Monday, January 18, 2010

Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior

From Bhopal after touring Bhojpur and Bhimbetka we reached Gwalior overnight. In Gwalior we first visited nearby destinations like Padavali and Mitavali. Some time in the afternoon we visited this magnificent palace before visiting the fort. This palace is located in the city outside the premises of the fort.

Jai Vilas Palace, is an Italianate structure combining the Tuscan and Corinthian architectural modes. This palace was designed by Lt. Col. Sir Michael Filose and was bui
lt in 1809. The part of the palace is occupied by the Royal Scindia family.

About 35 of the rooms have been converted into the Scindia Museum. A splendor of a different kind exists in this palace. These rooms, are so expressive the royal lifestyle, the past comes alive. The museum provides a glimpse of the rich culture and lifestyle of the royal India.

The palace has various rooms each one decorated in its own way with different colors and exquisite furniture. One such room is shown below. The furniture in this are made of crystal.

Room with crystal furniture

In the museum on display are several belongings of the Royal family. Some of the
antiques are glass cradle from Italy used for the baby Krishna on each Janmashtami celebrations, and swords that were once worn by Emperors Aurangzeb and Shah Jahan.

golden footwear

These are, besides, personal mementos of past members of the Scindia family: the jeweled slippers that belonged to Chinkoo Rani, four-poster beds, gifts from practically every country in the world, hunting trophies and portraits.

In the next section we will discover other rooms of this beautiful palace.

54 comments:

Unspoken said...

Oh my goodness, the beauty here is striking. You are so fortunate to live in a place with such opulant, amazinh, history and culture ot be proud of!

As an American I have nothing culturally as stunning as you. So I am envious, but only in the kindest way :).

Viji said...

Hey, what a royal glory! The majestic palaces showcase timeless archetecture & beauty:-).

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

WOW! If this post is so good, the next post has to be good. Nice post Rajesh :)

Mexican Prickly Poppy [Argemone Mexicana, Satyanashi, सत्यानाशी]

Tarun Mitra said...

Nice photographs and good descriptions...hope to visit it once

Zuzana said...

Beautiful palace! I really enjoyed seeing the shoe display - how very amusing and unusual.;)
xo
Zuzana

Ramakrishnan said...

Very nice pics. i've never been to Gwalior before.hope to make it some day.

Aparna said...

I had gone to Gwalior long time back and vaguely remember the museum.
The photos looked enchanting.

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hi Rajesh:)

Many thanks for sharing this interesting information with awesome photos.

India's rich cultural heritage is beautifully portrayed in this post.

The splendous, glitter and glamour of the Rajas and Maharajas are well preserved for posterity.

When I last visited Gwalior many, many years back, the notorious lady dacoit Phoolan Devi was lodged in the Gwalior jail.

Have a nice day Rajesh:)
Joseph

shruthi said...

ITS REALLY NICE AND INFORMATIVE....

I LIKED THOSE ROYAL SHOES A LOT.... I MEAN THE FOOTWEAR

Carletta said...

A beautiful red room for Ruby Tuesday! One would want to be careful sitting on crystal. :)

Sylvia K said...

Marvelous post, Rajesh! And what a beautiful place -- and crystal furniture!!! Amazing! Love all your photos and you always have such a fascinating part of your world to share with us! Have a great week!

Sylvia

Marie said...

Lovely shots and interesting info :-)

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

Furniture made of crystal! fitting a king!

foto CHIP said...

Very interesting and I enjoyed your photos very much :)
Have a nice day!

amatamari© said...

WOW what a wonderful building: I love the red room, and even more all those slippers ...
:-)
Wonderful post, thanks!

Joe Todd said...

Another great tour.. Thank you

Carver said...

The palace is very beautiful and an interesting post about it.

Unknown said...

It always amaze me what personal objects end up in a museum. I better take care of my shoes...just in case. ;-)

Janie said...

What a magnificent place. The architecture is great, and so are the jeweled slippers and crystal furniture! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Jeweled slippers! that makes my mouth water. Have a great week.

eileeninmd said...

Very nice, I would love to see the jewled slippers up close.

Patti said...

Interesting post ~ that room with crystal furniture is stunning.
I am always amazed at how royalty lives.

