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by phileasfogg
New Delhi, India
September 23, 2007
Umaid Bhawan was light years beyond our budget, but we wanted to see the palace museum. Air-conditioned interiors; interesting history – ah, bliss. But the best-laid plans of mice, men and women tend to go awry. The Umaid Bhawan Palace Museum is small, interesting only in parts, and – the unkindest cut of all – not air-conditioned. We fortified ourselves with chilled cans of Pepsi at the outdoor garden café, then bought our tickets (Rs 15 apiece; Rs 200 if you’re foreign).
The first hall – large and dim – was the most informative. Intriguing black and white photographs of the royal family lined the walls (there were some mesmerising pictures of the queens!). There was a large model of the Umaid Bhawan Palace, perfect in every detail; old photographs of the palace being built and the first party being held; and plenty of interesting trivia. I knew Umaid Bhawan' s one of the largest art deco buildings in the world; but there were loads of lesser known facts.
It was built by Air Commodore Maharaja Umaid Singh between 1929 and 1944, in an attempt to provide employment to the people of Jodhpur during a famine (the opulence of the palace – displayed in a fine video projected on a screen in the museum – suggests more than mere philanthropy). 5,000 people built the palace from blocks of stone which are fitted together by interlocking, not joined by mortar. The stone's mainly Makrana marble, of which 100 wagonloads were used. The palace spreads across 76 acres, of which 15 are gardens (we saw a peacock later on the lawns – Booga nearly chased it to get a photo).
Stephan Norblin designed the interiors and painted some impressive frescoes. Umaid Singh also commissioned Norblin to design the furniture, after the Nazis sank the ship on which furniture was being brought from England. The first big party to ‘inaugurate’ Umaid Bhawan was New Year’s Eve 1942; officers of the RAF at Jodhpur were the main guests.
Beyond the first hall, things started to get a little less interesting. The next couple of halls were dedicated to royal memorabilia: cutlery, crockery,
From journal Jodhpur Jaunt: Women-Only Weekend