Renovation activity is afoot at the Mahatab Mahal of Chowmhalla Palace. The personnel in work are removing books of Asaf Jahi period. These books after four decades of neglect were recently shifted from Nazi Bagh Chiran Palace to Chowmahalla. The Chowmahall is going to be transformed into a library with a rare and value collection of books of Asaf Jahi Nizams who loved literature and were poets themselves. Research scholars can afford to access these sources.
According to the official estimates, the number of such books is 5,000-6,000 and they cover diverse subjects but a majority of the books are on history, art and culture. There are also several Islamic books in the collection.
The collection has been possible by pooling in books for the three Asaf Jahi palaces including Chowmahalla, Nazri Bagh and Chiran. It belongs to the VI Nizam (Mir Mahbood Ali Khan), VII Nizam (Osman Ali Khan) and the titular Nizam Mukarram Jah. Urdu, Arabic, Persian manuscripts, and rare collections of English books, most of which are from the UK and Mir Osman Ali Khan’s poetry comprise the collection.
Source: TOI