Jal Mahal
After a brisk walk and cycling in the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, I decided to drive to Deeg on my way back to Delhi via Brindavan and Mathura before taking the Taj Express way. the road, all 35 kms long to Deeg was surprisingly smooth. I had read about the 17th century palace. Let me take you around this beautiful palace.
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| The main entrance and the Royal insignia |
Deeg falling in the district of Bharatpur, was the capital of the Jat kings before they shifted to Bharatpur. In the year 1721, Badan Singh who came to the throne decided to build a palace in Deeg which is close to Agra, due to which it had to face repeated attacks by the Mughal invaders. But his son Suraj Mal began construction of a massive fortress around the palace in 1730.
The legendary battle between the Jats and a combined Mughal and Maratha army of 80,000 men was fought in Deeg. Suraj Mal on his his victory in the war captured Delhi and plundered the Red Fort. He carried away huge amount of valuables including the marble building which was dismantled and numbered and later reconstructed at the Jal Mahal palace.
The design of the gardens has been inspired by the Mughal Charbagh,a quardrangle with a garden and walkways at its centre.
There are two huge water tanks aptly named as Gopal Sagar and Rup Sagar, on either side help bring down the temperature.
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| Marble jaalis, filigreed gates, stone slabs ornate beams have been used in this Palace. |
A beautifully carved marble swing, believed to have belonged to Nur Jehan was brought as a war trophy from the Mughal Court. the swing overlooks the beautiful gardens.
Keshav Bhavan, the monsoon pavilion is a single storied baradari buit on a octagonal base which stands next to Rup Sagar tank.The walls of the canal are pierced with hundreds of very small water jets. During festivals like Holi, colours are added to water. When the water flowed through the intricate network of pipes, the fountains sprout multi colour jets of water. There are nearly 2000 fountains spread across the Palace, which even today are in perfect working condition.
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| From the Marble swing of Nur Jehan |
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| Beautifully laid out Moghul Charbagh design of the garden |
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| Fountains all over |
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| The back side of Keshav Bhawan over looking Rup Sagar |
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| Awesome Balcony overlooking Rup Sagar |
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| Keshav Bhawan on Rup Sagar |
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| The main banquet hall and dining table |
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| The main bed room of the King in the Keshav Bhawan |
