Scindia Museum, Gwalior

In Gwalior we first visited Jai Vilas Palace also known as Scindia Museum. Built in 1809, as many as 35 rooms of this palace is converted into museum.

In the museum on display are several belongings of the Royal family. The palace has various rooms each one decorated in its own way with different colors and exquisite furniture.

There is a weapon room displaying some of the weapons used by the Kings and his army. In this room the weapons ranging from swords to guns are on display.

There are two dining rooms in the palace. One is in a traditional style where people sit on the floor and have the food. Other is the western style where food is served on the table. Here there is a silver train with cut glass wagons which served the guests drinks as it chugged long the table on miniature rails.

Dining room

Most fascinating place in the palace is the Durbar Hall. Here ceilings have glittering paintings, heavy draperies and tapestries, fine Persian carpets. In this room there are antique furnitures from France and Italy. There are two central chandeliers, weighing a couple of tonnes. They were hung only after ten elephants had tested the strength of the roof.

Durbar Hall

That covers the tour of the palace/museum.

Next we shall discover the places nearby Gwalior to start with Padavali.