City Palace Udaipur
¤ Foundation of City Palace
Maharana Udai Singh established his new capital, Udaipur in 1559 when
he built the small City Palace on an overlooking ridge. Other
buildings and structures soon mushroomed around the palace. Successive
maharanas added to the marble and granite palace of Udai Singh, and
the City Palace spread itself allowing an architectural and artistic
evolution of Mewar through the centuries. The Palace is flanked by
octagonal corner towers surmounted by cupolas and thus is a fine blend
of Rajput and Mughal styles of architecture.
¤ The Gateways To City Palace
 The
City Palace, one of the largest palaces in the world, can be
approached through the Bari Pol or the Great Gate (1600) with the
royal drums and then onto the Tripolia Gate (1725). The Tripolia is a
triple gate made of marble arches. Between these two gates are eight
carved toranas or archways under which the maharanas were weighed
against gold and silver which was later distributed to the poor
subjects. Popular entertainment like elephant fights took place in the
court beyond the Tripolia Gate.
In size and outline the City Palace and its subsidiary palaces bear a
resemblanceto theWindsor castle in England. The palace lies in front
of the Rai Angan, a rectangular courtyard. The Rai Angan (1571) or the
royal courtyard is arrived at through the Ganesh Deori Gate and
encloses the shrine to Dhuni Mata. The Ganesh Deori was built in an
enclosure around the stairway of Rai Angan. In its construction went
in tiles imported from Japan, and they form a spectacular pattern
depicting images of Lord Krishna and Ganesh.
¤ The Legendary Romantic Tales Associated with The Palace
The famous antiquarian Ferguson has said that the City Palace complex
is the largest in Rajasthan, which means that no palace can really
intimidate this one in terms of size. This ancestral palace of the
Mewar rulers has some heart wrenching as well as frightful stories
attached to it. It is said the spirit of princess Krishna Kumari
resides in one of the rooms of the palace. The 16 year old princess
was betrothed to Maharaja Man Singh of Jodhpur but had fallen in love
with the young Jagat Singh, the Jaipur prince.
This started a war between the three kingdoms and the princess decided
to sacrifice her life in order to prevent bloodshed. On the advice of
Amir Khan, a leader of the Pindaras, she took poison and now her sad
and lonely spirit drifts around in the Krishna Vilas and various other
apartments of the palace. Col. James Tod writes that the lethal dose
had to be prepared thrice because the poison failed to kill her.
Finally, she asked for the opiate extract of poppy blossoms and
embraced death. Her heartbroken mother died soon after, and her father
had her room frescoed in her memory.
¤ The Interiors of the Palace
Each part of the palace was built in a different style, either Mughal
or Rajput. The balconies are in Rajput style with miniature paintings
on the walls and coloured glass, topped in gold. Inside the palace are
various annexes including the Suraj Gokhada, Bada Mahal, Sheesh Mahal,
Bhim Vilas, and the Mor Chowk. The Suraj Gokhada is the balcony from
where the Ranas have daily been greeting their ancestor, the Sun god
Surya, at dawn. The balcony was also used when the Rana presented
himself in times of trouble to restore the confidence of his subjects
and to reassure them that the Surya was still smiling on them.
¤ The magnificent Palaces
The Sheesh Mahal has inlaid mirrors while the Krishna Vilas has
painted miniatures. Raja Bheem Singh installed these in 1805, in
memory of his daughter Krishna Kumari who had committed suicide. (See
Krishna Vilas for more details). The Zenana Mahal, Fateh Prakash and
the Durbar Hall are the other wings of the palace. The Zenana Mahal
(women’s quarters) is towards the south of the city palace museum
and was built in 1620 for the women of the royal harem of Maharana
Karan Singh. This was a fortified private living quarter of the royal
ladies and can be entered only through a well-guarded doorway. The
Rang Bhavan or the jewellery room and the treasury of the state occupy
the ground floor of the zenana. It also has shrines to Lord Krishna
and Meera Bai, the Mewari princess. The Rang Bhavan opens into Laxmi
Chowk (goddess Laxmi’s courtyard) that displays some of the
finest miniature paintings of Mewar. The far end of this chowk is
Osara (Courtyard of Ceremonies) which houses the royal palanquins,
howdahs, trophies, trumpets and drums.
