We must start valuing ancestral homes, havelis

While the nearby state of Rajasthan has several examples where royals have sustained their palaces as an important part of living heritage, Haryana cannot boast

While the nearby state of Rajasthan has several examples where royals have sustained their palaces as an important part of living heritage, Haryana cannot boast of the same. Most of the palaces and forts in Haryana, whether public or private, are in a very dilapidated condition. So, the Pataudi Palace recently purchased back by actor Saif Ali Khan restored and being reused by him and his family, as his ancestral property is a good model for the old nobles and haveli owners in the region. In Rajasthan, it was the royals who set the trend for haveli owners to take pride in their traditional houses, to retain them as traditional homes as much as possible, or to convert at least a part/whole into heritage hotels for sustenance.

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Pataudi, located about 29 km from Gurugram, was founded in the reign of Jalal-ud-din Khilji in the 13th century by a Mewati chieftain, Pata, after whom it was named Patodhi and later Pataudi. During Akbar’s reign, it was made into a pargana and was combined with Rewari. During the British takeover in 1803, the town was granted as jagir to Nawab Faiz Talab Khan and since then till Independence, the British East India Company recognised it as a small princely state under the Nawab of Pataudi.

Like Gurugram, Pataudi was also part of the Delhi territory under the British, as shown in the Imperial Gazetteer in 1908. It was accessioned as part of India after Independence in 1948 and became part of the Gurgaon (now Gurugram) district with formation of Haryana as a state. The first palace-home of Nawab of Pataudi was Akbari Manzil, which is also an interesting example of Indo-Saracenic architecture built after 1857, though it is much smaller in scale than the palace.

When the 8th nawab of Pataudi, Iftikhar Ali Khan (a cricketer), married the Begum of Nawab, he felt that his earlier family home was not suitable for living with his regal bride. So, a completely new palace was commissioned to be designed in 10 acres of land to the British architect Robert Tor Russell. The old family home was converted into a kacheri of the state. Robert Tor was also the architect who designed the Connaught Place. So, it is not surprising that the Pataudi Palace clearly stands in its pristine white glory as an example of colonial architecture reflecting grandeur similar to the imperial villas in Delhi. Robert Tor Russell was also assisted by Austrian architect Karl Molt von Heinz in designing this lavish palace, which has a total of 150 rooms (big and small) including 7 bedrooms with 7 dressing rooms, 7 billiard rooms as well as grand drawing rooms and dining rooms.

The palace was inherited by Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan (last titular Nawab and also a famous cricketer) and it housed a cricket ground in the landscaped area. The palace was leased by him to a group of hotels for a period of 17 years to be run as a boutique heritage hotel. It functioned as a hotel from 2005-14 and a number of Bollywood and Hollywood movies were shot in this picturesque palace. However, Saif Ali Khan’s buying back of this ancestral palace is a great inspiration for haveli and historical bungalow owners in the city to value their ancestral homes. One also hopes that this passion for heritage in the Pataudi family will extend to the Pataudi town and surrounding areas.

(Shikha Jain is state convenor, INTACH, Haryana Chapter, and member of the Heritage Committees under the ministries of culture and HRD. She is the co-editor of the book ‘Haryana: Cultural Heritage Guide’; director, DRONAH Development and Research Organisation.)