Umaid Bhawan Palace

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Umaid Bhavan Palace

Umaid Bhawan Palace is a palace located at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

Umaid Bhawan Palace was originally called Chittar Palace during 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, it was unfinished until 1944. Umaid Bhawan was one of the last royal constructions (and India's last Palace), built to provide work and drought relief for the poor. The building is dramatically illuminated at night causing some controversy in a city that continues to endure daily multi-hour power cuts.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Construction

Built on the Chittar Hill in southeastern area of the Jodhpur, construction employed more than 5000 men for sixteen 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. Umaid bhavan is designed in such a manner that it always retains the temperature at approximately 23 degrees Celsius. A specially constructed train line was used to transport these large blocks of stone.

The Palace, when it was built, was the world's largest private residence, with 347 rooms. The building's prominent central dome is 110 feet (34 m) high. The architect, H V Lanchester designed the palace in what could be termed indo-art-deco style—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 in the art-deco style 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 Stefan Norblin, a Polish interior designer.

[edit] Present status

The present owner is Gaj Singh. He has divided the Palace into three functional parts, one having a five-star hotel (in existence since 1972), one is the residence of the royal family and one has been opened to public where a small museum displays pictures, arms, swords, and other items relating to Jodhpur's royal heritage. The opening times of this museum are 10 am to 4 pm, and it is closed on Sundays.

The palace grounds cover 26 acres (10.5 ha), out of which constructed area is 3.5 acres (1.4 ha) and 15 acres (6.1 ha) are devoted to lawns. This is the most expensive hotel at Jodhpur and this is one of the largest private houses in India.