Palace in Jaipur
Hawa Mahal
State Protected Monument
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The story of Hawa Mahal
Hawa Mahal is the five-storey palace of Jaipur’s old centre, best known for its honeycomb-like street façade and its 953 jharokhas, the small windows that give it the name “Palace of Winds.” It stands on the edge of the City Palace, Jaipur, and extends to the Zenana, or women’s chambers.
Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh commissioned it and had it built in 1799. Lal Chand Ustad designed it. The palace was inspired by the structure of Khetri Mahal, and the original purpose of those many openings was practical as well as royal: they let the women of the household watch everyday life and festivals in the street below without being seen, while also allowing air to pass through and help keep the interior cooler in summer.
From here, the striking thing is the front elevation, though it is actually the back side of the building seen from the street. It rises in five floors, and the upper three are only as wide as a single room. The façade is made of red and pink sandstone, with miniature windows, carved sandstone grills, finials and domes, so the whole surface reads as a mass of semi-octagonal bays. On the inner side, the building has chambers built with pillars and corridors, with less ornamentation. The palace interior has also been described with rooms of different coloured marbles, inlaid panels or gilding, and fountains in the centre of the courtyard.
The monument is now a State Protected Monument, and renovation works were undertaken in 2006 after a gap of 50 years, with the Unit Trust of India adopting it for maintenance. If you look closely from the street, the jharokhas are the detail that defines it; that latticework is the whole reason this palace looks unlike anything else around it.
In brief
The Hawa Mahal is a palace in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Built from red and pink sandstone, it is on the edge of the City Palace, Jaipur, and extends to the Zenana, or women's chambers.
Hawa Mahal, also known as the "Palace of Winds", was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. The palace is known for its honeycomb-like façade, featuring numerous small windows and balconies.
Hawa Mahal derives its name from its 953 windows, known as jharokhas, which are arranged in a honeycomb-like pattern. These openings facilitate natural ventilation, helping to keep the interior of the palace cool during the summers.
The structure was built in 1799 by the Rajput Emperor Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, grandson of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of the city of Jaipur of Rajasthan. He was so inspired by the unique structure of Khetri Mahal that he built this grand and historical palace.
It was designed by Lal Chand Ustad. Its five-floor exterior is akin to a honeycomb with its 953 small windows called Jharokhas decorated with intricate latticework. The original intent of the lattice design was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life and festivals celebrated in the street below without being seen. This architectural feature also allowed cool air from the Venturi effect to pass through, thus making the whole area more pleasant during the high temperatures in summer. Many people see the Hawa Mahal from the street view and think it is the front of the palace, but it is the back.
In 2006, renovation works on the Mahal were undertaken, after a gap of 50 years, to give a facelift to the monument at an estimated cost of Rs 4.568 million. The corporate sector lent a hand to preserve the historical monuments of Jaipur and the Unit Trust of India has adopted Hawa Mahal to maintain it.
The palace is an extended part of a huge complex. The stone-carved screens, small casements, and arched roofs are some of the features of this popular tourist spot. The monument also has delicately modelled hanging cornices.
Key facts
- Named after
- wind
- Built
- 1799
- Opened
- 1799
- Commissioned by
- Sawai Pratap Singh
- Architect
- Lal Chand Ustad
- Architectural style
- Mughal architecture
- Floors
- 5
Before you go
- Best months
- September to March