Palaces in India
Umaid Bhawan Palace
Umaid Bhawan Palace, located at Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India, is one of the
world's largest private residences. A part of the palace is managed by Taj
Hotels. Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, grandfather of the present owners of
the palace, this monument has 347 rooms and serves as the principal residence of
the erstwhile Jodhpur royal family.Umaid Bhawan Palace was called Chittar Palace
during its construction due to its location on Chittar Hill, the highest point
in Jodhpur. Ground for the foundations of the building was broken on 18 November
1929 by Maharaja Umaid Singh and the construction work was completed in 1943.
History
Mehrangarh was the soul of the Rathore clan that would never change. But tireless
builders that they were, Rao Jodha's original masterpiece had been altered
repeatedly. And some of the alterations were in the powerful Moghul style that
dominated much of the country's landscape. Its scalloped arches, domes, floral
carvings, botanical paintings, water courses etc. Umaid Singh's Chittar Palace,
on the other hand, brought back the Rajput tradition.The majesty of the palace
was only to be expected. It was, after all, built by a blood line that probably
went back all the way to the Rashtrakutas, the Kshatriya kings responsible for
creating one of the oldest Hindu architectural traditions in India with the
Kailasanatha temple strewn from living rock.Umaid Singh grew up on the cusp of a
world in transition. The East India Company (aka the John Company) had been
humbled by the great uprising in the Indian sepoy troops. The rebellion ushered
in the British Imperialist era, and since the Rajputs remained loyal to the John
Company, the British aristocracy grudgingly welcomed the princely states into
their club. Umaid Singh, already integrated into the traditions of the past, was
educated in one of the Princes' Colleges in the tradition of Eton, Rugby,
Winchester and the other great British public schools of the time. He, like most
of his clan at the time, was educated to be sophisticated, worldly and
competitive. At the tender age of sixteen, he was pushed unexpectedly into the
role of a Maharaja. Five years later, he gained full monarchical powers. The
British and his regent, Sir Pratap Singh, used those intervening years to open
the monarch's eyes to the possibilities that order and bureaucracy held for
Marwar.The lead project that would usher Jodhpur into the twentieth century was
to be the new palace. It had to be large enough, grand enough, breathtaking
enough to deserve taking the place of Meherangarh Fort as the symbol of Jodhpur.
In 1924, the Maharaja met with Henry Vaughn Lanchester. He had spent decades
travelling the world as architect and town planner, and was no stranger to the
traditions of Hindu architecture. While discussing his vision for the palace,
Lanchester outlined his strong stand against the Moghul aesthetic, arguing that
the States of Rajasthan came under Moslem domination only to a limited extent,
and their traditions very rarely made use of Mughal features. Umaid Singh knew
he had found his man.Determined to incorporate the traditions and unique world
view of the land in his concept, Lanchester went eons back to the Hindu mountain
temples for his inspiration behind Umaid Bhawan Palace. Umaid Singh knew
immediately it would be a fitting tribute to his ancestors. But it is by no
means a new antique. Umaid Singh was free of the archaic nineteenth-century
lifestyle and in love with progress. While his palace may have been inspired by
tradition, it was, at the insistence of the forward-thinking monarch, built on
the cutting edge of progress.
Architecture
Built on the Chittar Hill in southeastern area of the Jodhpur, construction
employed more than 5000 men for fifteen years. The building does not use mortar
or cement to bind stones together; all of its pieces are carved stones joined
together by a system of carved, interlocking positive and negative pieces. A
specially constructed train line was used to transport these large blocks of
stone. Umaid Bhavan is designed in such a manner that it always maintains the
temperature at approximately 23 degrees Celsius.The palace grounds cover 26
acres (10.5 ha), out of which the constructed area covers 3.5 acres (1.4 ha)
while 15 acres (6.1 ha) are devoted to the lawns.Designed by renowned Edwardian
architect Henry Lanchester, the palace is a blend of eastern and western
architectural influences. The building's prominent central dome, a majestic
105-foot (32 m) high cupola, is influenced by the Renaissance, while the towers
draw inspiration from Rajput tradition. The project was to cost the Maharaja Rs
94,51,565. The resident engineer for this project was Hiranand U. Bhatia. The
interiors for the palace were designed by Maples of London, however, in 1942 the
ship transporting them was sunk by the Germans. As a result, the Maharaja
employed the services of a Polish interior designer Stefan Norblin. The lavish
interiors with gilt furniture and elegant artwork follow the Art Deco style,
complemented by the exotic murals of the self-exiled Polish artist Stefan
Norblin. The new Chittar Palace was a fitting tribute to its ancestor, the
imposing and majestic Meherangarh Fort, which was built by Rao Jodha and has
never been conquered by force of arms.
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