Shahjahan Begum and Her Shahjahanabad

This heritage walk unfolds the vision of Shahjahan Begum, the remarkable Nawab Begum of Bhopal, and her dream of creating her own city — Shahjahanabad. It begins at Gol Ghar, which started as a bird zoo, later became the Begum’s secretariat, and now stands as a vibrant photo museum. Here, we trace her legacy and ambition of designing a city that reflected both authority and imagination.

From there, the walk moves to Benazeer Palace, Shahjahan Begum’s elegant summer retreat

overlooking the tranquil Motiya Talab — one of the three cascading lakes she commissioned. The trail also touches upon the historic Benazeer Ground, where Mahatma Gandhi delivered a stirring freedom speech in the 1920s, binding the site to India’s struggle for independence.

The journey then takes you through the Falaknuma Gate, once a grand entry into Shahjahanabad,

before culminating at the awe-inspiring Taj-ul-Masajid. Among the largest mosques in Asia, it took

nearly a century to complete and today stands as a masterpiece of Islamic architecture , A fitting finale to the story of Shahjahan Begum’s reign and her city of dreams.

Places we will cover:

• Gol Ghar
• Benazeer Palace
• Motiya Talaab
• Benazeer Ground
• Falaknuma Gate
• Taj-ul-Masajid