Chief Minister Kamal Nath inaugurated MP Tourism’s rooftop resto of Minto Hall, the royal ‘1909 The Crown of Bhopal’, it represents historic grandeur of the city. Scroll down for more details!

Bhopal: ‘1909 The Crown of Bhopal’, a rooftop restaurant of Minto Hall.

Chief Minister Kamal Nath while inaugurating the royal landmark said that tourism sector will be promoted to strengthen the Madhya Pradesh’s economy. Tourism is an economic activity, which involves services, entertainment and job creation, he further added.

Quoting to ministers and citizens who were present at the gathering in MP Tourism’s most awaited and freshest launch of 1909 The Crown of Bhopal’, rooftop resto, Nath said that tourism will be encouraged in the state on a massive scale.

MP Tourism’s launch out is successful, people have rushed as apart from , Minister of Tourism Surendra Singh Baghel, Cooperatives Dr Govind Singh, Public Relations P C Sharma, Minority Welfare Arif Aqueel, Member of Parliament Alok Sanjar and Mayor of Bhopal Alok Sharma were present during the inauguration along with citizens who had visited the resto on it’s first day of official launch.

Weaved from culture & old by lanes of city: Ravisha Merchant

The restaurant’s theme was carved out keeping in mind the intricate details from Nawabi period and is designed by Ravisha Thacker Merchant and team under the studio project of Trivera Designs.

“We procured gulabdan and pandan from Antique Market and didn’t keep the look of it British because we wanted people to connect from the city of lakes,” said Ravisha Merchant, designer and architect at Tree Trunk Studio and Trivera Designs.

Uniquely Nawabi: Ravisha Merchant

1909 The Crown of Bhopal took me through the history of Bhopal, we weaved a story for the visitors through little details inspired from city’s culture and heritage. Every curio is handpicked from the old bylanes of the city to lift the theme. The breathtaking view from the roof top wins it all!,” said Ravisha Merchant, designer and architect at Tree Trunk Studio and Trivera Designs.

From Central Provinces to Madhya Pradesh, Nawab (a Muslim nobleman of high status) and Nawabi culture have been the hallmark of the city.

The ambiance of the resto is a Bhopali bliss and it offers delicious delicacies, a special set of facilities unlike ever before in the city, which includes telescope for stargazing, virtual image formations on the dining table, and exhibition of photographs that display historic extravagant and golden culture from past.

The inauguration was held at dusk, sun slowly dimmed and golden lighting lit up the rooftop diner in the city of lakes.

A look back at Minto Hall

The Minto Hall was constructed in the year 1909 by Nawab Sultanjahan Begum, keeping in mind the requirement of a guest house near the Raj Bhawan. The building was named after Lord and Lady Minto as a mark of British Raj in the province. The architectural style of Minto Hall is visibly Indo-British, a fusion of British and the provincial Nawabi architecture of Bhopal.

In the year 1946, Minto Hall was converted to Hamidia College, which later moved to its own building. After independence in 1947, the hall was converted into the State Assembly, it too was moved to a new building in 1996. The building is mix of Mughal, and British architecture and was cleaned outside through sand blasting technique while the repairing work was done by using lime, surkhi, gur, bel and other traditional ingredients.

Minto Hall was housed as the Vidhan Sabha for Madhya Pradesh till 1996 and the government invested over Rs 32 crore in its renovation.

Technologically advanced

Minto Hall was developed as international convention centre and was inaugurated last year. The hall is managed by smart building management system (BMS) where map and important installations are marked on the software and could be controlled by sitting on one computer.Controls including fire fighting system, adjustment of lights (making them dim or bright, or change colours) or sound are centrally controlled by BMS. Landscaping has been done to keep the grandeur of the old era intact which further accentuates and showcases another exclusive feature of the city, greenery.

The rooftop eatery stop ‘1909–The Crown of Bhopal’ and viewer’s gallery complete the MP Tourism’s freshest for the visitors. The cafeteria will offer a view of splendid sprawling green lawns and the Lower Lake. Whereas the gallery gives a glimpse of Bhopal’s rich heritage and history besides showcasing contemporary art in the gallery.

Story by Hemali Khanna

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