One of the seminal moments in researching this book came when the gracious Dr Aminuddin Khan, the chairman of the Nizam’s Private Estate, broke the seal on the door of the bedroom where Osman Ali Khan spent his final years. The very private quarters of the Seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, untouched for decades and lit by a single light-bulb, were laid bare before me. The wooden bed with its thin mattress, a sooty spittoon strewn with cigarette butts and an old rolled-up rug were all testimony to the frugality of the richest man of his times.
Those privileged days spent plumbing the hidden depths of Nazari Bagh and other palaces in Hyderabad could not have been possible without the help of His Exalted Highness Mukarram Jah, the eight and last Nizam of Hyderabad. Letters of introduction led to many truly remarkable people. I am also indebted to Prince Jah for his hospitality and for agreeing to be interviewed on his extraordinary life. For arranging my meeting with Prince Jah I would like to thank David Michael in London, Esra Jah in Istanbul and Vijay Shankardass in New Delhi.
Dozens of people in India, the UK and Australia gave up their time to be interviewed. Apart from those few who wished to remain anonymous, their names are listed in the bibliography. This book would have lacked many of its insights had it not been for the many entertaining and informative afternoons I spent in Hyderabad with Nawab Habeeb Jung, the Amir of Paigah, who together with his wife Shanaz virtually adopted me as part of their family and helped guide my research. I would particularly like to thank Mohammed Safiullah who was a walking encyclopaedia on Hyderabad and a rich source of articles, photographs, maps and memorabilia. My gratitude goes to Vikas and Umar Jain for permission to reproduce photographs from their invaluable Raja Deen Dayal archive. From the dusty shelves of his cramped studios, Shah Ali produced rare photos and shared tiger-hunting stories.
For guiding me through the collections at Chowmahalla palace and providing valuable insights into the Nizam’s jewellery collection and other aspects of Hyderabad’s history I am grateful to Deepthi Sasidharan. Bhakhtiar Ansari, G. Kishen Rao and Rahul Mehrotra deserve special mention for their fine work restoring the Chowmahalla palace. At Haziq and Mohi, Abid quenched my thirst with cold drinks while sourcing obscure titles from the stacks in his extraordinary bookshop. Scheherazade Javeri was very generous with her time. Najamunissa Begum and Nandita Sen provided invaluable introductions. In Perth, Richard Howell guided me to a wealth of sources, David Weinman entertained me with tales of his time with Jah, while Helen Black put people and events into perspective.
For their friendship and practical help as well as a memorable evening watching the monsoon breaking over Golconda fort, I would like to thank Savitri Choudhuri and Vikram Chhatwal. My thanks also go to Juhee Ahmed, Tony Chapman, Sayyid Ahmed and Mohammed Jafer for sharing contacts and arranging a brief but unforgettable stay at the venerable Nizam Club. Vasant Kumar Bawa and his wife Shanti opened up their house and library for me. My driver Siddiq was remarkable for guiding his ancient Ambassador through Hyderabad’s chaotic traffic with the agility of a gazelle.
For their generous hospitality I would like to thank Divya and Xavier Pilkington and David and Elke Bourchier in Perth; Callam and Belinda Roscic at Murchison House Station; Emma Tarlo and Deni Vidal in London; Aman and Christine Rai and Bindu Batra in New Delhi; and Uma and Gerson da Cunha in Bombay.
The task of researching this book was made easier by the always helpful staff at the Oriental and India Office Collections at the British Library, the Archive Municipale in Nice, the Andhra Pradesh State Archives in Hyderabad, the National Archives of India in New Delhi, the Battye Library in Perth and the National Library in Canberra.
Extracts from the following books are reproduced with permission. Lord Birkenhead, Walter Monckton: The Life of Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, with permission of Weidenfeld and Nicholson, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group Ltd, London; William Dalrymple, White Mughals and The Age of Kali, Harper-Collins Publishers Ltd; John Lord, The Maharajahs, The Random House Group; Philip Playford, Carpet of Silver, with permission of University of Western Australia Press.
This book would not have been possible without the financial and organisational backing of Asialink at the University of Melbourne, the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia–India Council. I would particularly like to thank Amanda Lawrence and Nikki Anderson of Asialink for their patience, Ivor Indyk for believing in the project, and the always efficient Asha Lele Das at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi. Susan Farrow at Travbiz in Sydney showed unflinching forbearance in arranging and constantly updating a complicated travel schedule.
Tom Gilliatt, my editor at Pan Macmillan, was an excellent guide and mentor for my first foray in the publishing world, and Brianne Tunnicliffe was a meticulous editor. My agent at Curtis Brown, Fiona Inglis, and her assistant, Pippa Masson, were incredibly supportive. Bem le Hunte and her husband Jan were wonderful for sharing ideas and offering advice. I would also like to thank my Editor-in-Chief at The Australian, Chris Mitchell, for seeing the wisdom in allowing me to have time off.
I am indebted in more ways than I can ever describe to my wife Niki, who coaxed me into writing this book and then paid the price by having to juggle children, schools and her own projects while I immersed myself in travel, research and writing. Her support never faltered and her enthusiasm after reading the manuscript gave me the strength to finish the task. This book is in many ways also hers. Finally I would like to thank my parents, George and Alexandra, for their encouragement, and my children, Adele, Alexander, Jonathon and Nicolas, for putting up with a sometimes moody and often exhausted father.