Amer Fort - Part 2

When you think of a fort, you think of huge walls, cannons, turrets... and most of the forts I have seen are in quite a bad shape, having suffered during the wars they were built to brave. Which is why, Amer comes as a surprise. It looks more like a palace than a fort, and is remarkably well preserved, considering that it was built and enlarged from the 16^th to the 18^th centuries. Of course, one reason for this could be that Jaipur was quite a safe place during that period, seeing only minor skirmishes in the area, not full-fledged wars. It would also have helped that the rulers of Jaipur chose to side with the Mughal Emperors and thus earned their protection. Wars fought by the Rajputs of Jaipur were fought, not in Jaipur or Amer, but at other places, not only Rajasthan but all over the Indian Subcontinent. It was first Raja Man Singh, and later, his descendents, who built and beautified Amer. It is their combined efforts that we see today, and, it gives us a glimpse of the life the royal rulers of Jaipur led.

Continuing from my last post, we climbed the impressive set of steps and entered the second courtyard of the fort. Here is the Diwan-e-aam, or the Public Audience Hall. This is where the king held open court to hear petitions from the public.

The Diwan-e-aam is built of red sandstone and marble, just like the rest of the fort, and has 27 columns holding it up. Each column is beautifully decorated, and it is only when you go further into the palace that you realise how simple this decoration is!

In this courtyard is the Ganesh Pol, or Ganesh Gate, which leads us to what were once the private quarters of the Maharaja. While Amer is a beautiful fort, with lots to see and appreciate, it is Ganesh Pol, which is the most famous sight here, and it is this gate which appears on all postcards and literature about the fort!

And the intricate details on this gate are simply amazing. It is quite obvious, even from a distance, that here is something special – something that makes it clear that it leads to a special parts of the palace, and that not everyone can gain entry through this gate.

The Ganesh Pol might just be a gate, but the attention paid to it is amazing. 

As we entered the gate, and looked at the beautiful paintings, our guide waited for the crowd to pass. He then told us to look up at the paintings on the ceiling. They appeared to be simply decorative paintings. He then made us move just outside the gate and look up again. It was such an amazing sight to see the paint shining, seen at this angle. This was apparently gold and silver leaf work, which the artisans here were famous for!

On the top level of the gate, is a gallery with latticed windows, which allowed the women of the royal family to have a good view of the happenings at the Diwan-e-aam without showing themselves.

Entering the gate, what we can see is a beautifully laid out garden. This was created during the reign of Mirza Raja Jai Singh (1623-68). 

It is a sunken bed, with a hexagonal design. The garden is fed with water from the cascades in the Sukh Mandir.

On one side of this is the Sheesh Mahal, or palace of mirrors. 

Every inch of this hall is decorated with intricate mirror inlay work, from the walls to the ceiling!!!!

It is said that just one candle lit in this hall used to make the whole hall glow with the multiple reflections!

Incidentally, most of this intricate work – both the inlay work as well as the paintings here, had deteriorated at some point thanks to negligence. But thankfully, it has now been restored to its former glory.

One of the most famous attractions here is the carving of a flower. It is said to be the signature of the artist (of course, as is usual, the name of the artisan has been forgotten, though his work lives on).

It looks like a simple flower at first glance, but when you cover different portions of the flower, stem, etc, it appears in various forms , such as en elephant trunk, a fish tail, a lotus, a hooded cobra, a corn cob, and a scorpion!

Right opposite the Sheesh Mahal is the Sukh Mandir or Diwan-e-khaas. 

This is a large oblong chamber, with two side rooms and a verandah in front overlooking the garden. The back wall of the main chamber has a beautiful marble cascade formed by a perforated marble screen, which is connected with a stripped channel. 

At one time, the cascade was provided with running water from a tank built on  the roof. The water flowing over this cascade, adn the breeze passing through the perforations served to cool the chamber during the summers. It is said that swings were attached to the ceilings and the women used to enjoy swinging, while dipping their feet in the water channel from the cascade!

Two sandal wood doors with marble inlay work led to the inner rooms. Interestingly, the patter of the marble inlay work is said to be the same as the pattern of the garden it looks out to!

Going further into the palace, we come to the Zenana – or the womens’ quarters, which is a single corridor with doors leading into the rooms of the various queens.

Our tour of the Amer Fort is still not over. We are still in the newer sections of the fort, the oldest sections are yet to come!!! And there a lot more interesting things to see. But this post is getting too long, so  I will stop here now, and keep the rest for Part 3.