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'Harem’ is a derivative of Arabic word 'harim’ which means private quarters of women. But when it comes to India, the `harems’ are known as 'zanana’. Interestingly, in Persian 'zan' means woman, hence 'zanana’ that in due course has become ‘Zenana’. Nizams of Hyderabad were known for their Zenana. Though almost all Nizams had their own Zenana, it was the sixth Nizam Mehboob Ali Khan (Born in 1869 and died in 1912) who outscores both his predecessors as well as successors in terms of possessing multiple sexual partners.

Mehboob Ali Khan, had the largest collection of women in his harem. There was no doubt over the fact that the sixth Nizam had a jumbo size harem compared to any one else in the dynasty. According to the noted writer Narendra Luther, there is no single authentic figure available regarding the numbers of women who made Mehboob’s harem their home. "The figures usually vary from one source to another. But it certainly ran into hundreds," he clarifies.

Mehboob Ali Khan’s penchant for women and liquor had caused considerable ripples. So much so that, the Resident, usually an English army colonel, wanted the young Nizam to shift away from the Mahtab Mahal, one of the four palaces in Chow Mohalla complex near Charminar. This move was vigorously opposed by the ladies of the harem. In the end, the sixth Nizam moved into the Purani Haveli. Incidentally, a high wall separated the ladies quarter from the bachelors quarters in Purani Haveli. Since Mehboob was not yet a major, he was allowed to spend only a night in the ladies quarter, once a week. But once the young Nizam craved desperately for the warmth of the ladies quarter and in his moments of desperation he and his friends nearly airlifted an inmate from the other side of the wall. But once Mehboob became a man there was no looking back for him.

Mehboob was a passionate hunter and used to give hot chases to tigresses, his favourite game. Resident George Yule, once while complimenting the Nizam on his hunting abilities, said your highness is a tiger yourself. The Nizam’s fascination with women did not end in the harem. He had appointed Amazon guards who kept close watch over the harem. The Amazon guards, who did not take part in regular warfare though, comprised of women alone.

Actually Mehboob Ali Khan’s sole claim to fame was not because of his large harem. A quintessential dandy, the sixth Nizam was the first Hyderabadi to wear Western dresses. When the motor car arrived in the last decade of the century, the Nizam was the first to acquire one. The sixth Nizam of Hyderabad had the largest wardrobe in the world that came to occupy one full wing in his residence, the Purani Haveli. The whole wing, which accommodated his clothes and shoes was 176 feet in length. Not only that, both the historians and others who knew him personally, unanimously agree that Mehboob Ali Khan was a large-hearted man, besides being a generous ruler. He lived his life in abundance of 'sarab’ and 'saki’. His demise at the early age of 43 was mostly due to the fact that he hit the bottle far too much. But he lived 'bindaas’ in typical Hyderabadi lingo.

- Rudy Mohan