Though it is five years since Rashtrapati Nilayam is open to
public for a week, immediately after the sojourn of the President, we could go
there only today, Saturday, 18th July 2015. We heard and read about it many
times before and today we could witness it in its entire splendor and enjoyed
our trip as you can see in the above video.
The President normally visits this residence in winter and
conducts official business from here. But this year he has come in July. This
is his Southern sojourn, a 98 acre estate, with well furnished rooms and
buildings, beautiful landscaping, ornamental lawns, floral gardens, fountains, plenty
of wild and fruit bearing trees, a herbal garden and now a Nakshatra Vatika. In
the main single storeyed President’s Wing, where the President resides there is
a grand Darbar Hall, Morning room,
Cinema Hall, Dining room, Dining Hall and another seven living rooms/suites,
all connected by a grand corridor which you can see in the above video. The
adjacent buildings are the Family Wing and the ADC Wing. The dining hall in the
President’s wing is connected to a distantly located Kitchen through an
underground tunnel!
These buildings and the estate was constructed by Nizam
Nazir-ud-Dowla, the ruler of Hyderabad in 1860 for his recreation. It was
later, on the request of the British Army handed over to the British Resident and
began to be called as Residency House. After the annexation of Hyderabad State
in 1948 by the Indian Government, this estate was bought by the Central Government
and it began to serve as the President’s annual retreat in the South.
It is definitely a place to see, more as a lovely, huge and
interesting garden and of course as it is a residence of our President. Tomorrow
is the last day for visiting, if you cannot make it this time, watch out and
don’t miss the next time it is open.
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