Tourism of India

Hawa Mahal

The beautiful city of Jaipur never ceases to surprise us with its beautiful palaces and forts. One of them, the Hawa Mahal stands tall resembling Rajasthan's rich architectural heritage. It is more of a sandstone screen than a palace.

Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh built the Hawa Mahal in 1799 and devoted it to Lord Krishna. The Hawa Mahal is a five-storied pyramid shaped structure. The top three stories however are of relatively lesser thickness. It comprises of 953 pink sandstone windows and innumerable arches and all of them are beautifully carved and decorated.

What amazes one foremost on seeing the Hawa Mahal is that though its exterior is so richly ornamented its interior has a completely Spartan look comprising simply of pillars and passages. The contrast is so striking that one finds it difficult to believe that they are part of the same building.

It is generally believed that the Hawa Mahal was constructed to enable royal women to view the processions that passed through the adjacent street without themselves being visible. The Hawa Mahal does absolute justice to its name because as one reaches the top one is surrounded by the cool breeze that makes its way through the interlaced windows. One can also have a great view of the city from here.

According to popular opinion, the Hawa Mahal which looks like a honeycomb shines with its entire splendor in the early morning light. The rays of the sun enhance its beauty and anyone who misses this exquisitely beautiful sight will surely regret it all his life.