Am ajuns, in sfarsit, la City Palace cu putin inainte de inchiderea casei de bilete. Am platit cele 300 Rp/persoana, care includ si fotografiatul si am intrat. Partea aceasta, de muzeu, a palatului se poate vizita zilnic, intre orele 10-17. Descendentii familiei regale traiesc si astazi intr-o parte a palatului, o cladire inalta de 7 etaje, numita Chandra Mahal, inchisa publicului.
Chandra Mahal, cladirea galbena
Primul de care dam cu ochii este Mubarak Hall, un mic palat in care erau primiti si distrati oaspetii straini. Acum aici se afla expuse diverse piese de imbracaminte din garderoba regala. Cladirea in sine atrage atentia prin dantelaria de piatra de la exterior si stalpii de sustinere frumos sculptati. Ea a fost construita in 1902 din gresie si marmora.
Mubarak HallNe aflam intr-o curte interioara mare, unde zabovim putin pentru a intelege mai bine planul constructiei. Este curtea principala, din care se patrunde in diferite zone ale complexului. Vizitatori multi, majoritatea indieni. Desi mai este o ora si ceva pana cand muzeul se inchide, nu se grabesc. Fac poze, admira, ca si noi, locurile in care odinioara se plimbau doar membrii familiei regale. Palatul este si el “roz”, cu desene geometrice ornamentale, albe. Frumoase sunt consolele in forma de paun, utilizate la unele ferestre. Maimutele dau si ele tarcoale…
Ne atrage atentia o poarta, in fata careia se afla doi elefanti din marmora. Trecem prin ea si ne gasim intr-o alta curte interioara.
Intram in Sarva Bhadra Chowk sau Holul pentru audiente private. Este, in fapt, o terasa acoperita, cu stalpi de sustinere, impodobita cu frumoase candelabre. Acum, de Craciun, aici se afla un brad impodobit si chiar un Mos Craciun, purtand pe fata o masca nu tocmai atragatoare…Copiii se inghesuie in jur fiindca el le da bomboane. Observ un lucru impresionant: cativa parinti, apartinand in mod evident unei clase de mijloc, isi trag discret copiii de acolo, pentru a-i lasa pe cei mai saraci sa primeasca bomboanele…
In acest hol se afla expuse doua uriase vase din argint, numite Gangajalis, intrate in Guiness Book ca fiind cele mai mari obiecte din argint. Ele au fost terminate in 1896, fiind turnate dupa topirea a 14000 de monezi din argint. Un vas cantareste 345 kg si are o capacitate de 4091 l. Vasele au fost confectionate pentru Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh, care le-a luat cu el in Anglia, unde a participat la incoronarea lui Eduard al VII-lea, in 1902. Ele contineau apa sfanta din Gange, singura apa pe care o folosea Maharaja!
Sarva Bhadra Chowk
GangajalisIn Sabha Niwas sau Diwan -i-Am, adica Holul pentru audiente publice nu este permisa fotografierea. Este o incapere mare, somptuoasa, decorata in rosu si aur (da, aur suflat, nu culoare aurie) si sprijinita pe coloane de marmora alba. De jur imprejur se afla expuse miniaturi si texte vechi. Un covor persan imens, din secolul al XVII-lea si un candelabru masiv, al doilea ca marime din India, subliniaza splendoarea salii. Ultima audienta publica a avut loc aici in 1949.
Lasam pentru la urma spectaculoasa Pitam Niwas Chock, curtea cu pauni, care face legatura dintre apartamentele regale si curtea principala. Aici exista patru porti, fiecare reprezentand un anotimp si fiind dedicata unei zeitati hinduse, pe care o regasim in partea de sus a portii: Ganesh, Vishnu, Devi si perechea Shiva si Parvati. Este imposibil sa fotografiezi portile fara a prinde in cadru si pe indienii care stau la rand sa se pozeze…
Daca la City Palace din Udaipur paunii erau din email si sticla, aici sunt zugraviti pe perete.
Iarna:
Primavara:
Vara:
Toamna:
Stories of Rajahsthan 38. City Palace, Jaipur
City Palace in Jaipur is mostly a museum. A part of the palace (a structure of 7 levels) is still inhabited by the royal family. The palace is open daily between 10-17, and the entrance fee is 300 Rp/person, camera included.
Mubarak Hall, erected in 1902, was the place where the foreign visitors of the palace have been entertained. It is a little building, with a beautiful stone work.
