HAWA MAHAL - "The Palace of Winds.

HAWA  MAHAL- "The Palace of Winds" or "The Palace of Breeze") is a palace in Jaipur, India. Made with the red and pink sandstone, the palace sits on the edge of the City Palace, Jaipur, and extends to the Zenana, or women's chambers. Hawa Mahal "The Palace of Winds" or "The Palace of Breeze") is a palace in Jaipur, India. Made with the red and pink sandstone, the palace sits on the edge of the City Palace, Jaipur, and extends to the Zenana, or women's chambers.
ARCHITECTURE-The palace is a five-story pyramidal shaped monument that rises to about 50 feet (15 m). The top three floors of the structure have the width of a single room, while the first and second floors have patios in front of them. The front elevation, as seen from the street, is like a honeycomb with small portholes. Each porthole has miniature windows and carved sandstone grills, finials and domes. It gives the appearance of a mass of semi-octagonal bays, giving the monument its unique façade. The inner face on the back side of the building consists of chambers built with pillars and corridors with minimal ornamentation, and reach up to the top floor. The interior of the Mahal has been described as "having rooms of different coloured marbles, relieved by inlaid panels or gilding; while fountains adorn the centre of the courtyard"Lal Chand Ustad was the architect of this unique structure. Built-in red and pink colored sandstone, in keeping with the décor of the other monuments in the city, its color is a full testimony to the epithet of "Pink City" given to Jaipur. Its façade depicting 953 niches with intricately carved jharokhas (some are made of wood) is a stark contrast to the plain-looking rear side of the structure. Its cultural and architectural heritage is a true reflection of a fusion of Hindu Rajput architecture and Islamic Mughal architecture; the Rajput style is seen in the form of domed canopies, fluted pillars, lotus, and floral patterns, and the Islamic style as evident in its stone inlay filigree work and arches (as distinguished from its similarity with the Panch Mahal at Fatehpur Sikri).[10] Lal Chand Ustad was the architect of this unique structure. Built-in red and pink colored sandstone, in keeping with the décor of the other monuments in the city, its color is a full testimony to the epithet of "Pink City" given to Jaipur. Its façade depicting 953 niches with intricately carved jharokhas (some are made of wood) is a stark contrast to the plain-looking rear side of the structure. Its cultural and architectural heritage is a true reflection of a fusion of Hindu Rajput architecture and Islamic Mughal architecture; the Rajput style is seen in the form of domed canopies, fluted pillars, lotus, and floral patterns, and the Islamic style as evident in its stone inlay filigree work and arches (as distinguished from its similarity with the Panch Mahal at Fatehpur Sikri).[10] Hawa Mahal was also known as the chef-d'œuvre of Maharaja Jai Singh as it was his favourite resort because of the elegance and built-in interior of the Mahal. The cooling effect in the chambers, provided by the breeze passing through the small windows of the façade, was enhanced by the fountains provided at the center of each of the chambersThe top two floors of the Hawa Mahal are accessed only through ramps. The Mahal is maintained by the archaeological department of the Government of Rajasthan.
EXTERIORS OF HAWA MAHAL – The  5 storied façade is just a screen with little structure behind it.The palace is shaped like the crown of Lord Krishna.The crown had a peacock feather,popularly known as Mor Mukut.

 Interiors of the Hawa Mahal

The entrance to the Hawa Mahal is behind the main facade and you need to walk along a few small alleys to get there. The main entrance faces the City Palace. One can imagine this scene –  gorgeous queens in decorated palanquins arriving in style, from their main abode. At the entrance, is a small description of what each floor of the palace was meant for.

 Sharad Mandir-The first glimpse of palace through the entrance was just so beautiful.
Cool fountains greeted us as we stepped into the palace. Around the courtyard on the walls, you can spot several sculptures like these ones.
  Ratan Mandir -To reach the first floor of the Hawa Mahal, you need ascend like a royalty using the ramps. If you are wondering why I called the ramp the royal approach – it is not because it was easier for them to climb The royal ladies were decked in heavy saris that weight in kgs and were not even able to walk. They were wheeled around the palace and hence, the need for the ramp.:-)

Ratan means precious stones and the reason for this floor to be named so is the intricate glass work that is present in the corridors. The entire effect was just so dreamy and colorful and even my snaps will not do justice to what you can actually see. Besides this, Ratan Mandir also, is an open courtyard with small viewing pavilions, which we had an amazing time climbing and posing in. I must warn you though – the pavilions are quite low and narrow and your heart does skip a beat as you climb and look down from out. The kids scrambled onto it but only after we gave them a warning to pose on the side with the solid ground and not the one that overlooked the floor below.

Vichitra Mandir-Vichitra means unknown or weird. The floor was so named as the doors were kept closed and the floor was an escape for Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. It is said that he was so devoted to Lord Krishna that he spent a lot of time on this floor, behind the closed doors, composing poems and singing in praise of the Lord. This floor was the”ME” corner for the Maharaja.

The floor was being restored and from where I was, I could only spot some empty rooms.

There are no outer courtyard from this floor on. And the ascend to the higher floors is through narrow staircases. I have to say that I felt like a hamster running through a labyrinth. Besides being narrow, the staircases have a low ceiling and are really dark. Some of them are quite winding too. It somehow, gave me a feeling of being Indiana Jones on a treasure hunt, going through dark mysterious tunnels.

Blog by:
Divya Sharma