Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur

Umaid Bhawan Palace was commissioned by Maharaja Umaid Singh in 1929 on Chittar Hill as a famine relief project for the people of Marwar. Three thousand men and women worked for fifteen years to complete the construction; built of pink-tinged stone, it can be seen rising above the city from miles away.

The Maharaja is remembered for his grace and style, his opulent and jet setting lifestyle; he was an avid traveler, journeying to all corners of the world to enjoy every kind of sport, from foxhunting to salmon fishing. But he was also loved by his people. The many projects he undertook for their welfare still bear fruit, most remarkably the dam about 40 kilometres outside Jodhpur.

The furniture and fittings of the palace were made to order in London, but when the ship carrying the cargo sank en route, everything was lost. The Maharaja then commissioned Stephan Norblin, a Polish artist who had fled war-torn Europe, to do the interiors of the palace in Art Deco style that was at its pinnacle. Here, in the Oriental Throne Room, he has depicted scenes from the Ramayana.

The palace is now a heritage hotel, and parts of it a museum, open to the public. The Maharaja’s grandson and his family still live in one wing of the palace. | By Mowna Ravikumar and Anisha Oommen.

Follow our travels through Jodhpur and Jaipur:
Jodhpur, the city of a thousand colours
The golden city in the desert
A festival of music in the desert