A Walk Through The Royal Abode | Jaipur Beat

October 31, 2020October 31, 2020 AdminLeave a comment

Jaipurites, we all have seen the City Palace from outside but has it intrigued you how would a walk around the home of the royals be like? Well, we decided to explore the sections of the charming palace and share it with you!

Jaipur narrates its history as a breathing capital of Rajasthan embraced by the illustrious patronage, culture, architecture, performing arts and craft. Founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the new capital of Jaipur was unique for its urban planning & vision. With a perfect embodiment of the bygone era beautifully balancing with modern developments; magnificent palaces, special pink facades, vibrant markets, exquisite handicrafts, and colorful festivals, Jaipur continues to celebrate the splendor of its majestic past.

Poised in the middle of Jaipur, the world famous City Palace complex is an integral part of the walled city. Built by the Kachhwaha ruler of Amer – Jaipur, Sawai Jai Singh II, the 18th century Palace glorifies the magnificence of Jaipur’s heritage with its courtyards, gateways, temples and gardens. Characterized by a series of dedicated galleries and museums that offer a grand view of Jaipur’s flamboyant heritage, the City Palace Complex reflects the magnitude of its historical importance and monarchy. A site of living tradition, the City Palace continues to be the home and pride of Jaipur’s Royal Family.

Take a walk around the opulent sections of the City Place with us!

The Mubarak Mahal is one of the last princely additions to the City Palace, and was completed in 1900. The magnificent double-storeyed building was used to welcome special guests to the royal palace. Islamic, Rajput and European elements of architecture and ornamentation have been assimilated in this building. Today it houses a splendid textile gallery, and some offices of the Museum.

The Sileh Khana building covers the story of the arms and armoury of the kingdom of Dhoondhar. Now a gallery, you can see a range of exquisite but deadly weapons, including swords, daggers, guns, and more on display here.
The Sabha Niwas, also known as the Diwan-e-Aam, is a Public Hall of Audience that has been used by successive Maharajas. The Durbar and important official ceremonies would take place here. This was also where His Highness Maharaja Sawai Mansingh II took oath as the first Raj Pramukh of the newly constituted State of Rajasthan in 1949.

SABHA NIWAS ( Photo Courtesy : Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Museum Trust II )

4. The Sarvato Bhadra, an airy pavilion, open on all four sides, except for small rooms at each corner, is a Rajput architectural innovation. Several rituals and celebrations, including the Dussehra Pooja, and Makar Sankranti festival, happen in this courtyard. On display in the Sarvato Bhadra structure are the world’s largest silver urns, the Ganga-jalis. Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh the second took the Ganga-jalis with him to England in 1902, as a way to maintain his ritual purity, when he travelled across the seas to attend the coronation of King-Emperor Edward the seventh of Great Britain.

5. Pritam Niwas Chowk is the inner courtyard of the City Palace. It has four smaller gates, each themed around the four seasons and dedicated to a particular Hindu God.

Peacock Gate: The northeastern peacock gate represents autumn and has a small idol of Lord Vishnu on its lintel.

Lotus Gate: The southwestern gate is adorned with dramatic lotus petals and flower patterns. It represents summer and Lord Shiva.

Rose Gate: The winter season is showcased by this gate. Filled with repeating rose patterns, it is dedicated to Goddess Devi.

Leheriya Gate: The Leheriya (waves) gate is on the northwest side of the courtyard. It is green in color, indicating spring and dedicated to Lord Ganesha.

While exploring these landmarks, you will notice that many of their doorways are singular in character; be it the imposing gateways with intricate frescoes at the entrance or the smaller, nondescript doors inside the palaces. Each gate has a role to play and a story to tell. In City Palace, they reflect the influence of Mughal, European and Indian Shilpa Shastra styles.

6. Govind Dev Ji Temple is an epitome of pure devotion and exquisiteness. Surrounded by manicured gardens, spectacular chhatris and fountains, the marvelously textured temple is situated in the City Palace Complex.
Built-in 1735 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh II, the temple is amongst the seven temples of Vrindavan Thakur, who is one of Lord Krishna’s forms, Govind Dev ji. Swarmed by a great number of devotees and tourists each day, the calming temple of Govind Dev Ji allows the visitors to witness its tranquil surroundings and experience its powerful aura.

Hope you enjoyed this royal walk around the City Palace Jaipur!

PS- Jaipur Beat is thankful to MSMS II Museum Trust for giving us the access and permission to photograph and also for each and every detail shared in this blog.

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Gates of Jaipur: The Reflection of Opulence and Grandeur

September 6, 2018 AdminLeave a comment

Jaipur, the capital city of the land of Maharajas: Rajasthan. A city with so much to narrate about the culture and traditions, a city that reflects the royalty of Rajputs; a city with a splendid history. The foundation of the city was laid in the 16^th Century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. The Maharaja did everything to make it a spectacle for the entire world and to keep it safe from intruders. He built a city so grand and so beautiful that we can’t help but admire even today. Everything in Jaipur was built according to Vastu Shastra. With its magnificent forts and palaces, the unrivalled historic architecture of Jaipur narrates a story of grandeur and opulence.

When it comes to the architecture we often talk about palaces and forts and other monuments. But what we often forget is one of the most important parts of our city’s history, the Gates of Jaipur. The popular 7-8 gates of the city are said to be the original entrance into the walled city.

Suraj Pol

Suraj Pol or the Sun Gate is situated at the east of the walled city, in the direction of the rising sun. The gate can easily be identified by the two sun painted on it.

Chand Pol

Chand Pol or the Moon Gate is situated at the western side of the city near Chand Pol Bazaar and Gangauri Bazar. It lies on the same axis as the Suraj Pole Gate.

