Adjacent to the Royal Enclave is the
‘Sadar Manzil’. ‘Sadar’ means cantonment. The Sadar Manzil was the royal
courtroom of the Nawabs, who ruled the Bhopal state from here. The building has a large entrance with
a massive wooden door. The main gate has a huge terrace balcony on
first floor. Four domes in each corner on the second floor adorn the royal
gate. On each side of the main gate there is a lining of rooms on the
ground and first floors of the building. A high rise room and its terrace
on the second floor were used for night watching and guarding the premises.
Inside the gate is a large courtyard
with a beautiful fountain at the centre. A large podium overlooks this
garden and was the seat of the ruler. Each side of the stage has
windows for the royal women to watch the court proceedings. The structure of the building is
rectangular with a central open space and rooms on sides. A staircase from
the stage leads to rooms on the first floor, indicating that the first
floor was accessible only to the royal family. Today this premises is used
as the head quarters of Municipal Corporation of Bhopal where elected
representatives decide the destiny of the city of Bhopal. It is a great
change for a civilization when a seat once occupied by men with swords is
occupied by men and women with ideas.
