Koti Women's College Hyderabad: Epitome of Love of a Hyderabadi Princess and a British Resident Officer.

Hyderabad keeps on surprising me with its jewels spread across the city.  

One among these jewels is College for Women in Koti. Many Hyderabadi women have right to boast that they were the student of college of love,” Koti Women's College” which is not just a grand building, but was purpose built for love.

Lieutenant Colonel James Achilles Kirkpatrick ,his wife Khair-un-Nissa with Children 

When the British left Hyderabad in 1949, the Koti residency was converted into Women’s college. Now Koti Women's College lies in the heart of the most favorite commercial and busiest market of Hyderabad.

The man who built it, had come India to conquer the country, but it was he who was conquered, not by an army… but by a Hyderabadi woman.

Koti Womens College College-Hyderabad 

For some strange reason, most love stories do not have a happy fairy-tale ending. Very rarely we come across a story that ends with “and they all lived happily ever after”.

This love story is between British Resident Officer James Achilles Kirkpatrick (1764-1805),  a high-ranking diplomat from the East India Company at the court of Hyderabad and Khair un-Nissa (1786-1813), the great niece of the Prime Minister in court of Nizam of Hyderabad state).

Students and Professors of Koti Womens College-Hyderabad

Koti Women's college began its life as the residence of the British Resident in the Deccan region on the the land provided by the Nizam in 1803. 

Both wanted to be as far away from each other yet with the ability to keep an eye on the other.  Hence this place was chosen across the River Musi.

British officer of East India Company drinking Hukka

And the Love story of James Achilles Kirkpatrick (British resident Officer in court of Nizam Hyderabad) and  Princess Khair-u-nissa goes on

Love is said to be the strongest emotion that a human can possess. It is the very emotion that connects two souls with an unbreakable bond.

It not only connects you with the fellow beings but will help you realize your purpose on earth and gives you strength to do things you could never imagine.

v  James Achilles Kirkpatrick was a high-ranking diplomat from the East India Company at the court of Hyderabad, who was so captivated by Indo-Persian culture after travelling to India with imperialist intentions? 

He quickly gave up his English habits and wardrobe and replaced them with nauch parties and Mughal-style outfits.

v   Kirkpatrick, who likes many other British, went completely native, adopting the native dress and social ways. He smoked a hookah, wore Indian style mustachios and had his fingers dyed in henna. 

Moreover James had taken on the Eastern habit of belching appreciatively after meals.

A Nauch girl in a mehfil of Britishers

v  With fluent Hindustani and Persian, he openly mingled with the elite of Hyderabad. Kirkpatrick was adopted by the Nizam of Hyderabad, who invested him with many titles: mutamin ul mulk ('Safeguard of the kingdom'), hushmat Jung ('Valiant in battle'), nawab fakhr-ud-dowlah bahadur ('Governor, pride of the state, and hero').

Princess Khair-un-Nissa

v  He fell in love with the grand-daughter Khair-un-Nissa of the Prime Minister of Hyderabad.The union, however, would not be so easy, as she was a Sayyadi and he was part of the East India Company, who hated the Nizams’ guts. 

A British Resident in court of Nawab

v  Though ostensibly the mission of British Resident Kirkpatrick was to build political bridges with the Nizam, while hidden agenda was to expand British territory, but he was vanquished by the bewitching beauty of Khair un-Nissa — ‘most excellent among women’.

v  In a picture of Khair un-Nissa, dated 1806, "she still looks, a little more than a child: a graceful, delicate shy creature with porcelain skin, an oval face and dark brown eyes". No wonder she stole the heart of the young Resident, who first saw her at a royal wedding from behind a curtain.

v  Then the love story takes the course of a legendary ballad, with the hero overcoming many obstacles, including breaking off the heroine’s engagement to a local nobleman and facing stern reprimands and wrath of his ‘superiors’. But as true love knows no impediments, Kirkpatrick converts to Islam and marries his lady love.

  Local officials said they would allow the marriage only on the condition that he “strives for the best interests of the Hyderabadi government.” He accepted the conditions, and they got married in 1801. James thus became a double agent for the Nizam Government.

