Bada Bagh, Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer has many interesting sites of architectural importance. One of them is Bada Bagh that is on the outskirts of the city just 6 kms away.

It contains a set of royal cenotaphs built in memory of Kings and Queens of Jaisalmer. The first one to be built is for Maharaja Jai Singh II of Bhatti Dynasty in 18th century.

There are two distinct rows of cenotaphs, that look distinctly similar. They have been carved beautifully and some of them have interesting carvings on them.

Later on, many more cenotaphs were constructed here for other Bhattis. The last one built was for Maharaja Jawahar Singh sometime in 20th century.

Tazia Tower, Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer always been a place that delight tourists who visit it. Like everyone else we were also very much impressed by the architecture. One of the prominent attractions in the city is Tazia Tower.

It was builtin 1866 AD by Muslim craftsmen in the shape of a Tazia and gifted to their royal patron. It is a delicate pagoda that rises from Badal Mahal. It is a five-tiered architectural marvel with each story graced by a delicately carved balcony.

The exquisite design and fine carvings on the walls of each floor of the Tower reflects the rich artistic creativity and imaginative skills of the local craftsmen of the bygone era. 

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A canon in front of Junagadh Fort Palace in Bikaner

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This is thirtieth in the series on the rich cultural heritage of ancient temples in India. The ancient temples showcase  sculptural work that is unmatched anywhere in the world.

A beautiful Shivalinga at Parasurameswara Temple in Bhubaneshwar, the unique feature is that there are several miniature Shivalinga carved on it. It is said t there are all together 1000 on them.

The external wall of the Jain Temples inside the Golden Fort at Jaisalmer has several beautiful sculptures carved on them.

One of the many carvings on the ceiling of Thousand Pillar Basadi at Moodabidri.

At A.S.I Museum in Shimoga there are several sculptures excavated from various locations in India. They are on display in the lawn of the museum.

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View of Golden Fort at Jaisalmer

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Lalgarh Palace in Bikaner

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This is twenty-sixth in the series on the rich cultural heritage of ancient temples in India. The ancient temples are exceptionally carved.

The external wall and the tower of the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple at Bhadravati is beautifully carved. On the external wall in the middle layer there are  various   sculptures of Hindu deities. On the layer above one can see carvings that resemble small towers.

Similar tower like carvings of bigger size can also be seen on the Rajarani Temple at    Bhubaneshwar. The minute carvings in this tower are beautiful and details are amazing.

At Jain Temple in Ranakpur the carvings in the temple ceilings are very unique and differ from every other ceiling in the temple. One of the smaller ceiling has carving of Ohm. It is impossible to count number of ohms carved into it. It is a beautiful carving one should not miss.

At A.S.I Museum in Shimoga there are several sculptures excavated from various locations in India. One such sculpture is that of Lord Vishnu belonging to the 10th century  excavated from Ayanur in Karnataka state.

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Kumbalgarh Fort in Rajasthan 

Jain Temple, Ranakpur

Jain Temple at Ranakpur carved in amber stone is of exceptional beauty. This temple dates back to period anywhere between the late 14th to mid-15th centuries. Dedicated to Adinatha, the temple occupies an area of approximately 60 x 62 meters. 

The temple, with its distinctive domes, shikhara, turrets and cupolas rises majestically from the slope of a hill. The construction of the temple and quadrupled image symbolize the Tirthankara's conquest of the four cardinal directions and hence the cosmos.

Entering the temple one is overwhelmed by the the lavish abundance of marvelous stonemason works on white marble. There are four subsidiary shrines, 24 pillared halls.

There are totally 1444 columns each from one piece and all rich decorated with most elaborate sculptures. The pillars, carved in exquisite detail, support the temple. The pillars are all differently carved and no two pillars are the same.

Carvings in the ceilings are not alike. There are approximately 6 big ceilings and many more smaller ones. The carvings in the big ceiling are amazing and they are very different from each other.