Happy Ruby Tuesday ~

Shell Sherree said...

The architecture is fascinating! Thanks for introducing me to this palace, Rajesh!

magiceye said...

impressive
crystal furniture! wow!!

Martha Z said...

Your country has a rich and interesting history, thank you for sharing it with us.

Wolynski said...

A Tuscan palace in India? Love the shot with all the royal shoes.

Robin said...

Jeweled slippers sound so wonderfully exotic. If I had a pair I suspect I'd never want to take them off.

Urmi said...

Very nicely written about the place. I liked all the pictures. I appreciate for your wonderful post.

Dirkjogt said...

Nice pictures of a magnificent palace.

Reader Wil said...

Fabulous Rajesh! Imagine crystal furniture! This is all very interesting! Thanks for sharing!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Rajesh: What a neat palace: nicely posted and shown.

Chubskulit Rose said...

thanks for taking us to your part of the world.

Sharing my son's 3rd birthday

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Wow! Very impressive structure and some fine interiors too!

Good pictures, as always!

The Good Life in Virginia said...

a marvelous post...this palace is gorgeous. and that crystal furniture room...my goodness.
the slipper tree was an interesting way to display the slippers...creative. gives new meaning to the shoetree concept ;)
have a lovely week.

Marice said...

awww thats beautiful! thanks for sharing :)

u may view mine here

Diane AZ said...

I really enjoyed these interesting images of the palace architecture, crystal furniture and golden footwear. Great post, Rajesh!

SandyCarlson said...

What an amazing and impressive place.

DeniseinVA said...

Wonderful post! I do enjoy learning and your photos are superb, very enjoyable, thank you.

Trotter said...

Hi Rajesh! Wonderful!! Would love to visit Gwalior...

Thanks for your comment at my new blog Blogtrotter Two, now at the Art Deco District in South Beach! Hope to read you there often! Have a great week ahead!!!

George said...

The palace is absolutely beautiful. I don't think I've seen a more impressive building. I'm also glad you showed some of the rooms and I hope to see more in a future post.

Ebie said...

Great architecture and culture! Thanks for the journey!

Regina said...

Beautiful place. A fabulous jeweled shoes and crystal furniture.

Thanks for the tour.

Helena said...

Great post and wonderful photos! My favorite is the display of slippers.

LadyFi said...

What a splendid palace! I love that tree of slippers.

sandeep said...

i was in jai vilas during dec 2005 and was awed to say the least! amazingly royal and palatial!

did u visit the gwalior fort too? the light and sound show is very interesting

Anonymous said...

another wonderful post. well done

Digital Flower Pictures said...

Incredible building!

joshi daniel said...

that looks real royal and big!

Lowell said...

This was truly a sight to see, I'm sure. I've never ever heard of crystal furniture! Amazing!

Rajesh said...

Bhavesh: Thanks, I shall post more snaps on the palace interiors in the next.

Amy, Viji, Aparna, Joseph, Carletta, Sylvia, Marie, puppies, foto, Joe, Carver, shell: Thanks for the appreciation.

Tarun, Ram, eileeninmd: Thanks, it is a nice place to see.

J Bar, magiceye, Martha, Wolynski, Babli, Dirkjogt, Fishing Guy, chubskulit, Rakesh, Marice: Thanks for the appreciation.

Protege, Shruthi, Amatamari, Janie, ewok1993: Thanks, since it is a museum footwares and furnitures are on display.

Stine: Thanks, nicely said.

Sandy, Denise, GMG, Ebie, Vaggelis, Digital, Joshi: Thanks for the appreciation.

George: Thanks, I shall post more snaps on the palace interiors in the next.

Patti, Robin, Wil, Erin, Diane, Regina, Helena, LadyFi, Jacob: Thanks, since it is a museum footwares and furnitures are on display.

Sandeep: Thanks, I did visit the fort. Will post soon.

dr pratibha said...

awesome clicks.u actually enhances the beauty the way u captured it.

Arpana said...

Thanks for taking us for the virtual tour.

Rajesh said...

Pratibha, Aparna: Thanks for the appreciation/.

DougVernX said...

That's a great shoe tree. Thanks for sharing!