Now here tragedy is waiting for Young Lovers

v  Upon hearing of the marriage, and James’ conversion into Islam, the newly appointed governor of India Lord Rickard Wessesley summoned him to Calcutta, where he was reprimanded and dismissed from his position. Wellesley strongly disapproved British-Indian liaisons.

v  Kirkpatrick later fell ill and died in Calcutta, in 1805. Khair became a widow at a young age of 19. Despite the tragic ending, the estate that he constructed for her, 

the Residency building, which later became the Koti Women’s College, still remains as an epitome of their love.

v  Although she, as a disgraced woman consequent to the love affair, she was not allowed by her family to return to Hyderabad for some years, with the death of a senior male relative she was eventually allowed to return, and in Hyderabad on 22 September 1813 aged 27.

v  Kirkpatrick and Khair-un-Nissa together had two children: a son, Mir Ghulam Ali Sahib Allum and a daughter, Noor-un-Nissa Sahib Begum. Their father sent them to England to live with their grandfather Colonel James Kirkpatrick, in London and Keston, Kent, shortly before his own, unexpected death at a young age.

 The colourful romance ends on a tragic note with Kirkpatrick deciding to send their children to Britain and he himself dying alone in Calcutta on way to his homeland.

 "James had died among strangers… and far from everyone he loved… he was laid in the muddy monsoon ground. In place of tears, there was a cold military salute." And finally Khair, too, died alone on September 22, 1813, aged only 27, in Hyderabad

And that is the story of Koti Women’s College Hyderabad, and the man who built it. Someone who had come to India to conquer the country, but it was he who was conquered, not by an army… but by a Hyderabadi woman.

 

Khair, the lovely princess, is still remembered by the Telangana Government. They named a tourist boat after her.

Painting of Residency.

Present Koti market chauraha Hyderabad

   After death of James Achilles Kirkpatrick , Khair-un-Nissa was seduced by James's assistant, Henry Russel who replaced him as resident in Hyderabad. She remained his mistress at Masulipatnam, after being banned from returning to Hyderabad. 

La After on a visit to Madras, Russel fell for a half-Portuguese beauty and married her. Ultimately, the ban was lifted and Khair-un-Nissa returned to Hyderabad where she died on September 22, 1813 aged 27.

   This story is set to come alive in a movie based on a novel by Scottish author William Dalrymple.

     Written and posted by Engr Maqbool Akram, with the help of Wikipedia and other materials available on Net  with thanks.

Mysterious Story Of Princess Niloufer’s Brooch of Hyderabad

This is mysterious story of a brooch (which a jeweler, in disguise, copied a stunning design from the French).This was in custody of Princess Niloufer of Hyderabad. She was married to Prince Moazzam Jaah in 1931. This mysterious tale of Princess Niloufer’s Brooch starts In 1869. The Emperor of France, Napoleon III and his wife, Empress Eugenie visited Istanbul in Turkey.  At that time, Sultan Abdul Aziz ruled the Ottoman Empire. 

Diamond Brooch of Empress Eugenie of France

On social occasions during the visit, Empress Eugenie sported a diamond belt Brooch on her dress. The jewel sparkled and glittered in the dazzling light of the chandeliers in the palace.  Many of the Turkish ladies, watching the Empress from behind latticed screens, were impressed by the sparkle in the Brooch. When word went back to the Sultan about the buckle, he resolved to get it copied.  

Empress Eugenie of France

But how do you get an Empress to show her belt brooch? In the end, it was very simple. A jeweler was invited to an event where the Empress was to be present. Assuming that the Empress would be standing for some time, the jeweler dressed as a woman and stood behind the latticed screens.

Unfortunately for him, the Empress was carried away by the music from the Turkish band and danced the entire evening.  The jeweler did the best he could to observe and copy the pattern of the Brooch. You can see the Empress’s Brooch and what the jeweler created.

Princess Niloufer  the last beguiling Ottoman Princess of Hyderabad

Although not exactly the same, the result was still quite an astounding masterpiece. Having designed it, the jeweler then set about fixing the diamonds.  To maximize the reflection, he cut each diamond in the shape of a rose. It took 40 diamonds to complete the brooch. When he showed it to the ladies at the palace, they were suitably impressed.

This buckle passed from Sultan Abdul Aziz to Sultan Murad V. In turn, Murad V gave it to his granddaughter, Princess Adile Sultana.  When Adile’s daughter Niloufer married Moazzam Jah in 1931, this buckle was part of her wedding trousseau. 

Napoleon iii Emperor of France

As soon as she reached Hyderabad, Princess Niloufer realized it would be of no use in a land of sarees. She had a pin installed on the back of the buckle, and used it as a brooch. After her divorce in 1952, Princess Niloufer went to Paris.  Much later, when she married Edward Pope, she had changed to wearing clothes in the European style. The brooch was not used much, and it lay consigned to a box. After her death, Edward Pope moved back to USA. When he married Evelyn Maddox, he gave her the brooch. 

The Ottoman Caliph Sultan Abdul Aziz

Upon Edward’s death, Evelyn distributed many of the Niloufer papers and paraphernalia to institutions. After Evelyn death in 2014, her son listed That Brooch for auction. Luckily due to keen interest taken by Mr Arvind Acharya, a fan of Hyderabad’ history, this Brooch is kept in a safe box in a bank in the United States. Here ends the mysterious Tale Of Princess Niloufer’s Brooch.

Empress Eugenie  and Emperor Napoleon iii of France

The Story of this mysterious Brooch of Princess Niloufer’s of Hyderabad has been posted by Engr Maqbool Akram-----With help of Wikipedia and other materials available on net 

Niloufer: The beguiling Last Ottoman princess of Hyderabad

The Beguiling Princess Begum Niloufer Khanum Sultana Farhat (1916 –1989) was one of the last princesses of the Ottoman Empire. She was born in the Goztepe Palace in Istanbul in Turkey. Princess was married with Prince Moazzam Jaah, the second son of the Nizam of Hyderabad, His Exalted Highness Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan.

Niloufer was born at a time when her mother's family was ruling the Ottoman Empire. Her father was Damad Moralizada Salaruddin Bey Effendi, a prominent member of the Ottoman court. Her mother, Adile Sultan, was a daughter of Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin, the eldest son of Sultan Murad V, and a sister of Sultan Abdülmecid II, the last caliph.

Niloufer, at the age of eight, moved with her parents into exile in Nice in France. At the end of World War I, the ruling dynasty was deposed and Turkey was declared a republic. Later, in 1924, the Ottomans were exiled from Turkey. They settled in France. 

Princess Niloufer

This resulted Sultan, Abdul Majid II, who also had the title of the Khalifa, to give up his palatial possessions. For the Muslims worldwide, this was a low point in their history when the Khalifa himself became a poor man.

At that time, rescue came from the Nizam of Hyderabad.  The Nizam promised Khalifa a pension of 300 British Pounds a month.  On this income, the Khalifa maintained his establishment. 

The deposition of the Khalifa was a significant political event. During this Khilafat movement, to restore the Khalifat, Maulana Shoukat Ali came to be on very friendly terms with the Khalifa. Seeing that the Khalifa had no son, Shoukat Ali proposed that the Khalifa’s daughter, Durru Shehvar, be married to Azam Jaah the elder son of Nizam.

Prince Moazama Jaah and Princess Niloufer

The negotiations for the terms of the marriage started, but soon broke down as the Nizam felt that the requirement for the Mehr was exorbitant.  Eventually, the Nizam was able to get two marriages within the specified amount.

 On December 20, 1931, at her maternal uncle's Palace in Nice, Niloufer was married at age 16 to Moazzam Jaah, second son of the last ruling Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam's elder son and heir was married to Niloufer's first cousin, Dürrü şehvar, daughter of Sultan Abdülmecid II. The Khalifa himself acted as the Qazi.

They were taught how to wear sarees, and the expected etiquette in the presence of the Nizam.  With great trepidation, they boarded the train to Hyderabad.

Thus, one of the last princesses of the Ottoman Empire, Princess Niloufer brought grace and rebellion to conservative India upon marrying Moazzam Jaah. Pushing boundaries with her sense of style and challenging traditional norms for women, she encouraged others to follow their hearts too.

Princess Niloufer

Niloufer and Moazzam Jaah moved in to magnificent Hill Fort palace. It was a large palace, purchased from the previous owner, Sir Nizamat Jung. Who served as chief justice in the government of Nizam, India. This building still stands, on the ascent from Public Gardens to Noubat Pahad.  

Hill Fort Palace Hyderabad

Prince Moazzam Jaah was a poet himself and almost every evening, Moazzam Jaah organized a Mushaera.  Many well known names were present in the gatherings. Fond of a lavish lifestyle, he doted on his wife and got her painted and photographed. Life seemed to be hunky-dory.

Princesses Durru Shehvar and Niloufer were distant cousins. So when they moved to Nice, France, Princess Niloufer noticed a drastic change in her lifestyle,”. “Princess Durru Shehvar’s father was Abdülmecid II, the last Caliph of the Muslim world; a position held with respect and utmost dignity in the community.

Princess Niloufer’s mother Adile Sultan was a widow and that lowered her social strata. In her letters, Princess Niloufer writes how she had to go to public schools while Princess Durru Shehvar had private tutors coming home.

 The first daughter in-law Durru Shehvar gave birth to a son, Mukarram Jaah. When several years passed, and still Niloufer had not conceived, she consulted various doctors in Europe and was planning to go to America for a medical visit.

This ravishing princess also had a heart that beat for others. When she saw her maid servant, Rafat-un-nisa, die during childbirth she got devastated. She did not remain content with just sympathizing with the bereaved family but decided to do something for women in general. “Hereafter, no more Rafats shall die for want of good medical facilities,” she resolved.

This tragic incident led to the establishment of a hospital for women and children which the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, named after his daughter-in-law, the present “NILOFAR HOSPITAL” in Red Hills.

Moazzam Jaahi Market

While her private life seemed empty due to lack of children, her public life became very glittering.  She was invited to several functions, inaugurated several events and became a torch-bearer for women’s advancement.

Meanwhile, the specialist doctors in Europe were unable to deduce a solution to her childlessness. In 1948, 17 years after his marriage to Niloufer, her husband Moazzam took a second wife, Razia Begum, daughter of local aristocracy in Hyderabad.

The second marriage was quickly blessed with children and three daughters were born within four years. Eventually, in 1952, after 21 years of marriage, Niloufer and her husband were divorced.

 Princesses Niloufer was judged one of the 10 most beautiful women in the world, and was offered several roles in films. Niloufer had a style of dressing that attracted the public and caught the attention of the fashion media. Her sarees were especially crafted by Madhavdas, a designer from Bombay. 

When India became independent, Niloufer was in a peculiar position.  Hyderabad had yet to decide on joining the Indian Union.  As this situation dragged on, eventually Hyderabad was amalgamated into the Indian Union by a “Police Action”. 

Although the Nizam was retained as the Head of the State, he was just a shadow of his former self. Niloufer decided never to return to India again. Her marriage with Moazzam Jaah came to an end in 1952.  She continued to live in Paris, with her mother, in a flat.

After her divorce, Niloufer moved to France where the Ottoman family had settled after their exile from Turkey. A number of other royal exiles from several countries were also settled in Nice and the Côte d'Azur and Niloufer maintained an active social life. On February 21, 1963, in Paris, Niloufer married Edward Julius Pope, an American war hero, author, and film producer. She died in Paris in 1989 and was buried next to her mother.

Royal Darbar Hall of Nizams in Khilwat Shareef in Hyderabad

 Princess Niloufer Farhat Begum of Hyderabad was the ‘Kohinoor of Hyderabad’ and one of the most beautiful women in the world. “Princess Niloufer’s extraordinary beauty made her an object of admiration by the public.

Written with help of materials available on net and posted by Engr Maqbool Akram