AMER FORT , JAIPUR - RAJASTHAN

HISTORY OF AMER FORT ,JAIPUR

Amer fort is located 11 kilometers away from  Jaipur, Rajasthan India and also known as “Amber Fort” .Amer Fort is well known for its artistic style and creative blending of Hindu and Mugal patterns. Amer was known in the medieval period as Dhundar (meaning attributed to a sacrificial mount in the western frontiers) and ruled by the Kachwahas from the 11th century onwards – between 1037 and 1727 AD . Many of the ancient structures of the medieval period of the Meenas have been either destroyed or replaced. However, the 16th century impressive edifice of the Amer Fort and the palace complex within it built by the Rajput Maharajas are very well preserved. Diwan-e-Aam or the "Hall of Public Audience" was a complex built of Red stone and Marbles and   the Diwan-e-Khas or the "Hall of Private Audience" ,sheesh Mahal was a very cool place for Rani to Spend their most of Time.

LAYOUT OF AMER FORT

The fort is divided into four main sections each with its own entry gate and courtyard.

1)      Jaleb Chowk – It is an Arabic word which means a place for soldiers to assemble. This is one of the four courtyards of the Amer Palace, which was built during Sawai Jai Singh’s reign (1693–1743 AD). The Maharaja's personal bodyguards held parades here under the command of the army commander . 

2)       Diwan-i-Am -   Built with double row of columns, the Diwan-i-Am is a raised platform with 27 colonnades, each of which is mounted with elephant shaped capital with galleries above it. As the name suggests, the Raja held audience here to hear and receive petitions from the public

     

3)       Sheesh Mahal -  This Courtyard was for   the private quarters of the Maharaja, his family . The building to the left of the entrance gate is called the Jai Mandir, which is exquisitely beautified with glass inlaid panels and multi-mirrored ceilings. The mirrors are of convex shape and designed with coloured foil and paint which would glitter bright under candle nights at the time it was in use.  Carved marble relief panels are placed on walls around the hall. The other building seen in the court yard is opposite to the Jai Mandir and is known as the Sukh Niwas or Sukh Mahal (Hall of Pleasure). This hall is approached through a sandalwood door with marble inlay work with perforations. A piped water supply flows through an open channel that runs through this edifice keeping the environs cool, as in an air conditioned environment. The water from this channel was led into the garden. The hall provides enchanting vistas of the Maota Lake, which gives a reflected view of the ramparts and terraces of the fort.

4)      Zenana - The fourth courtyard is where the Zenana (Royal family women, including concubines or mistresses) lived. This courtyard has many living rooms where the queens resided and who were visited by the king at his choice without being found out as to which queen he was visiting, as all the rooms open into a common corridor . The queen mothers and the Raja’s consorts lived in this part of the palace in Zanani Deorhi, which also housed their female attendants. The queen mothers took deep interest in building temples in Amer town .

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