Ram Pol

Popular as Ghat Gate, it leads its passersby to Ramganj.

Shiv Pol

Now known as the Sanganeri Gate, it leads to the Sanganer. Shiv Pol stands to guard the entry of Johari Bazaar.

Ajmeri Gate

Situated near Choti Chaupad, the gate was built to guard the southern entrance of the walled city and leads on the roads to Ajmer.

Ganga Pol

Situated at the north-east section of the walled city, it is not known to many.

Dhruv Pol

Commonly known as the Zorawar Singh Gate, Dhruv Pol is the northernmost gate of the walled city. It is named after the Pole Star or the Dhruv Tara, a star that marks the North direction. It is also the widest of all the gates.

Naya pol

Now known as the New Gate, it opens at the Chaura Rasta while you travel through the ever-bustling MI Road. The gate showcases a blend of European architecture with local style.

After these 8 gates were built, every evening at dusk a cannon was fired to alarm the citizens of the closing time and the gates remained closed until dawn to keep the city clean of intruders crawling inside the city in dark. This practice continued till the 1940s, thereafter development outside these gates started and the gates remained open.

We went a little further and did some digging only to find that the list of gates is much greater than just 7 or 8.

Sireh Deori Gate

The gate that leads you to the Jaleb Chowk and further to Govind Dev Ji temple and City Palace.

Tripolia Gate

The beautiful white gate near Govind Dev Ji Temple is one of its kinds. The gate is not open to the general public. It is still used only by the erstwhile Royal family, a tradition accepted by the locals without any opposition.

Naqqarkahne ka Darwaza

It might not be of much importance anymore, but the gate during the reign of Maharajas was used to announce their arrival by eulogizing their works.

The magnificent City Palace is known to the world as the residence of the royal family also has a number of awe-striking gates.

Rajendra Pol

Right outside the Mubarak Mahal is a gate that portrays the flamboyant Hindu gatehouse architecture. The Rajendra Pol is flanked by two elephants both of which are carved out of a single marble.

Ganesh Pol

The gate at the exit of the City Palace that leads you out to the Jaleb Chowk.

Ridhisidhi pol

The gate that on exiting the Rajendra Pol, leads you to the Pritam Niwas Chowk.

The Pritam Niwas Chowk is known to have four gates each representing a different season:

Peacock Gate

It is the most alluring gate with paintings of peacocks signifying autumn.

Lotus Gate

With continual flower and petal patterns, it stands as a symbol of summer.

Green Gate

Also called the Leheriya gate, signifies spring.

Rose Gate

With repeated flower patterns, the gate is seen as a symbol of winter.

Today, these gates are merely symbolic; part of city’s history, nostalgia and built heritage. However, they are an important element of Jaipur’s rich architectural legacy for which the city is famous across the world.

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5 Must Know Facts about City Palace

April 6, 2018April 6, 2018 Admin1 Comment

The City Palace, Jaipur is one of the most admired and finest attractions among the places to visit in the Pink City. With an organized layout of large courtyards, perfectly manicured gardens, and magnificent mahals, the palace is still a home to the royal family of Jaipur.

It houses beautiful amalgamation of Mughal and Rajput architecture and narrates the city’s glorious historical past which can be seen at the major attractions of the City Palace, thus making it a perfect sight for every history enthusiast and photographers.

While making a trip to Jaipur, make sure you reserve a day to visit the corridors of the City Palace and live a day like the royals!

Royal History

Located in the heart of the Pink City, the City Palace has been the official residence of rulers of Jaipur. It was built in accordance with the Vastu Shastra, under the guidance of Sawai Jai Singh II by two renowned architects- Vidyadhar Bhattacharya and Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, depicting the fusion of Rajput, Mughal and European architectural styles.

Story Behind The Gates

Inside the City Palace, the Pritam Niwas Chowk houses 4 gates where each has a different role to play and a story to tell. These gates represent four seasons and Hindu gods and goddesses. The Peacock Gate with motifs of peacocks represents autumn and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The Lotus Gate have continual flower and petal pattern representing summer season and is dedicated to Lord Shiva and Parvati. The Green Gate is suggestive of spring and is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. Lastly, the Rose Gate with repeated petal pattern represents winter season and is dedicated to Goddess Devi.

Magnificent Structures inside the City Palace

The legendary City Palace is said to comprise one-seventh of the walled city of Jaipur with temples, edifices, courtyards, gardens and a museum. Some major attractions include Diwan-i-Aam, Diwan-i-Khas, Mubarak Mahal, and Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum. Diwan-I-Khas, decorated with plush chandeliers was once a private audience hall of the royals is now an art gallery. Interestingly, the hall also features two huge sterling silver vessels which are officially recorded as the world’s largest sterling silver vessels.

The City Palace Museum

The City Palace Museum which is now called Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Museum houses largest and finest collection of arms in India. It includes- swords, double-edged cutters, daggers, knives, axes and arrows of various shapes and sizes. The sword of Maharaja Man Singh that weighs about 5 kilograms is one of the attractive exhibits. It also has a vintage collection of baggis. One of the major attractions is Victoria Baggi which was gifted by Prince of Wales to the Maharaja in 1876. Also on display are the mahadol, a palanquin with a single bamboo bar that was used for carrying the idols of Hindu gods during festive processions.

A Royal Abode to the Royal family

The Chandra Mahal is a seven-storied cream-white structure, sumptuously adorned with unique paintings and floral decorations with mirrored walls and ceilings. It has screened balconies and a pavilion at the roof from where a panoramic view of the city can be seen. It is set amidst well laid out gardens and a decorative lake in the foreground. At present, the royal family resides in the Chandra Mahal.