Rambagh Palace

Jaipur

Upon his return from the “land of spirituality”, the renowned French writer André Malraux was deeply impressed and called India “the other pole of our life”. He was fascinated by the religious fervor present on the streets of the city of Benares and the splendor of the iconographic representations decorating the sacred walls of the Ellora and Elephanta grottos. From this mysterious part of India, the peoples of Rajasthan continue to perpetuate their ancestral customs, traditions and way of life. Once the land of wealthy lords, it remained in the hands of the Rajpoute ethnic group, and the region has an extremely rich cultural and architectural heritage as witnessed in particular by the splendor and opulence of the capital, Jaipur. Built under the reign of the sovereign Sawai Jai Singh II, the city was painted in pink in honor of the visit in 1876 by the Prince of Wales. Jaipur, along with Delhi and Agra make up what is known as the “Indian triangle”.

Opulence and majesty

The tall, imposing Rambagh Palace, a daring blend of Rajpoute and Moghol architecture, dominates the streets of the “pink city”, the remains of an era when Jaipur discovered the modern world under the leadership of the sovereign Ram Singh II. This former princes’ residence has been converted into a luxury hotel belonging to the Taj Hotel chain. The palace walls plunge the visitor into the opulent, extravagant and decadent universe of these Rajpoute princes who were more inclined to squander their fortunes than to rule over the people. Gilded decorations, sculpted arches, frescoes, mosaics, pink marble and royal family portraits adorn the interiors, of which many are still intact, invoking the memories of the close ties the maharajahs had with the British crown. The Rambagh Palace has not lost any of the festive atmospheres that existed here in the past. Still today, numerous soirées and receptions are held around the immense swimming pool, decorated with mosaics. Rumor has it that sumptuous parties were organized here by Prince Charles, Jacqueline Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis, although nobody is around to prove it. The time of the Durbars and their opulent ceremonies did exist however, and serve as motivation for present day celebrations.

“When I was commissioned to renovate the palace, I immediately chose to preserve as much as possible of what already existed and what was part of our heritage. We wanted to respect the choice we made at the time and allow our guests to live the life of the former palace rather than create something entirely new. We therefore documented what had existed here and tried to bring it back to life in the slightest detail.” Arnit Gahlot – Indian designer