Neo-Classical details in the palace can be seen in the cast-iron lamps that grace the external double staircase, the elegant cast-iron balconies of the verandah and the plasterwork doorway and window surrounds. The Italianate entrance lobby with its circular marble fountain and curving Roman benches is also quintessentially Neo-Classical. Murals illustrating Italianate landscapes adorn the walls. The staircase is lined with marble statuary of Classical inspiration. The vestibule leads into the waiting room, adjoining which are the Library and Council Chamber. Inside, the huge bedrooms, smoking room, billiard rooms are Victorian and French baroque. The second story of the palace has public rooms commanding a panoramic view of the city for miles on end. The formal, imposing banquet room is furnished in European taste and Persian carpets. Sir Wiqar al-Umara bestowed Falak Numa Palace upon Mahbub Ali Khan in 1896.