¤ Fateh Prakash Palace
Just next to the zenana is the Fateh Prakash Palace. This palace has
eight rooms and is closed to visitors, as it is the residence of the
present Maharana Mahendra Singh, who succeeded Bhagwant Singh in 1984.
The Shambhu Niwas next to the Durbar Hall founded by Fateh Singh
(1884-1930) and the rooms of the saint Kanwarji Bhai are also closed
to the public.
¤ Choti Chitra Shali(A Royal Room)
The main rooms in the palace are the Choti Chitra Shali, Suraj Chopad
(the Hall of the Sun), Pitam Niwas (Palace of Delight), Manak Mahal
(Palace of Rubies), Moti Mahal (Palace of Pearls), Chini-ki-Chitra
Shali, Dil Khusal Mahal and the Chandra Mahal (Moon Palace). The Manak
Mahal was built in 1620 as a dining room has glass porcelain and the
Moti Mahal also built in 1620 has mirrors and coloured glass on its
walls. Near the Moti Mahal is the Bhim Vilas decorated with murals
depicting the lore of Lord Krishna and Radha.
¤ The Interiors of The Royal Room
The Choti Chitra Shali is simply a court hall, beautifully
ornamented and resplendent with mirror mosaics of peacocks. The Chini
ki Chitra Shali (1711-34) is also a court but with a pavilion and has
exquisite Dutch and Chinese tiles inlaid with lovely mirror work. The
whole ambience is that of a beautiful blend of Rajput, Mughal and
European styles.
¤ Dil Khusal Mahal
The Dil Khusal Mahal above the treasury is another palace that is
fully covered with mirrorwork with a painted and gilt background. This
palace has a suite of four 17th century rooms, including the
Kanch-ki-Burj, with late 19th century grey and red mirrors. The
Chitram-ki- Burj is decorated with 18th century murals portraying
scenes of life. The Kanch ki Burj (Turret of Glass) was a 19th century
improvisation of the Sheesh Mahal. The most unique of this room is
that not only does it have mirrored ceiling and walls but also a
decorative glass floor.
 ¤
Chandra Mahal
The Chandra Mahal is on the top of the old palace and commands a
breathtaking view of the city as well as the surrounding countryside.
The Chandra Mahal was built above the temple of Nau Chokhi Dhuni Mata,
the earliest part of the palace. The temple has pictures of the four
holiest of holy deities: Shri Nathji, Shri Eklingji, Shri Charbhujaji
and Amba Mata. To cap it all is the Badi Mahal or the Garden Palace
above them. The Badi Mahal, also known as Amar Mahal, is built in
white marble stones and has beautiful flowerbeds, trees, ponds,
fountains, latticed windows, arched pavilions and a reservoir. The
reservoir used to be adorned quite decoratively for the pleasure of
its patrons, the ranas. Built between 1699 and 1711, the palace garden
is on a natural hill 27m above the rest of the palace making its
ground floor rooms look as if they’re on the fourth floor. The
swimming pool here has always played an important role during the
annual Holi celebrations. To the west of the Tripolia Gate are the
Karan Vilas (1620-28) and Khush Mahal
¤ The Karan Vilas- A Government Museum
The Karan Vilas now houses the Government Museum of Udaipur. Earlier
known as the Victoria Hall Museum, it highlights the cultural legacy
of Rajasthan through its vast collection of excavated items,
inscriptions, sculptures, paintings and handicrafts. The inscriptions
span from 2nd century BC to 17th century AD. The sculpture gallery
extends over a huge hall and has some of the best specimens like the
Indriya Matrika from Jagat (5th-6th century AD); Kumari Matrika from
Kumbhalgarh; the head of Shiva from Kalyanpur and Jain Kuber from
Bansi (8th century AD). However, the best collection here is of the
9000 miniature paintings belonging to the Mewar School from Maharana
Jagat Singh’s (1628-1652) and Maharana Swaroop Singh’s
(1842-1861) period. The Natural History section with models of animals
is aptly called the Children’s Gallery. The museum also has a
fine collection of bright and colourful Mewari turbans.
Timing : 1000 Hrs to 1630
Hrs
Closed : Friday and gazetted holidays.
