India abounds in majestic palaces and impressive forts that attest to the extravagant lifestyle of Indian royalty of a glorious bygone era. The splendid palaces spread across the length and breadth of India range from the magnificent and stately to modest and functional ones. While some still serve as residences for descendents of former royals, many have been transformed into museums open to everyone or heritage hotels that welcome the rich and powerful.
India’s grandiose palaces are more than architectural marvels, they are rich in legends, boast exquisite collections of art and royal artifacts, and remain as living testaments to India’s regal past.
Let us journey back in time through some of these royal heritage wonders:
Lakshmi Vilas Palace (Gujarat): Earlier the private residence of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, the majestic Lakshmi Vilas Palace oozes with history and culture. The palace is four times the size of Buckingham Palace, the abode of British royals in London, and construction of the palace, which began in 1890, is said to have taken over 12 years to complete. Reflecting the Indo-Saracenic style, it is an amalgamation of Mughal, Hindu, and Gothic styles that are visible in the minarets and domes of the palace.
Chowmahalla (Hyderabad): The Urdu word ‘Choumahalla’ which literally translates into ‘Four Palaces’, served as residence to the Nizams of Hyderabad and was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. While construction of the palace was said to have been initiated by Nizam Salabat Jung in 1750, actual work on the building began only around 1857 and was completed by 1869.
The palace is said to have originally covered over 180,000 sq meters though only 49,000 sq meters of the once sprawling property remains today. The palace consists of two courtyards with residences, in addition to gardens and fountains, as well as the Khilwat Mubarak, the pillared Durbar Hall. The hall has a large, imposing marble platform on which the Takht-e-Nishan or the royal seat was laid. Here the Nizams held their durbar and other religious and symbolic ceremonies.
Umaid Bhawan(Rajasthan): One of the largest private residences in the world, the 347-room Umaid Bhawan in Jodhpur was the principal residence of the former Jodhpur royal family. Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, work on the palace began in 1920 and was completed in 1943 when the royal family moved in. Today, the palace is home to Gaj Singh, the grandson of Umaid Singh, while a part of the palace is managed as a luxury hotel by the Taj Group and another part has been turned into a museum that showcases the life of Jodhpur royalty, as well as features a collection of beautiful and unique clocks.
Hazarduari palace (West Bengal): The 19th century palace also known as ‘Bara Kothi’ gets its name from the 1,000 real and false doors within the edifice. Calling the palace enormous would still be an understatement. Big enough for an elephant with a howdah on top to pass through its gates, the palace had many crisscrossing corridors that were created to confuse an army in case of an attack.
Built near the banks of River Ganges in Murshidabad during the reign of Nawab Nazim Humayun, the palace’s grand flight of 37 steps of stone lead up to the upper portico which provides sweeping views of the area. In 1985, the palace was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India for preservation and has been turned into a museum with 20 galleries displaying thousands of antiquities as well as precious paintings and furniture.
Cooch Behar Palace (West Bengal): Also called Victor Jubilee Palace, it is a landmark in Cooch Behar city of West Bengal state. Modeled after Buckingham Palace in London, it was built in 1887 during the reign of Maharaja Nripendra Narayan. The palace, known for its elegance and grandeur, has a central Durbar Hall that has an elegantly shaped metal dome nearly 40 meters above the floor with the intros of the dome carved in stepped patterns and Corinthian columns supporting the base of the cupola. The original palace was three stories high, but was subsequently destroyed by the 1897 Assam earthquake. Of the remaining 50 rooms and halls of the palace seven have been turned into that showcase memorabilia.
Ujjayanta Palace (Tripura): The palace, which was used as Tripura legislative building until 2011 and then turned into the Tripura State Museum, was once the seat of the Manikya dynasty of the princely state of Tripura. The marble palace, which was built in 1901 by Maharaja Radha Kishore Manikya, stands on an 800-acre plot in Agartala city on the banks of two lakes and surrounded by lush lawns and gardens. The palace has three domes each more than 25-meter high, stunning tile floors, curved wooden ceilings and wonderfully crafted doors. There are many temples set around the palace.Today, as the state museum, it showcases the lifestyle, arts, culture, tradition and crafts of communities residing in northeast India, along with a lot of stone sculptures and artefacts of the Manikya dynasty.
Bangalore Palace (Karnataka): Inspired by the British Windsor Castle and Tudor architecture, the palace with its turrets, fortified towers, gothic windows and ivy covered walls, was built in 1887 by King Chamaraja Wadiyar. An embodiment of regal opulence and architectural brilliance, this palace offers you a peep into the grandeur and lifestyle of the Wadiyars, the erstwhile royal family of the Kingdom of Mysore. The sprawling palace covers a floor area of 4180-sq meters while the palace grounds are spread over 1.8-sq kilometer. Impressive furniture featuring Victorian, neoclassical, and Edwardian elements adorn the palace interiors, with elegant wood carvings, cornices, floral motifs, and relief paintings done on the ceiling further embellishing the beauty of the interiors.
Amber Fort (Rajasthan): Located in Amer town about 11km from the famous Pink City of Jaipur, Amber Fort sits perched on a forested hill promontory that juts into Maota Lake. Built over the remnants of earlier settlement by Raja Man Singh in the 1600s. The Palace is divided into six separate but main sections each with its own entry gate and courtyard. The main entry is through the Suraj Pol (Sun Gate) which leads to the first main courtyard, where the kingdom’s army would hold victory parades with their war bounty on their return from battles.
The third courtyard was the most magnificent one as it housed the private quarters of the Maharaja, his family and attendants. The entrance to this courtyard is through the Ganesh Pol or Ganesh Gate, which is embellished with mosaics and sculptures. The courtyard has two buildings, one opposite to the other, separated by a garden laid in the fashion of the Mughal Gardens. The building to the left of the entrance gate is called the Jai Mandir, which is exquisitely embellished with glass inlaid panels and multi-mirrored ceilings that glitter bright under candlelight at the time it was in use.