Rashtrapati Nilayam : former Residency at Bolarum

     Someway ahead of Trimulgherry at Secunderabad Cantonment (the Lashkar, which is now part of the twin city of Secunderabad adjoining Hyderabad and separated by the Hussain Sagar) is an old colonial style building in splendid white situated in green environs made up of a variety of trees, shrubs and florals. There are interesting rock formations too at places adding to the quiet charm. This is the Bolarum Residency of yore, now called the Rashtrapati Nilayam, built around 1850-60 by the IVth Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab Nasir-ud-dowla. It was used as a country house by the Resident at Hyderabad.
         

Residency House, Bolarum, Pic by Lala Deen Dayal, 1892.

Gate at Rashtrapati Nilayam, pic from The Hindu (newspaper)

           Now it is the official southern retreat of the President of India. Every year the Hon'ble President stays here for a few days. The whole estate is made up of 97 acres and the building is of a single storey. The exteriors are in white which gives it a pristine and serene look. There are visitors quarters which can accommodate around 150 persons. There is a Dining hall connected by an underground tunnel to the kitchen, Darbar Room and Cinema Hall. The central block has two side wings. Originally there were 8 entrances, now 3 are present. The route to the main building is tree lined and rock formations are seen adding to the natural grandeur. The porch leads to a hallway with rooms on each side. The main building has a south facing drawing room with a north facing Billiards room, now called Cinema. The original Ballroom has a teak wooden floor which is now used as drawing room by the Hon'ble President of India to receive guests. The staff of the President use the Eastern Wing. However during the Resident's time it was the opposite, where staff used the western wing.  The estate has two large wells, with the water used for the house and garden. Many changes were made to the building over the years. 

        There are beautiful landscaped gardens in the campus, different flowering and fruit trees. The whole place is a herbalist's and nature lovers dream come true. There are varieties of medicinal and aromatic plants being grown on the estate. There are orchards of mango,pomegranate, guava, coconut and Indian gooseberry.  The Herbal Garden was inaugurated in 2009, by Smt. Pratibha Patil, Hon'ble President then.The jasmine, tulsi, rosemary, neeli,wild turmeric, passion fruit,tuberose, kalmegh, coriander, lemon grass, sarpagandha, samudrapala, citronella all find a place here. The Rudraksha,baobab tree, Cassia,fig tree and Calabash tree are also present. The Nakshatra Garden representing the 12 zodiacs and 27 lunar mansions was inaugurated in 2015 by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Hon'ble President of India at that time. Different fauna thrives on the estate. Butterflies, birds, monkeys and tree snakes too! The cobra also lives here, though if caught they are sent to the local zoo. There are grey hornbills, magpie robins, coppersmiths, purple sunbirds, prinias, mottled wood owls among others birds on the large estate.

Rashtrapati Nilayam, pic from The Hans India (newspaper)

  The Residents who stayed there include Richard Temple among others.  After the end of the First World War. Lord Chelmsford held a reception at the Residency for British and Indian Officers of all regiments and corps. The Earl of Willingdon similarly met over hundred British and Indian Officers in 1933 there.

 The Bolarum Residency has been a spectator to historic events. The first Chief Minister of Hyderabad State M. K Vellodi was sworn in on 1st December 1949 on the grounds of the Bolarum Residency. He used this awesome place as his Secretariat. It was renamed as Rashtrapati Nilayam in 1955. The first India President Dr. Rajendra Prasad came to the Rashtarpati Nilayam in 1956. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan as President first stayed there in 1962. President Zakir Hussain, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed  have stayed there.  Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip have stayed here in 1983. She was the guest of President Giani Zail Singh. President Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, President R. Venkataraman President K. R Narayanan and President Shankar Dayal Sharma have have stayed there too as it is the official retreat. President Abdul Kalam hosted a Bio-diesel workshop at Rashtrapati Nilayam and started plantations of fruit trees and initiated the Herbal Garden.

Rashtrapati Nilayam, pic from Deccan Herald (newspaper)

References :

1.https://www.deccanherald.com/content/127508/presidential-retreat-hyderabad-thrown-open.html

2.https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2018-01-02/Rashtrapati-Nilayam-opened-for-general-public/349456

3.www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-telangana/President-to-spend-five-days-in-city/article16922538.ece

4.The Presidential retreats of India/Wright, Gillian, ed. New Delhi : Publications Division,2015.

Posted by:

Soma Ghosh

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