Hyderabad, Jan. 8 -- Three years ago, in 2023, the last and eight titular Nizam of Hyderabad, Mukarram Jah, passed away at the age of 89, leaving behind a legacy that in some ways will always remind the city of his rather unceremonious life. Mukarram Jah is now remembered more as the man who squandered away the wealth of his grandfather (the seventh Nizam) Mir Osman Ali Khan (1911-48), who was once the world's richest man.

However, one of his ex-wives, Esra Yegane (also known as princess Esra), over the last few decades emerged as the figure who began slowly fixing things, or the legacy of Mukarram Jah. From the Chowmahalla Palace (which has been restored and is open to the public) to the Falaknuma Palace (on lease to the Taj Group of Ho...