Jagniwas – The story of Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur

History

The young Prince Jagat Singh requested his father, Maharana Sangram Singh II (r. 1710 – 1734), if he could reside in Jagmandir with his wives. However as Pardah system was prevalent at that period of time in Mewar, Maharana Sangram Singh II did not allow the Prince to reside in Jagmandir, as he would not like to embarrass his daughter in laws with his frequent visit there. Hence, he gave permission to his son to build Jagniwas. This building was later constructed by Maharana Jagat Singh II (r. 1734 – 1751 CE), 62nd Custodian of House of Mewar, between 1743 – 1746 CE. The Palace was used as summer retreat by the Mewar Royal family over the years.

Later, Jagniwas was converted into a Heritage Hotel by Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar of Udaipur (r. 1955 – 1984 CE), 75th Custodian of The House of Mewar, in February 1963 under the company The Lake Palace Hotels and Motels Private Limited, Udaipur. This brought Udaipur on the tourist world map and people from all over the world, rich and mighty, Head of States and Hollywood actors started flocking to Udaipur to experience the living in a luxury hotel on an island in the lake. This is so because one can hardly notice the land on which it is built on, especially when the lake is full. In 1971 on 1st April, Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar inked a deal with The Indian Hotels Company Ltd., Bombay, The Taj Group of Hotels and now it is called The Taj Lake Palace Hotel.

Architecture and Design

By the time Jagniwas was built, Udaipur was well established and had its own style of construction and you could call it Maharana Sangram Singh II (r.1710 – 1734 CE) style. During his reign a lot of construction was carried out in The City Palace, Udaipur. Jagniwas a jewel floating in the Lake Pichola is a beautiful building made of marble, with cupolas, domes, bastions, balconies and ornamental turrets. The material used is local marble from Rajnagar, about 66 kms from Udaipur, brought to Udaipur in bullock carts.

The construction technique is mainly Mewar / Rajput architecture with may be some Mughal architectural influence, but beautifully assimilated into local designs. Even some designs were copied from the Forts of Chittorgarh and Kumbhalgharh, this former fort was built in the pre-medieval period and the later fort was built by Maharana Kumbha (r. 1433 – 1468 CE), under the architect Mandan Bhardwaj.

Lake Pichola

It is one of the oldest lakes amongst all the other city lakes. It was constructed 600 years ago, during the reign of Maharana Lakha (r. 1382 - 1421 CE) by Chhitar ji Banjara. This lake is situated in the south western part of the city at 73040'E longitude and 24034' N. latitude. It derives its name from the village 'Picholi'. It is a probability that it was started from Dhud Talai. During the reign of Maharana Udai Singh II (r. 1537 – 1572 CE), in 1560, the lake was substantially enlarged by

constructing dams across two upper streams. It accounts for a total water body area around 6.96 sq. Kms and has gross, live and dead capacities of 483,318 and 165 mcft, respectively. Its gauge height above and below sill level is 3.35 meters and 5.2 meters. The lake has a maximum depth of 10.5 meters. It is interconnected with Goverdhan Sagar, Dudh Talai, Swarup Sagar, Rang Sagar and Kumariya Talab.

Anecdotes about the Palace across the years

The lake has dried a few times over the last few hundred years, but not very often and the last time it happened was in 2005 - 2006. There was an American Tourist who arrived sometime in the month of July 2005 in the evening and was driven to The Lake Palace. He left a message at the reception counter that he wanted a car at 6 am as he was going out early to Kumbhalgarh. In the morning, the reception called him and told him that his boat was waiting to take him to the shore; he was little annoyed and said, what would he do with the boat when there is no water in the lake. To his astonishment he was informed that it rained heavily at night and that the Hotel is surrounded by water on all sides. There are more such stories like that.

The shooting of the Hollywood James Bond film ‘Octopussy’ took place in 1983 and that made Lake Palace world famous. Subsequently some Bollywood Hindi films were also shot here, like ‘Mera Saaya’ and so on many more till today.

Construction

Guests of Maharana who stayed at Jagniwas

Visitors at Jagniwas

Note:

1. From the time of Maharana Jagat Singh II (r. 1734 – 1751 CE) until Maharana Bheem Singh (r. 1778 – 1828 CE) only members of the Mewar Royal family stayed at Jagniwas.

2. Maharana Bhupal Singh (r. 1930 – 1955 CE) shifted Mehkma Khas; his Secretariat, to Jagniwas.

Source:

Maharana Mewar Research Institute, Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, The City Palace, Udaipur