Just sixty kilometers (one and a half hour) from Delhi, lies the home of the cricket legend Nawab Mansur Ali Khan – better known as Tiger; his wife Sharmila Tagore of Bollywood fame, and their celebrity son Saif Ali Khan.

Tread the luxury of sprawling gardens at The Pataudi Palace, an oasis in the verdant countryside of Haryana. The noble, white palace built by Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan, was designed by Heinz in 1935, stretching the proportions and scale of the grand residences of Imperial Delhi. Stunning verandahs frame vast skies with views over the garden of roses and cypress. The bedrooms are spacious, royal, dream spaces with old-style baths, while the table is fi ne Nawabi cuisine with Bhopal-Rampur savours. A magnifi cient conference room retains the fl avour of historic meetings where you too can confer. One of the must visit places near New Delhi for a weekend get-away in a group, among the royal surroundings that give you a feel of an era gone by, Pataudi Palace is a must visit spot for those seeking opulence and serenity along with a feel of history.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• The house of Pataudi traces its history to the Barench clan who a thousand years ago, held the territory between Kandhahar and Pishin with the capital at Shurawak.
• Today this area straddles their Afghanistan–Pakistan border north west of Quetta.
• The earliest ruler on record is Sardar Shams Khar (1190-1280), the grandson of Barench, the patriach of the family.
• The Indian connection began two hundred years later in 1480, when Bahlul Lodi, the Afghan Sultan of Delhi, invited Salamat Khan Barench to subdue the recalcitrant bands of Mewatis concentrated around Delhi.
• By 1800 it had become evident that the British were to be the supreme power on the sub-continent and in 1803 Faiz Talab Khan, with his relatives and followers, presented himself to Lord Lake. He was awarded Pataudi in perpetuity on the 24th of October 1804.
• After 324 years spent in the ceaseless pursuit of glory and wealth, the Barench now settled in areas which were clearly demarcated and over which they held hereditary rights. They could now call themselves ‘Nawabs’.
• Faiz Talab Khan died in 1831 and was succeeded by Akbar Ali Khan, the architect of modern Pataudi – a visionary who steered his state through the turbulent and treacherous years which culminated in the upheaval of 1857.
• Then, in 1971, the Constitution of India abolished the status of royalty in the India and all royal privileges were withdrawn. And so began another chapter in the history of the family.

How To Reach:

http://www.neemranahotels.com/pataudi/access.html.htm

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Climate: Autumn/Winter/Spring: October to April. Max. 31oC, Min. 11oC

Summer: May & June Max. 42o C, Min 25oC

Monsoon: July to September Max. 25oC, Min 22oC

Contact Details: Village Pataudi, District Gurgaon, Haryana

Tel: (0124)-2672244 Fax : 0124-2672976

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