Everything You Wanted to Know About the History Of Umaid Bhawan - Royal Rajasthan

History Of Umaid Bhawan

Umaid Bhawan Palace, located in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, is one of the world's largest private places. A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hospices. It is named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, the forefather of the present proprietor, Gaj Singh. The palace has 347 apartments and is the former hearthstone of the Jodhpur royal family. Part of the palace is a gallery. 

The groundbreaking for the foundations of the structure was carried out on November 18, 1929, by Maharaja Umaid Singh, and the construction work was completed in 1943. 

The history of making the Umaid Bhawan Palace is linked to a curse by a saint who had said that a period of failure would follow the good rule of the Rathore Dynasty. Therefore, after the end of the about 50-year reign of Pratap Singh, Jodhpur faced severe failure and shortage in the 1920s for a period of three successive times. 

The growers of the area, faced with this difficulty, sought the help of the Maharaja, Umaid Singh, who was the 37th Rathore sovereign of Marwar at Jodhpur, to give them some employment so that they could survive the harsh conditions. The Maharaja, in order to help the growers, decided to build a lavish palace. He commissioned Henry Vaughan Lanchester as the mastermind to prepare the plans for the palace; he was a contemporary of Edwin Lutyens, who had planned the structures of the New Delhi government complex. 

By espousing the theme of polls and columns, Lanchester patterned the Umaid Palace on the lines of the New Delhi structure complex. The palace was designed as a mix of western technology and Indian architectural features. 

The palace was built at a slow pace as its original idea was to give employment to the shortage-stricken growers in the area. The foundation gravestone was laid in 1929. About three hundred people were employed in its construction. Occupation of the palace by the Maharaja came after its completion in 1943, and close to the period of Indian Independence. 

There were some reservations about embarking on such a valuable design, but it served the main purpose of assisting the citizens of Jodhpur in dealing with the shortage situation. The estimated cost of building the palace was Rs. 11 million. When it opened in 1943,3 it was considered one of the largest royal places in the world. 

Umaid Bhawan Palace as seen from Mehrangarh Fort

The point chosen for the palace was on a hill known as Chittar hill in the external limits of Jodhpur, after which the palace is also known, where no water force was available and hardly any foliage grew as the hill pitches were rocky. 

The structural material needed wasn't close by, as sandstone chases were quite a distance away. Since the Maharaja had the foresight to bring his design to consummation, he erected a road line to the chase point to transport the structure material. Burros were enlisted to haul soil to the point. The sandstone transported by rail was dressed at the point into large blocks with interlocking joints so that they could be laid without the use of mortar. 

The palace complex is set in an area of 26 acres (11 ha) of land, including 15 acres (6.1 ha) of auditoriums. The palace consists of a throne chamber, a private meeting hall, a Durbar Hall to meet the public, abounded feeding hall, private dining halls, a chamber, a library, an inner swimming pool and gym, a billiards room, four tennis courts, two marble squash courts, and long passages. 

The interior central pate sits above the sky blue inner pate. The inner bounded pate is a major magnet in the palace, which rises to 103 bases (31 m) in the interior part, which is limited by an external pate of 43 bases (13 m) in height. The entry to the palace has decorations of the coat of arms of the Rathore Royal family. The entry leads to the lobby, which has polished black diamond flooring. 

The Chesterfield area has pink sandstone and marble bottoms. Maharaja Gaj Singh, known as "bapji", stays in a part of the palace. The top armature of the palace is a blend of Indo-Saracenic, Classical Revival, and Western Art Deco styles. It's also said (by whom?) that the Maharaja and his mastermind Lanchester had considered the features of Buddhist and Hindu edifices similar to the Temple Mountain-Palaces of Burma and Cambodia, and in particular the Angkor Wat, in preparing the layout and design of the palace. 

The Taj Group of Hotels manages the palace's hotel wing, which is known as the Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur. In 2018, Priyanka Chopra, a Bollywood actress, married Nick Jonas in this city. 

Traveling around Jodhpur allows you to discover this jewel of Rajasthan. Renting a car in Jodhpur is the best way to get around the city. Renting a taxi in Jodhpur will provide you with an in-depth understanding of this fascinating city. Royal Rajasthan ensures that you receive the best cab rental services in Jodhpur, enhancing your vacation experience.