Dear Listers, The mention of Nizam's Palace in Calcutta in Harshawardhan's posting reminded me that this property in Calcutta and a similar one, now called the Hyderabad Estate, situated on the outward-facing slope of the Malabar Hill in South Bombay, are located in prime areas of those cities and are owned by the Central Government. The mansions which stood on those properties have long been replaced by blocks of residential apartments. These blocks are allotted to senior civilian officers of various departments of the Central Government for a nominal rent during the Officers' postings in those cities. The properties are under the management of the Estate Officers in those cities. While no vestige of the erstwhile mansion remains in Calcutta - as far as I can recall - one can see the remains of some masonry work on the steep slope of the hill in Bombay. I guess that those are the remains of a formal garden that must have been laid out on the slope. I have lived in residential apartments in both these estates for several years. Arvind Kolhatkar, Toronto, August 12, 2008.