© Penelope Gan – All Rights Reserved – City Palace Guard, Jaipur, INDIA

City Palace, Jaipur, which includes the Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal palaces and other buildings, is a palace complex in Jaipur city, the capital of the Rajasthan state, India. Built between 1729 and 1732, initially by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the City Palace incorporates hilpa shastra of Indian architecture with Rajput, Mughaland European styles of architecture, the City Palace has an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. Currently a museum, the greater part of the City Palace still serves as a royal residence for the Jaipur Kingdom despite its merger with the Indian Union in 1949 along with other Rajput states of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner.

The City Palace Museum showcases the modernity and western outlook of the Rajput kings where relations were maintained with the British notably. A rich history showcase Maharaja Ram Singh’s bilateral relations, support for the Imperial rulers in the Sepoy Mutiny (Uprising of 1857) and his preference for imperial life that includes polo and hunting. To his credit, Jaipur city’s famed and trademark of being the “Pink City” was a result of an honor of hospitality extended by Ram Singh to the Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VII) on his visit to Jaipur.

Perhaps the most memorable sight of the City Palace to any tourist in Jaipur is the Peacock Gate, often guarded by palace official guard donning long red turbans spotting curled mustaches. This is followed by the  two huge sterling silver vessels of 1.6 meters height made from 14,000 melter silver coins located in the Diwan-I-Khas on its highly polished marble floors just below impressive crystals chandeliers hanging from the ceiling that are covered with plastic sheets to keep it away from the dust!

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