¤ The Khush Mahal
The Khush Mahal is a splendid mid-19th century pleasure palace. It was
built exclusively for the European guests of the Maharanas and has a
quaint combination of European, Rajput and Mughal detailing. The
palace is now used as the honeymoon suite in the City Palace Hotel.
¤ Palaces of Present Maharajas
The residential wings and palaces of the present Maharana known as
Shambhu Niwas and Sajjan Niwas are connected to each other. To the
north of the Shambhu Niwas is the Minto Hall, a large Durbar Hall
built in the 19th century and named after the Viceroy Lord Minto. The
Hall is enclosed by a rectangular gallery and has a beautiful balcony
that leans out from the main building.
¤ Other Tourist Attractions in The Palace
Doodh Talai , Moti Magri and Sajjangarh Palace are some of the other
interesting sites here for a tourist to visit. The Bharuji temple is
also very near the Doodh Talai, in southern Udaipur. The Moti Magri
overlooks the lake and has the Pratap Smarak, a statue of Maharana
Pratap astride his favourite steed Chetak.
¤ City Palace Museum
The museum in the City Palace includes the Mor Chowk, the one with
its extraordinary late 19th century peacock mosaics. The mosaic and
enamel together give a resplendent display of peacocks depicting the
three seasons. The enamelled peacock in lapis lazuli and other stones
is about 2½ ft high and is set in a panel of ornamental leaf
patterns. This is one of the most lavish examples of inlaywork very
popular in Rajasthan. The chowk was built by Maharana Karan Singh as
his new Durbar area. The peacocks to which the chowk owes its
appellation were added 200 years later in the 19th century by Maharana
Sajjan Singh. Above these mosaics is a superb series of figures from
the mid-19th century, inlaid in glasswork on the outer walls of the
Surya Prakash.
¤ Museum Treasures
The City Palace Museum was established in 1890 and is one of the
earliest museums of the state. Its halls are filled with miniature
paintings that provide a glimpse of the royal lifestyle of the
maharanas of Mewar. Paintings of royal hunts, portraits and scenes of
court life with kings and queens in all their finery fill the museum
halls. Yards of the finest cotton, silken brocade and muslin over
which are displayed the breathtaking necklaces, belts, rings,
bracelets and anklets. The museum also houses the armour worn by
Maharana Pratap Singh in his fight against Emperor Akbar and the war
bugle and drums of Rana Sanga. The Palace Museum also displays the
fake trunk that was used as the armour of Pratap’s horse Chetak.
It was so designed that enemy horses would take it to be an elephant
and think twice about attacking its rider, while enemy elephants would
mistake it to be a baby elephant and thus hesitate to attack it.
Timings : 0930hrs to 1630
Hrs, closed on Sundays.
¤ Shambhu Niwas
During Maharana Shambhu Singh’s (1861-74) rule the Victorian
styled Shambhu Prakash was added to the Jag Niwas Palace complex and
later during his successor Sajjan Singh’s (1874-84) time the
Sajjan Niwas Palace was completed. The Sajjan Niwas Palace is another
delight to the eyes. It is crowded with highly decorated and
marble-floored halls and coloured glass frescoes with animal motifs, a
large glass bed, pools and fountains – everything that has given
an ethnic feel to it.
¤ The Most Exquisite Architecture
During the 19th century European influences made their presence felt
through the designs of palaces. Shambhu Niwas was one such structure
that had deviated from the traditional Rajput style of architecture
that was once strictly observed in Udaipur. Pierre Loti, a French
writer, described the palace as "…modern, with European
drawing-rooms, looking glasses, sideboards laden with silver, and
billiard-rooms, appointments which we had been far from expecting to
see in so indigenous a town."
The drawing room of the Shambhu Niwas was a splendid crystal suite
throughly furnished with Belgian crystal furniture, a crystal throne,
chairs, table, bed, cut glass punkha rods with their blue and purple
fringes – a total riot of crystals. Later Maharana Fateh Singh
(1884-1930) removed the crystal furniture to the newly constructed
Shiv Niwas Palace. Fateh Singh himself did not live at Shambhu Niwas
but his son’s successor Maharana Bhagwat Singh (1955-84) was in
permanent residence there until his death in 1984. Later his son
Shriji Arvind Singh restored the fading mansion to its former glory as
his own princely residence. |
