Taj Mahal Palace

The Taj Mahal Palace started its construction in the year 1871 and was completed by 1884 AD. It was the begum of Bhopal, Sultan Shah Jahan who built it. The Palace is in Bhopal near the Taj-ul-Masjid. It was constructed as the residential house of the Begum. The total spending on the construction of the Palace was about Rs 30 lakhs. The total time taken for the completion of its construction was 13 years and it was said to be the largest amongst other Palaces of that period.

There is an entrance gate which is very attractive and huge as it let the carts and cars easily enter inside the Palace. The Palace has 120 rooms and there 8 are big halls in total. Different colors were used to decorate the rooms along with the furniture which matched the interior. Colored glasses were used to decorate the Sheesh Mahal.

History

The construction of the Palace took 13 years, starting from the year 1871 to 1884 and completed by spending a fortune of 30 Lakh rupees. It was considered to be the largest Palace built amongst other palaces of that period. Originally the name of the Palace was 'Raj Palace' which meant the royal palace. The name 'Taj Mahal' was named by the Bhopal's British Resident as the architecture of the building impressed him, Agra's Taj Mahal was named for the namesake of the Begum. After accepting the name given by the resident, it was finally known as Taj Mahal. When the building was completed, a three years long celebration known as Jashn-e-Taj was ordered by the Begum.

In 1947, when India was partitioned, Sindhi refugees were allowed to reside by Nawab Hamidullah Khan. For a period of 4 years they resided in the Palace, before shifting to Bairagarh. During this period, the Palace had suffered great damage. Later on, some royal family members also stayed there but due to shortage of money to be spent on the repairs, they did not stay for long. By the year 2008, huge parts got collapsed from the Palace.

It was in the year 2005, the Government of Madhya Pradesh declared the Palace as a state heritage monument. The archaeology department of the state carried out its restoration. Moreover, by the year 2011, the government had planned to handover the Property of the Palace to the department of tourism for the purpose of its development in the form of a hotel.

Architecture

Taj Mahal Palace's architecture has the influences of Hindus, French, Arabic, Mughal and British styles. Taj Mahal Palace has a fountain, 'Savon Bhadon'. It has a seven-storied building along with the lakes as a part of the Palace. The summer place of the Begum was known by Benazir Palace which is one amongst the 3 lakes. The other one was the Taj-ul-Masjid Mosque. Due to the presence of lakes near the Palace, it remained cool throughout as the winds kept on blowing all the time. The Palace was characterized by the Indo-Saracenic architectural style.

The Palace also had the combination of Islamic and Rajput styles in the form of decorated pillars, arches and the Sawan Bhadon porch. It paid a tribute to the Nawabs upon its completion due to its significance in Bhopal. There are gates on each side of the Palace which were very high and the balconies were also seen. Some floors of the Palace were built like the corbels stretch while other floor looked like constructed in an abrupt manner. The palace is very famous and magnificent monument of the city.

How to reach

Bhopal has very good connectivity across the globe. It has all means of transport which runs in the entire city so it becomes easier to travel in Bhopal by air, road or rail.

By Air

Bhopal has an airport in the city itself. The Bhopal international airport connects to several cities and countries all over the world. It is only at 14 kms distance from the Taj Mahal Palace which takes around 27 minutes to reach the Palace.

By Rail

The Bhopal Junction railway station is at a distance of only 2 kms from the Taj Palace. It takes only 7-10 minutes to reach there. Routes of all trains are available to and fro from the station.

By Road

Bhopal has good roads which makes comfortable to commute. There is a bus station in Bhopal which provides all class of buses.

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