Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official residence
of the President of India. Built on a very large scale - 600
meters long and 180 meters wide - it was the former residence
of the Viceroy of India during the British regime. Lord Irwin
was the first occupant of this building. Rashtrapati Bhavan
was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and built on Raisina hill,
which he saw as an Indian Acropolis with the Viceroy's house
as the Parthenon. Bigger than any palace of Indian Princes and
one of the biggest palaces of the world, Rashtrapati Bhavan
has a large court to its front and a Mughal style garden at
its back. Popularly known as the 'Mughal Gardens' or 'Butterfly
Garden', this garden behind Rashtrapati Bhawan is designed after
the terraced gardens of Kashmir and spreads over an area of
130 hectares. It has a number of rare species of flowers especially
roses, which are found nowhere else in India. Visitors can visit
this beautiful garden only in the month of February when it
is open to the public.
Built in a neo-classical style, Rashtrapati
Bhavan has 340 large rooms, 37 salons, 74 lobbies and loggias,
18 staircases and 37 fountains. To some extent the style can
be said to be Classical or Greek as there are pillars and domes
but with very few arches and where one find arches, they are
round and not pointed. According to the historian Laura Sykes,
it seems that Lutyens was designing some vast opera set for
an Indian version of 'The Mikado'. The dominant feature of the
building is its central dome, which is said to be inspired by
the Buddhist Stupa at Sanchi. Lutyens introduced stone elephants
and a row of lions on sentry duty outside the building, taken
straight from the iron railings of London's Natural History
Museum. It is said that he borrowed the idea of red sandstone
construction from the Mughals and cream stone from the palaces
of Dholpur, Bharatpur and Agra.
The Durbar Hall or the Throne room is the most
magnificent room of the Bhavan and is the venue for all official
functions of the President of India. It is situated directly
under the main dome. Lutyens invented a pillar design for the
house incorporating stone bells in the columns at the entrance
to the Durbar Hall to recall a legend that the reigning dynasty
would survive only so long as the bells remained silent. However,
the bells never rang and despite that the empire came to an
end after sixteen years. The other rooms open to the public
are the Ashok Hall and the Dining Hall or the Banqueting room.
Permission to visit Rashtrapati Bhavan can be taken from the
Deputy Military Secretary to the President.
This best proportioned building of the city
is also famous for its Jaipur Column, which is in the tradition
of commemorative pillars 'replete with Indian and Imperial allegories'.
Surmounted by a star made of glass, it was presented by the
Maharaja of Jaipur and hence its name.
Rashtrapati Bhavan is grand in every sense,
whether it is the ceiling with its amazing design or the beautifully
carved furniture. The extensive lawns of the Rashtrapati Bhavan
include the Mughal gardens, which are opened to the public in
February-March every year. The gardens are famous for their
prize-winning roses, herb garden, spiritual garden and collection
of plants from all over India and the world.