In theSarva Bhadra Chowk was the private audiences hall. It was a Christmas tree there and I assisted at an impressive act: parents belonging to the middle class were holding back their children to leave the poorer ones to receive the sweets from Santa…In this hall there are also 2 huge silver recipients, called Gangajalis because water from Ganges was carried with them to England, where Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh has witnessed the coronation of Eduard VIIth. The recipients are in the Guiness Book as the biggest silver objects. Each one is 345 kg and has a capacity of 4091 l.
Unfortunately in the Hall for public audiences, a gorgeous, huge room, in red and gold, the photos have been forbidden.
The last visited was the Court with Peacocks. Four gates represented the four seasons, and each one was dedicated to a certain hindi deity.
Mubarak Hall, erected in 1902, was the place where the foreign visitors of the palace have been entertained. It is a little building, with a beautiful stone work.
In theSarva Bhadra Chowk was the private audiences hall. It was a Christmas tree there and I assisted at an impressive act: parents belonging to the middle class were holding back their children to leave the poorer ones to receive the sweets from Santa…In this hall there are also 2 huge silver recipients, called Gangajalis because water from Ganges was carried with them to England, where Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh has witnessed the coronation of Eduard VIIth. The recipients are in the Guiness Book as the biggest silver objects. Each one is 345 kg and has a capacity of 4091 l.
Unfortunately in the Hall for public audiences, a gorgeous, huge room, in red and gold, the photos have been forbidden.
The last visited was the Court with Peacocks. Four gates represented the four seasons, and each one was dedicated to a certain hindi deity.
Inca odata ma uimesc, atat pozele cat si detaliile tale. Multumim!
ps. am inceput sa recitesc povestea Indiei, nu de alta, dar nu se stie …
Multumesc, Liliana!
very, very , very nice, all these great and colorful pictures.
greetings, Joop
Chiar ca e ciudat Mos Craciunu’ 🙂
In rest, totul e fascinant, incepand cu elefantii de la intrare si terminand cu uimitoarele detalii ale portilor.
Ooooo, amazing photo !!!
Beautifl buildings especially the red!!!
But maimutele are Grand Guignol !!!
:))
Greetings
Another impressive post! I love all the photos, but this time have a favourite – this smiling boy in such an elegant suit is sweet!
I am glad, Joop, you liked the photos, thanks!
Nu ma asteptam sa il intalnesc pe Mos Craciun acolo si, mai ales, purtand o masca!
Magda, starting from Rannakpur, I saw monkeys everywhere but especially in Chittorgarh, Bundi and Jaipur. I save for the last post about Jaipur my encounter with them at the…Monkey Temple!
The boy was really elegant, Joo 🙂
I think that little monkey is just following you everywhere. The photo of the young man is so cute too.
Randy 🙂 I eat a lot of bananas…may be this is the reason…
I never cease to be amazed by the colours an architecture. Thanks for the tour. I like your creative talents in the second picture.
o incantare, ca de fiecare data. ma uit asa retrospectiv si vad ca cel putin la excursia, nu prea exista post, de la care sa nu raman cu ceva.
interesanta faza cu mos craciun, dar cel mai mult mi-au placut portile.
another great series of photos. i particularly enjoy the last few photos. such incredible art work.
Thanks, J_on_tour, for the kind words!
Curtea cu pauni este elementul forte al palatului, pharaonx. De aia si e atata lume acolo si greu d epozat, fiindca mereu ti se baga cineva in obiectiv.
The court with the peacocks is truly amazing, Life Ramblings. Everybody thinks this and everybody there want to take a lot of pictures1
frumos,foarte frumos,ce mai,fara cuvinte,felicitari
Multumesc pentru vizita si aprecieri, taio!
I was surprised to see peacocks in their designs. And looking at it now, the colors of the peacocks’ feather suit the styles of their walls.
The two guys with a turban and colorful clothes near the canon look fashionable. Seems like they are part of a bollywood theater acts.
Love all the photos, my friend. Happy weekend.
The peacock is their national bird, Rizalenio, so it is right to be used as a motiff in royal palaces.
Those guys belonged to the personnel. One may take photos of and with them.
It’s nice weather here, so I hope spring is coming, finally! Have a nice weekend too!
Nice pictures, Sabha Niwas looks fantastic.
Have a nice weekend.
Thanks, Per Ove! It sure is, it’s a pitty I couldn’t show you this.
The pictures are fantastic. However the translation from the original is not good. I wish i could understand Romanian language.
Rama, thank you for your visit. You have an English abstract here. I now the mechanical translation is not good, sorry 🙁
I will visit your blog soon. It seems to be very interesting 🙂