Mor Chowk of City Palace, Udaipur

Mor Chowk or Peacock Courtyard is one of the most ornate inner courtyards of the City Palace of Udaipur. It was constructed during the reign of Rana Karan Singhji and is the last area in the Mardana Mahal (Palace of Kings).

The magnificent chamber consists of three peacocks that were created during the reign of Maharana Sajjan Singhji in 1874-1884. The glass inlay work and peacocks were added in this period. Around 5,000 pieces of mosaic tiles have been used in creating the works of art. The peacocks have been crafted with pieces of glass, which shine in green, gold and blue colors.

These peacocks represent the three seasons of summer, winter and monsoon.

At the upper level, there is a projecting balcony, which is flanked by inserts of colored glass.

Mandwa Haveli

As I said earlier we reached Mandwa only in the night we checked into the hotel directly. We had booked in Mandwa Haveli which is close to Sonathia Gate and Subhash Chowk.

This 19th century haveli has been restored beautifully. In this magnificent haveli the rooms are surrounding a painted courtyard. We truly enjoyed our stay here.

The paintings on the interior walls of the courtyard are very beautiful. Even the paintings on the entrance to the haveli are awesome.

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Haveli Entrance in Mandwa of Shekhavati region in Rajasthan

Mandwa

Mandwa is a small fort town in town in Shekhawati region of Rajasthan. It is situated 190 km from Jaipur. This place is well connected with the other places by good network of roads. We reached this place by road from Delhi Airport. As we landed in Delhi in the afternoon instead of in the morning, we reached our destination only in the night.

This 18th century place is well known for its fort and havelis. And we stayed one of the havelis which is converted into a hotel. We could not see much here because of our late arrival here. We straight away had our dinner on the terrace as it was already late. 

The sites we visited here are:

• Castle Mandwa
• Mandwa Haveli

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Palace interior in Meharangarh Fort at Jodhpur

Sun Temple, Ranakpur

Ranakpur is widely known for its marble Jain temple, and for a much older Sun Temple which lies 300 meters away from the Jain Temple.

It was built around the 13th century and renovated in the 15th century. Built of white lime stone in the classic Nagara style, the temple shows a profusion of intricate sculptural work.

It consists of a sanctum crowned with Shikhara and an octagonal mandapam which has six verandas. Exterior of the sanctum contains the sculptures of Sun God seated on a chariot.

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Jaigarh Fort at Jaipur

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Gadisagar Lake at Jaisalmer

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Amber Fort at Jaipur

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A glimpse of India in black and white. 

View of the city from Golden Fort at Jaisalmer

Palaces of Junagarh Fort, Bikaner

Junagarh Fort at Bikaner encompasses several places each one surpassing other in magnificence. The fort was constructed between 1588 and 1593 by Raja Rai Singh, a general in the army of Mughal emperor. The subsequent Maharajas have added luxurious suites to this palace. 

The palaces within the fort are on the southern side and make a picturesque ensemble of towers, courtyards, balconies and windows. A major feature of fort and palaces is the superb quality of stone carving.

Karan Mahal, built in 1680 classic Mughal style was is covered with rich Rajput elaboration of Mughal style in terms of the purity of white marble and stucco design. 

Anup Mahal has magnificent decorative art work in this palace with gold vermilion varnished work. There are beautiful motifs treated completely in gold and by mirrors and mirrors or glass mosaic. It also has one throne where the ruler would sit and meet his foreign guests and highly placed officials. Old and antique carpets adorn the floor. 

Gaj Mandir has walls that are covered with elaborate Mughal niches and panels enclosed by a framework of marble plaster slabs, which are carved into various Mughal open-work floral designs behind which mirrors have been placed.

Badal Mahal is stylized blue-and-white clouds, and it reflects the longing for rain in an arid area. Phool Mahal is the oldest part of the palace that has decoration with motifs of trays, flower vases. Inside the rooms the interior walls are decorated with stucco work and glass inlay works.