The Kishangarh Fort
Phool Mahal Palace has the massive Fort of Kishangarh as its backdrop and is washed by the monsoon fed Gundalao Lake in front, an architectural setting very rarely seen in Rajput history.
Dry and drab though it may seem in the summer, the first magic showers transform it into a serene and smiling land.
Originally the Payandaz Bagh or the garden at the foot of the fort, this pleasure garden of the Maharajas of Kishangarh was a source of inspiration to a number of famous Kishangarh miniature artists like Nihal Chand and it’s easy to identify it in many paintings of the 17th century. Even today its setting and the myths related to it, provide themes for the painters of Kishangarh, executing in the classic style of the Kishangarh School of painting on paper, cloth, wood, marble etc.
Kishangarh fort |
In 1870 Maharaja Prithee Singh, the 15th Rural of Kishangarh constructed Phool Mahal as his monsoon palace. His son and successor Maharaja Shardul Singh added on various pavilions in 1885. After 1905 his son Maharaja Madan Singh completed the additions that we see today. It has been hosting to many visiting dignitaries since. In the kishangarh marble city for the viceroy’s visit on 1907 was constructed the Madan Burj (the round dome) with filigree work pillars, which can be seen from all sides. The ‘Kamal Burj’ or the lotus Bastion which is part of this flower Palace “emerges” out of the lake and touches the heights of the impregnable fort behind it. All over whether it is the delicate pavilions in garden, the painted frescoes in the guest rooms, or some other architectural detail, the lotus motif is everywhere and surely this is a veritable lotus in the desert.
Artists and Artisans at work Kishangarh marble:
This craftsman numbering a few thousand can be seen at work in quaint studios and have lies, where with whole families involved in traditions of painting on varied surfaces like wood, marble, paper and cloth are turned out for the local market as well as export.
A Visit to the stone cutting factories:
Around the new town called Madanganj on the National Highway are located innumerable stone cutting and polishing units where finest marble, granite and sand stone slabs and decorative articles are prepared for customers of India and abroad.