Amar Mahal Palace, Jammu And Kashmir

Amar Mahal Palace is the architectural gem located on the National Highway towards Srinagar. Built like a French Chateau on a hill overlooking the river Tawi, is a beautiful palace of red sandstone that stands amidst the most picturesque horizons of Jammu. Once the residential palace of Raja Amar Singh, the palace has been converted into a museum and is looked after by Hari-Tara Charitable Trust. The museum has the golden throne on which Maharaja used to sit, which is made up of 120 kg pure gold. The museum has a gallery of paintings and a library in which about 25,000 books on various subjects and disciplines have been presented.

History

The last resident of this palace was Maharani Tara Devi, wife of the late Maharaja Hari Singh (son of Raja Amar Singh) who lived in this palace till her death in 1967. Afterward, her son Dr. Karan Singh and his wife Mrs. Yasho Rajya Lakshmi transformed the palace into a museum to accommodate rare books and works of art, with the objective of “Encouraging artistic talent, to establish a fine arts center and to collaborate with others like-minded institutions for the promotion of Indian arts”. It was at the behest of Dr. Karan Singh, that this palace was converted into a museum to promote young artistic talent.
He voluntarily surrendered the Privy Purse paid to him by the Government of India as a former ruler of Jammu, one of the Princely states of India, and used the finances to set up this museum named in reminiscence of his parents. Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, inaugurated the museum on April 13, 1975. To promote and adhere to the objectives with which the museum was established the Trust arranges guided tours, book readings, lectures, film shows, and hobby classes, and other visitor-friendly activities in the Museum. The regular characteristics of the museum also include scholarly exchanges, workshops, and exhibitions.

Architecture

The design, architecture, and construction of this palace are very distinct and uncommon. It is built with red bricks and red sandstone and is ideally placed on a hillock that oversees the Tawi River. The striking building has long channels on three sides, which are covered by sloping ridged tin roofs. The passages are sustained on columns with a wooden framework. The first floor and the top floor of the palace building have French windows with a connected balcony and a bay window, respectively. Classical Greek architectural style is evident in the windows which portray triangular projections.
The Hari Niwas hotel is at a stone’s throw distance from this palace and if you choose this hotel as your accommodation, traveling to the Amar Mahal Palace will be only a few minute's affairs.