The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Visitors kept guessing at Chowmohalla Palace

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 29, 2006
ePaper

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Visitors kept guessing at Chowmohalla Palace

Staff Reporter

Unopened almirahs, tight-lipped staff add to the mystery

OBJECTS OF CURIOSITY: The fire-resistant steel almirahs in the Chowmohalla Palace, which have not been opened for the last 200 years, with none aware of their contents. -- PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

Hyderabad: A penny for your thought. Guess what they contain? That is what visitors to the famed Chowmohalla Palace are left wondering when they set eyes on the huge steel almirahs kept in the courtyard behind the Khilwat Mahal.

A large number of persons are visiting the palace these days to view the Nizam's weaponry exhibition situated here and they invariably come upon the mysterious almirahs. Their attempts to elicit information draw a blank.

The palace staff too deny knowledge about the iron safes. There are half a dozen of them kept in a row. The double door safes are fire-resistant. A close look will show the monogram `Milner's 212 patent' inscribed at the top.

Inspection

Recently, when Hyderabad Collector R. Chandravadan visited the Chowmohalla Palace for inspection, he too came up with the same query. He was informed by the palace authorities that they had no clue and that the safes were not opened for nearly two centuries.

What do they contain? Diamonds, antiques or some other priceless objects?

Your guess is as good as anybody's. When one persists, the palace in-charge says he has simply no key. A real whodunit, sure!

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh