Princess Esra Birgin and her tryst with

Hyderabad

Esra was a great beauty with brains and class. No wonder Nehru agreed to allow the marriage.

Esra married this little boy. He grew up to be the fabulously wealthy Nizam of Hyderabad. And then pissed most of it away. As the mother of his heir, she's now in charge of the purse strings and trying to salvage the family fortune.

Princess Esra and Prince Mukkaram Jah at his coronation as the Nizam of Hyderabad

They were an international Golden Couple

Princess Esra , 1974

Ruya (left) lives in the same building as her cousin Princess Esra Jah (middle). They are descended from the Ottoman sultans that ruled Turkey

The Guinea Mrs. Wafic Said and Princess Esra Jah

The rise of a PrincessAfter 30 years of collapse of their marriage, Princess Esra had returned in the last Nizam Mukarram Jah’s life in 2000 to set his finances in order. A decade later, the princess is being seen as an increasingly important figure, the last word on the Nizam’s properties. Princess Esra is credited with the restoration of Chowmahalla Palace and Falaknuma Palace.

She initiated a project for the royal palaces in August 2000. The restoration project for Chowmahalla Palace involved tasks ranging from stabilizing the existing structural components to reconstitution of collapsed and dilapidated sections of the complex, restoration of external and internal spaces and of decorative elements and finishes.

The Falaknuma Palace was mainly used only for banquets and and grand occasions. There were five palaces to take care of and over several thousand staff to take care. In addition to it, were the heavy taxes which was affecting the palaces' upkeep. But luckily the charitable trust came to our rescue to some extent at that time. So in 1994 it was handed over to the Taj group. For sometime nothing was moving as restoration was not easy. Everything had to be re-built, paintings and photographs had to be restored which took a lot of time,” explains Princess Esra.

Princess Esra in the family home, the Falaknuma Palace. She's turned it into a luxury hotel in Hyderabad.

Turkey-born Princess Esra was

instrumental in restoring the famous

Chowmahalla Palace near Charminar and

Falaknuma Palace, presently on lease to a

leading hotel chain.

Princess Esra Birgin, former wife of the

eighth Nizam Prince Mukarram Jah,

requested Chief Minister K.

Chandrasekhar Rao to use his good offices

to bring back the lost glory of Hyderabad.

Azam Jah , Shehkar Jah, Princess Esra Jah and Azmet Jah ( Royalty India )

REFERENCES1.Eaton Square Dance, Thursday,29 August 2013Popular: Ruya Mocan and Princess Esra Jahwww.eatonsq.blogspot.in2. The Princess diaries-Prabhalika M.Borahwww.thehindu.com3.www.greattelangana.info4. The Rise of a Princess, The Times Of India Hyderabad;

Date: Nov 10, 2010;Section: Its All Fair;Page: 2