The Great Maratha Royalty- Jai Vilas Palace

JAI VILAS PALACE 

House of  Scindias of Maratha Empire

My only reference of this building was the slide show my dear friend Rohan ( @RohanRajiva ) had show to me. One room called Darbar Hall which I can only compare to its namesake in the Rashtrapti Bhawan, New Delhi.

Jai Vilas Palace , Main Entrance

Jai Vilas Mahal is the resident Palace and the seat of Scindia Dynasty. It was built by  H. H. Maharaja Jayaji Rao Scindia,the Maratha Maharaja of Gwalior, Although the age of royalty has come down, the Scindia are still respected in Gwalior. They are often referred to Raje Sahaab or Maharani saab. The current Raje saab is Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, who is also an MP 

To be very honest , I was not much anxious when the Jai Vilas Palace was on the itinerary. But I was in for a surprise. I had earlier visited Rashtrapati Bhawan which is the Presidential Palace. A section of this grand palace is opened to Public, where I had seen what splendour a palace is, but this was different. The Difference in 2 visits - was the whole experience. While in New Delhi, the capital city, everyone is respectful of the ruler,for obvious reasons. But here - ordinary people on the street affectionately referred to stories of how Rajesaab would visit schools, stadiums and interact personally with their subjects.   

It was the work of fate that the side road to Palace was closed so our driver chose a different route. This is a section of road that royalty uses to travel between 2 palaces. The road leads to a Majestic Door from which the Palace is visible. However this gate is closed for public access. It is used only by the scindia family. 

Forecourt, Jai Vilas Palace

I am no fan or follower of architecture styles, but I guessed that the palace is designed on the french style of architecture. It was a resemblance to a photo of Versailles Palace. This is a private palace maintained by the Scindia family. After the privy purses were abolished in 1971, many royal family opened up the family collectibles for public viewing as a source of income. A sister palace - Called Usha kiran Palace is now converted into a luxury hotel. Jai Vilas Mahal has a lot of exquisite artifacts and displays that keep the visitor engaged for long, 

One wing of the 3 wings of the palace is converted into museum.where these artifacts and collections are kept. At the start, you are introduced to the Scindia family and the extended family tree. After acquiting ourself with the descendents of the great Maratha dynasty we moved into the new room. 

The Coronation Room

This is the coronation room- the props and dresses used by the royals are kept here. Even at display is the royal Seat - Singhasan of Scindia.  On one ends the TV displays the art of making the royal Pagdi (Crown / headgear) by the courtesan. Unlike European Crown, the Indian Pagdhi is made from Long drape of textile and woven around the head of the king everyday by the courtesan.

Then there was the baghi and doli used by king and queens when the royal procession was to be made. You are guided to the room which is dedicated to Late H. H. Madhavrao Scindia. This room has almost all the article used by His Highness and has been curated carefully into a museum by his wife- Madhavi Raje Sahib Scindia. 

The Royal Procession Motifs, Jai Vilas Palace

It was here, I was able to witness the attachment gwaliorkars have to their Rajesaab. One women visitor who was ahead of us. She was visiting this palace for the first time with her family. In this room she was pointing at one of the photos of Madhavrao Scindia  and reminding here little one - Rajesaab would visit our school very often and I have received many medal from him. He would personally ask us about our dreams and encourage us to think about our future and place for gwalior in it."   Many visitors, who were locals were also telling stories about the royalty to the person accompanying them, Madhavrao Scindia was an MP and hence his people interaction was immense. He was following the rich tradition of the Scindias by developing the city infrastructure and rail network, 

Hand woven carpet having famous personalities

In all the subsequent rooms there are collectors items personally purchased by the royals. These mainly include the works of European artists. These speak of rich taste of the royals as patron of arts. one room is dedicated to  HH Rani Chinku Bai, one of the royals who was less than 5" hence all furniture was custom made for her. One of the artifact at display is a woven carpet having the photos of many great personalities from the past. It is a must see on your visit.

Like in dinning, the best is saved for the last here too the best part came last- The Durbar hall. The Scindia were good host and as they were a royal family, many royal family members would often visit the then princely state of Gwalior. The king would keep a reception in the honour of the visiting dignitary. This would be held at Durbar Hall.

The Darbar hall with its 2 chandeliers 

The interior of the Durbar Hall is decorated with gilt and gold furnishings and adorned with a huge carpet and gigantic chandeliers. It is 100 feet long, 50 feet wide and 41 feet in height. there is  two 12.5m-high, 3.5-tonne chandeliers with 250 light bulbs, said to be the largest pair in the world. Sadly on date of our visit it was not lit up. so we could only imagine the aura created in the room.

Although it is best to read but photos don't do justice to the experience of being in such place personally. I recommend it highly when You visit Gwalior or MP next.

For It was fun to see truly Indian- European kind of Royalty and that too from the great Maratha lineage.  I had till now only heard it in stories....


All Photos are copyrighted -  Rohan Sharma - @RohanRajiva /twitter