A royal rememberance

The walls of Amir Mahal whisper tales of harmony, cricket and biryani — and the Arcot family’s love for the city
At the reception hosted for Jawaharlal Nehru at Amir Mahal in 1955  Martin Louis
At the reception hosted for Jawaharlal Nehru at Amir Mahal in 1955  Martin Louis

CHENNAI: When Chennai was Madras, there were horse-drawn carriages, empty lanes, and a few iconic places. One among them was Amir Mahal, the official residence of Nawab of Arcot (also called as Nawab of Carnatic). Originally constructed in 1798 by the East India Company, and used as a police court, it was renovated for the Nawab’s family by Robert Chisholm, the master architect to whom the city owes the Indo-Saracenic style  The Nawabs ruled the Carnatic region, a dependency of Hyderabad, from 1690 to 1801. They were under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad.

“Chennai is home. It’s the place where I connect every day with our heritage, culture and history. My ancestors ruled this region, and it gives me immense pride when I recall their contributions to Madras. Today, we, the people of Tamil Nadu, are living as one community and one family. We are a state with a rich culture...Madras is an emotion,” says the Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, who inherited the title in July 1993. People residing here have different origins and mother tongue. But, what’s common is that they all find a home in the lap of Madras.  Tamil is elegant and historic, the Nawabs say. “Tamil Nadu itself has a lot of subcultures and it has never stepped back in accepting people from other cultures. I recommend everyone here to learn how to read and write the language,” says the next heir, Nawabzada Asif Ali.

Street history

Of the numerous areas in the state that have been coined after the rich history that the family witnessed, there are three prime areas in Chennai. “The Nawab of Carnatic, Wallajah, was residing in Kalas Mahal at Chepauk that had six gardens. Translated in Hindi, six gardens is ‘Che Bagh’ and now, we call it Chepauk,” says Asif Ali.He added that the Nawabs had a humongous stable with hundreds of horses that were stationed farther from the Chepauk palace. We now call it Kodambakkam, derived from ‘Ghoda Bagh’ (horse garden).Royapettah derives its name from ‘Raya’ (king) and ‘pet’ (place) as it was the neighbourhood where kings found home in Madras.

Nehru’s trip

It was in 1955 during one of his visits to Madras that the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru met Prince of Arcot, Ghulam Mohiuddin Khan Bahadur at Governor Sri Prakash’s residence (Raj Bhavan). When the Prince extended an invitation to Nehru to visit Amir Mahal on his next trip, he spontaneously scheduled the visit for the same evening.In three hours the entire administration ran helter-skelter for security. The Nawab family fondly remembers how Nehru loved ‘Kund’, a milk-based almond dessert. Nehru loved it so much that before his next visit to the Mahal in 1963, he wrote a letter asking if they could prepare the delicacy.

Learning cricket

He was four years old when he first held the cricket bat. He and his father, who was his coach, would practice on the grounds of Amir Mahal daily, and the Nawabs who recognised his talent went out of the way to ensure he received top-notch facilities.Fifteen years later, he received the Man of the Series award for his great performance in the India-Sri Lanka series.  The man, the young Tamil Nadu all-rounder, MS Washington Sundar represents Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL, and is the captain of Tuticorin team in TNPL.“Most of my childhood was spent in Triplicane and Royapettah, and those memories were at the Mahal. After practice, I would wander around the palace and here I am representing my state,”says Sundar.

Sankaracharya’s visit

Ali says religious heads from all faiths have visited the Mahal, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Chief Imam of Mecca. Kanchi Sankaracharya’s visit to the Mahal was special. “In 1991, Sankaracharya visited us and it was the first time in the history of the Kanchi Mutt that a Hindu swami had visited a Muslim’s house. We thought he would come with not more than 10 people, but to our surprise, 1,000 disciples joined him. Sankaracharya said the reason for his visit was the family’s contribution to hundreds of temples in and around the city,” shares Ali.

A for Amir Mahal, B for Biryani, C for Chennai, D for Dhoni

Though there are multitude of options, nothing can beat the traditional Nawabi biryani, and Amir Mahal has witnessed top officials from the city visiting the palace only to get a taste of this.  “All the delegates who come here definitely mention the biryani. All that matters in biryani is ingredients of great quality and the right amount of love,” says Noor Bhasha who has been cooking biryani in the Mahal for four decades. Every year, during the IPL season, the Chennai Super Kings have treated with Nawabi biryani from the Amir Mahal, and MS Dhoni particularly, is a great fan of it, he adds.

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