21st August 2017.
This
scheduled walk of “The Arcot Nawabs Trail at Triplicane” kick-started on 20th
Aug 2017, after a delay of 20 minutes
around 06.20 hrs, from Madras University
entrance on Walajah Road. This walk is a part of Madras Day celebrations.
Registered for this walk well in advance. Since all the gates except one, of the PWD offices are closed, reached the back side of the Khalsa Mahal through a small passage. Mr. Anwar gifted us a small bottle of “ather”, a perfume extracted from natural flowers,
which is normally used by Muslims before going to the Mosque and functions. Then
he started explaining the details of the Kalsa Mahal and Humayun Mahal. The story of the Nawab’s Chepauk
Palace goes like this…
The
Carnatic usually refers to South India, once the power center of various
dynasties like the Mughals, Marathas, British, French, and also The Nawabs of Arcot.
This dynasty of Arcot was controlled by the Mughals and Marathas during the 17th
century. To date, the present Prince, Nawab Mohammad Abdul Ali holds the seat of
power as Arcot and Madras, presently called Chennai as their Home.
At
the end of the 17th Century, while Marathas are trying to establish their
base in South, Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor wants to overtake Marathas. So he sent Zulfikar Khan, who could not
do anything for about 6 years. Seeing this the local chieftain Yechamma
Nayak had written a letter to Aurangzeb saying that Zulfikar
Khan was fooling the Emperor and that if he was given power, he would defeat Marathas
within a weeks time. But the letter somehow landed in the hands of Zulfikar
Khan. So he called Yechamma Nayak cunningly for a meeting, without revealing,
how he got the letter written to the Emperor and killed him. After Marathas were defeated Zulfikar Khan was recalled to Delhi and also Zulfikar Khan was asked to make Yechamma Nayak's son to the throne. ( This shows that Aurangzeb knew the feud between Zulfikar Khan & Yechamma Nayak ). Saadatullah Khan or Mohammad Saiyid, the successor of Zulfikar Khan has become the Nawab of Arcot.
While
the Arcot Nawabs grew, the British East India Company also established their
stronghold from Fort St. George. The friendship between Nawabs and the British
also grew slowly. The British supplied liquor and expensive gifts to the Nawab
Daud Khan Panni, who was a drunkard. He has the funny character of giving
villages in a drunken state and asking the British to return back during normal.
Zulfikar
Khan’s successor Saadatullah Khan or Mohammad Saiyid wanted to suppress the
business of the British by establishing a Port at Mylapore but landed at Kovalam.
He invited Armenians and Belgium East India Company for the trade to get more revenue. Robert Clive and Dupleix clashed in the
wars of Carnatic, the British won the war and Mohammad Ali Wallajah came to the Power of Arcot. When Wallajah
wanted to move to Madras, where there were no friends, asked the British to build his Palace inside the St.George Fort which
was turned down. ( There is another version that the Governor himself asked Wallajah to build a Palace within the fort, which was denied ). A new Palace was built at Chepauk on the banks of River
Cooum. The Palace’s north boundary the present Madras University has become the
bathing ghat for the Wallajah.
The
present Chepauk Palace consists of two blocks namely Khalas Mahal, which was
built in the mid-1760s with minaret entrances on the west and south, and
Humayun Mahal with a single-story. It was believed that the Khalas
Mahal was designed by Paul Benfield. In
the meantime, the Khalas Mahal was taken over by the British for the debt of Wallajah. Robert
Chisholm made alterations in both blocks
and converted them into offices for the Revenue Board of Governor Lord Napier. The
original single-story Humayun Mahal was added with a madras terrace first floor. Both blocks are interconnected with a
75 feet tall domed and minaret square tower called Records Tower in 1870 CE, by Robert Chisholm.
Since
we were not allowed to enter the Khalas Mahal under renovation and all the gates were closed, we returned
back on the same way and headed towards Wallajah Big Mosque.
Khalas Mahal an old Photo – Courtesy:
The Hindu & Mr Muthiah
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