Location of Bundi Palace, History of Bundi Palace, Architecture of Bundi Palace.
Location of Bundi Palace:
This Palace is also known as Garh Palace and is located adjacent to the Taragarh Fort and past the market on the top of a small hill in Bundi City, District Bundi, Rajasthan.
History & Architecture of Bundi Palace:
It presents a fine example of the Rajput style of architecture with its carved brackets, pillars and balconies. It was built during the reigns of different rulers of Bundi and its architecture displays the extraordinary craftsmanship of the artisans of that period. The palace has many tales attached to it. It is said that Hada Rani was a queen of one of the rulers who came back from the battlefield as he did not want to leave her. She chopped off her head to break the infatuation of her husband with her and presented it to him upon his entry into the palace.
The Palace is surrounded by a huge wall giving it an appearance of a fortress. It is reached by a steep climb up the hill at the end of which a huge gateway named Hathi Pol is located. It was built by Rao Raja Ratan Singh (1608-1632 A.D), the ruler of Bundi and has statues of two elephants forming an arc. The Central big Palace is surrounded by many small palaces built by different rulers. Nearly the whole of the Palace walls are covered with stunning and awe-inspiring traditional murals. However, all the portions of the Palace are not open for the visitors. The notable palaces are : Badal Mahal, Chhattra Mahal, Aniruddha Mahal, Moti Mahal, Ratan Daulat – Diwan-e Aam, the Chitrashala – Ummed Mahal, Ratan Niwas etc. The Hazari Darwaza, Dari Khana and Nau Dhan are also worth seeing.
Badal Mahal – This Palace is famous for the beautiful murals and paintings on its walls which depict the influence of the Chinese culture. It also has an excellent collection of miniatures.
The Chhattra Mahal – It was built in 1660 A.D. by Rao Raja Chhattra Sal Singh and Bundi stone was used in its construction. It houses famous Bundi Kalam miniatures.
Moti Mahal or Rawla Parisar – This royal apartment is a masterpiece of Rajput style of architecture. Its ceilings are ornamented with mirror work and it is said that 80 pounds of gold was used in its construction. Now a Museum named Rao Raja Bahadur Singh Memorial Museum, depicting Centuries long history of Bundi, has been opened here for the tourists by the royal family. It displays the items which belonged to the erstwhile rulers of Bundi, guns, handicrafts, artistic items, coins and the skins of Lion, Bear and Fox killed by the rulers during shooting expeditions. An entry fee as fixed by the royal family is charged.
Ratan Daulat or Diwan-i-Aam – It was built by Rao Raja Ratan Singh and housed a stable for nine horses.
The Chittrashala or Ummed Mahal – It is a set of rooms built on an elevated platform above the garden courtyard. Its walls and ceilings are decorated with beautiful paintings displaying the Raaslila and Ragmala – the story of Radha and Krishna and the paintings of beautiful women, battle scenes showing bravery of Bundi warriors, and the wildlife. The colour scheme of all these paintings is blue, green, turquoise on white with touches of terracotta or yellow. Bundi Wall paintings are famous all over the world. Many paintings date back to 1660 A.D. and 1680 A.D. A garden and a pond are located outside the Chittrashala. The pond has a seating arrangement on all the sides. It has a separate entrance and remains open on all days from 8.00 A.M. to 5.00 P.M. for the visitors with no entry fee.
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