amer fort, rajasthan

we approached it in silence over a scrubby terrain in the quiet of early morning. a few miles outside of jaipur, and the seat of the older of a line of rajput kings. construction of this palace began at the end of the 16th century, and took over a hundred years to complete. unlike jaipur, a newer creation built out in the open, a commercial city, the elder is set back on a properly defensible location, a fort as well as a royal residence. amer palace sits atop a hill, where everyday gangs n gaggles of tourists ascend the slope by elephant, pursued across the arrival courtyard by touts hawking gimmicky mementos of all kinds.

(elephants arriving)

our guide was a serious-looking PhD student in Indian history. he led us up past the silver doors of the kali temple, inside covered in fine carved marble and containing a kali statue taken from bengal, and into the courtyard of the diwan-i-am, the hall of public audience. across the courtyard from us stood ganesh pol (a grand gate, pictured below) from the top of which the queen showered flowers on her king at his homecoming. covered in detailed decorative painting, delicate sweet colors on white. this drew attention first. the diwan-i-am was also quite a production of expensive stones, the pillars decorated by carvings whose style according to the guide reflected influences both hindu and muslim, or put otherwise rajput and mughal, this synthesis of styles indicated by the use of both a (hindu) animal motif (the elephant) and (islamic) floral designs.

(ganesh pol)

(sheesh mahal from afar)

we passed out of this courtyard through ganesh pol into the passageway which circled the garden beyond which, across a field of green, stands the sheesh mahal.

(a palace window)

led down this a hall marked by elaborate stone carving and elegant archways, we took a sharp turn and arrived in a dark, crude passageway with small windows and alcoves for the placement of lamps. this was the way to the women’s quarters, solely for the use of the king. through a clever network of such passageways, he could gain access to each and every one of his wives’ rooms without any of the other wives knowing. (oh, the troubles, the trials, the politics of polygamy!)

(ladies' quarters)

from here we ascended (rather than descending into the quarters themselves) and emerged above, beside a balcony from which was visible the ruins of the wives’ quarters circling about a central courtyard at the center of which stood a pavilion in which the wives might congregate. it was from this vantage point that the female guards gazed out on the women’s quarters. or at least so our guide said, asserting that the rajputs did not use eunuchs, as they have some ego problems (yes he stated that one in the present tense, mr u know who u are) and could not deal with such proximity of men, ‘unmanned’ or otherwise.

(view from upstairs)

we ascended another staircase, saw the view of the surrounding landscape which he said in rainy season looks like switzerland. now it mostly looked dry, tho nevertheless beautiful, the hills cutting up from the landscape, covered in their brushy trees and bushes.

(sohag mandir)

in this upper level of the palace was also a beautifully painted pavilion, sahog mandir, which stood at the top of the ganesh pol, on the inner side, and is in fact the place from which the queen would rain her flowers upon her king. that is mr. guide himself, snuck into my picture.

(sheesh mahal, interior)

then we descended from this height down to the sheesh mahal that we had before seen beyond the garden. it glittered and shone vibrantly, a mix of reflective bits of mirror, marble carving and painting covering the entire surface. at night in candlelight it must have sparkled, danced, and here, our guide said, the king had his evening entertainments, his dancers and musicians. it stood there luminous, more than any other part of this palace drawing me in, allowing me to envision that world of wealth, beauty and power which might have once breathed through these pavilions and courtyards.

(detail, sheesh mahal)