The Residency

The Nizams built palaces. Their nobles built havelis. How the British Resident Officer of those days could have remained behind? A story, which makes round with the old Hyderabadis, runs like this.
In 1798, the British Resident Officer requested the Nizam for a sanction of about 60 acres of land for building his own residence. The officer presented a sketch of the area map on a large sheet of paper. Unfamiliar with the principle of scale, the Nizam thought that this officer was asking for his whole kingdom and rejected the request. Once again, the officer prepared the same plan on a paper of the size of a visiting card. This time the Nizam sanctioned the request readily and the British officer built a magnificent mansion for himself on this land. Not only that, this Resident officer married a local Muslim lady and built a special 'Rang Mahal'(Pleasure House) for her. This Residency was considered the best British mansion in India - next only to the Governer-General's residence in Calcutta!
Now, this Residency houses the University College for Women of Osmania University.