Benazir Palace

BENAZIR PALACE

Introduction

Bhopal is the capital of the central Indian state

of Madhya Pradesh. The glorious phase of its
Taj Mahal
history has been attributed to the uninterrupted Palace
reign of female Nawabs or ‘Begums’ who ruled
the city for over a hundred years. The Begums
were great reformists and patrons of education,
art, culture and public works.They have built Benazir
palace
several monuments which still stand as
testaments to the city’s glorious past.

Shah jahan Begum (1868-1901), the third of

the Begum, was a great patron of arts-music,
poetry, painting and architecture. She left an
Taj ul masjid
indelible mark by building several beautiful

structures such as Taj Mahal, Taj-ul-Masjid and Location of Benazir palace

Benazir Palace.

Benazir palace is spotted in a beautiful set up between the superior palace Taj mahel and the gigantic
Tajul-I-masjid. It was built as a seasonal palace widely called as the summer palace. Shahjehan begum
built three palaces for her personal use namely Ali mazil, Benazir palace and Taj Mahal.

Taj-ul-Masjid

Taj Mahal palace Entrance View of Taj -ul-Masjid

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Motia Talab, reflect the beautiful historic precinct of the Taaj-ul-Masjid, Taj Mahal and Benazir palace.
Invaluable lessons of the past ingrained in this landscape – such as ingenious water management system;
the delicate almost feminine quality if its vistas; and panoramic views designed by the Begums or Mughal
queens. Benazir palace is a pride of Bhopal’s Mughal Heritage. (Source: http://www.bhopale.com) .Built
as a summer rest house by Shahjahan Begum in 1877, it has a simple courtyard form.

Old photograph of Benazir Palace

(Source: http://dekhobhopal.blogspot.in/2010/04/buildings.html)

Architecture

The summer palace of begum is a marvel built with beautification and excellence. The palace is entered
through the north and south gateway which is along the same axis. The entrance leads to a narrow
courtyard which is decorated with fountains. The major attraction of the palace is the design of the
courtyards with water as main element. This is was a pleasant leisure palace for Begum and her guests.

From the narrow courtyard entered the central building which is a marvel built during the begum
period. The pillared hall is the highlight of the palace where it is beautifully designed at the top of the
column.

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Interior of Banquet hall

The palace looks modern and aesthetically simple and vibrant. Perhaps this is the first pre-fabricated
structure in Bhopal. The interiors reflect a modern, erudite aesthetic –filigree cast iron columns
supporting wide spans, louvered sliding and folding doors and a beautiful layered facade of cadmium
green and Egyptian blue coloured glass shutters. (Source: http://www.bhopale.com). The building is
covered with sloped roof with corrugated sheet.

Elevation of banquet hall

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Courtyard:

The banquet hall opens to the central huge courtyard facing along the motia talab(lake). On either side
of the courtyard built an arcade with multi-foliated arches and pillars with floral patterns. Buildings on
either side of the courtyard are double storied, covered by decorated dome. The striking feature of the
palace is the centre building facing the motia through the courtyard. It is a huge banquet hall with rich
interiors.

The central courtyard is the transition space between building and the talab. Water is used as a major
design element in context with the surrounding and climate as a major factor. Interesting part of the
palace is the flooring pattern which witnessed in the open areas shows clearly the water flowing areas.
Water channels are visible on the floor of the courtyard. The wide vista of sacred Taj-ul-masjid and
Majestic Taj Mahal makes the palace more significant.

Panoramic view of courtyard

The arcade on either sides of the courtyard has octagonal towers

covered with decorated dome. The central courtyard has a raised
platform which can be a leisure spot for the royal to watch the
scenery of the talab. The platform covers the beautiful hammam
which is situated beneath the courtyard.

An exquisite Hammam (bath) was built in the basement of palace

and still looks glorious with leaves and flowers carved into the walls
of the Hammam.

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On either sides of the hammam attached the water flowing channel beautifully designed with patterns
where water flows from the slit cut through the channel. The external walls of hammam are carved with
intricate floral patterns.

Exterior of Hammam

The interior of hammam has a water tank where the walls are decorated with small niches facing the
motia talab. Comparatively hammam is the space where the ornamentation work is more than any other
building in the Benazir palace complex.

Interior of Hammam

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As said earlier, water plays a significant role in the design of Benazir palace. Thus, floor pattern has been
particularly laid in the spaces where the water flows and makes it more attractive.

Flooring of water tank in Hammam

Looking through the elements of the palace; it was designed with multi-foliated arches with sturdy twin
columns on either sides of the courtyard. Many interventions happened during the colonial period and
later.

Column of Benazir palace

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The interventions led to the addition and alteration of the elements in the palace. False ceilings covered
the original ceiling and wooden doors closed the royal arches and steel corrugated sheets were added the
structure which degrades the value of the royal residence. The conglomeration of unnecessary materials
used added in the later stage disturbs the aesthetic quality of the building.

Elevation from courtyard

Apart from the architecture of Benazir palace, another significant place in the complex is the Benazir
ground. The palace descends to the ground on the northern side. The ground has a stage where the begum
and the dignitaries said to be seated for watching the ceremonies happening in the ground. Taj –ul-masjid
is clearly visible from the Benazir ground. It was the congregation ground for the subjects. And it is still
vibrant in the morning and evening time as the youth around place gather for playing.

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View of Ground

Events

Benazir palace carries few remarkable events where Lord Minto - who was appointed Governor-
General in 1806, was a well-trained politician, and had been engaged for many years in the management
of public affairs visited the palace and stayed here for few days with his mistress during Begum Rule.

Another most significant event happened was Mahatma Gandhi issued his call to join the freedom
movement from the very ground of the palace in year 1929, He also halted for a night at the palace.

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Bibliography:

[1] Bhopal Gazetteer.

[2] Khan, Shaharyar M. (2009) The Begums of Bhopal - A Dynasty of Woman Rulers in Raj
India. First Edition. Viva Books Private Limited: New Delhi.
[3] Shahjahan, Nawab. (1876) The History of Bhopal.
[4] Shah, Ashok; Subherwala, Gita. Vintage Bhopal.
[5] Sultanjahan, Nawab. An Account of My Life.
[6] Ashfaq Ali, Syed. (1981) Bhopal – Past And Present. Bhopal, Jai Bharat Publishing House.
[7] Sharma, Jyoti Pandey. (2014) Sacralizing the City: The Begums of Bhopal and their Mosques
[Online]. Volume1 No.2. Available:
http://cs.chitkara.edu.in/pdf/sample%20paper%20creative%20space.pdf
[8] Havell, E.B. (1913) Indian Architecture: Its Psychology, Structure and History from the First
Muhammadan Invasion to the Present Day. London, Murray, Albemarle Street. Available:
https://archive.org/details/handbookofindian00have
[9]https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/16843/ISIM_11_Wahhabi_or_Nationa
l_Hero_Siddiq_Hasan_Khan.pdf?sequence=1
[10] http://apps.engr.utexas.edu/ethics/standards/bhopal/The%20Begums%20of%20Bhopal.pdf

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