Hawa Mahal, Visakhapatnam

Last updated

Hawa Mahal Palace
Hawa Mahal of Visakhapatnam.jpg
Hawa Mahal, Visakhapatnam
Hawa Mahal, Visakhapatnam
General information
TypeBeach Palace
Architectural style Indo-Gothic architecture
Address Beach Road, Visakhapatnam
Andhra Pradesh, India
Coordinates 17°42′27″N83°18′43″E / 17.707458°N 83.311838°E / 17.707458; 83.311838
Construction started1917
Completed1923
Owner Maharaja of Jeypore
Design and construction
Architect(s)Muppidi Venkat Rao
Main contractorMaharajah Ram Chandra Dev IV

Hawa Mahal meaning 'palace of winds' is a summer residential palace of the royal family of Jeypore. It was built in 1917-1923 by Maharaja Ram Chandra Dev IV at Beach Road, Visakhapatnam. [1] It is considered one of the most iconic historical buildings of the city. [2] It is owned by the Maharaja of Jeypore.

Contents

History

The foundation of this iconic beach palace was laid down by Maharajah Ram Chandra Dev IV in 1917. It was built as a summer resort and often a transit halt for the Maharajas of Jeypore when they travelled to the capital of the presidency in Madras. The Raja of Salur owned a sea-facing land which was purchased by the Maharaja of Jeypore for constructing the palace. There was an uneven hillock on the acquired land which was levelled and the front land was filled up in order to build the palace above sea-level. The contract of building the palace was given to a young and dynamic architect called Muppidi Venkat Rao. [3]

This royal building has hosted eminent personalities like the first Prime Minister of India - Jawaharlal Nehru, the first President of India - Rajendra Prasad, Nobel Laureate and poet Rabindranath Tagore, the Vice-chancellor of Andhra University and the second president of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, famous Hindi film actress Waheeda Rahman. [4]

Architecture

The interior portion of Hawa Mahal, Visakhapatnam Interior of Hawa Mahal Palace.jpg
The interior portion of Hawa Mahal, Visakhapatnam

The palace resembles a blend of Gothic Andhra architecture that was prevalent in the region. It is a unique two storied symmetrical building made of stone with twin octagonal projections on either side. The wooden windows are framed by segmented arched openings and the high Madras roofing within the halls are extensively employed by Burma teak to ensure cool comfort during the scorching hot summers of the Eastern Coast. The main structure has semi-circular arched verandahs and the rectangular wooden windows in the central porch with ventilators leading into the palace. [5] The building has sixteen rooms and a massive hall that hosted dinners and parties for the royal guests.

Special care was taken to have straight cut khondalite stones to build the façade. The balustrades of the stone railing are cut to precision and fixed without any support of metal rods. The palace complex is divided into parts - main residence of the royal family and the kitchen rooms, servant quarters, car garages and manager's residence room. The pillars in the verandah are formed of large square columns of stones with interlocking system in the center. There are intermittent semi-circular arches at doorways and windows of the load bearing walls. The interior walls of the rooms are decorated with Italian tiles and the flooring is made up of Italian marble and Indian granite. Burma teak doors and windows are adorned with stained Italian glass. The central courtyard provides light and breeze to all rooms located all around it. [3]

There are two octagonal shaped guard rooms on the front side of the palace that were guarded by sentries. After independence, a large portion of the palace was taken over by the government in order to build the Beach Road. Two cannons were placed on top of the guard rooms and two Grecian statues of sentries were placed on both sides of the finely crafted wooden main gate. Reportedly, this wooden gate took one and a half year to construct. [3]

The palace is considered an iconic historical site of Visakhapatnam, therefore, it has featured in both Hindi and Telugu cinema. The Kamal Haasan starrer Ek Duuje Ke Liye showed the building in some songs. In 2017, the blockbuster Singam 3 directed by Hari starring Suriya, Anushka Shetty and Shruti Haasan portrayed the palace as a police station.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visakhapatnam</span> Metropolis in Andhra Pradesh, India

Visakhapatnam, also known as Vizag, Viśākha or Waltair, is the principal, largest, most populous and the only Cosmopolitan city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is between the Eastern Ghats and the coast of the Bay of Bengal. It is the second-largest city on the east coast of India after Chennai, and the fourth-largest in South India. It is one of the four smart cities of Andhra Pradesh selected under the Smart Cities Mission and is the headquarters of Visakhapatnam district. With an estimated output of $43.5 billion, it is the ninth-largest contributor to India's gross domestic product as of 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaniwar Wada</span> Historical fortification in the city of Pune, India

Shaniwar Wada is a historical fortification in the city of Pune, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawa Mahal</span> Palace in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

The Hawa Mahal is a palace in the city of Jaipur, India. Built from red and pink sandstone, it is on the edge of the City Palace, Jaipur, and extends to the Zenana, or women's chambers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amber Fort</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site In India

Amer Fort or Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer, Rajasthan, India. Amer is a town with an area of 4 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi) located 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Located high on a hill, it is the principal tourist attraction in Jaipur. Amer Fort is known for its artistic style elements. With its large ramparts and series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks Maota Lake, which is the main source of water for the Amer Palace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chowmahalla Palace</span> Royal Palace in Telangana, India

Chowmahalla Palace or Chowmahallat is the palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad State located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was the seat of power of the Asaf Jahi dynasty (1720-1948) and was the official residence of the Nizams of Hyderabad during their reign. Presently the palace is converted into a museum but the ownership still lies with the family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohatta Palace</span> Museum in Karachi, Pakistan

The Mohatta Palace is a museum located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Designed by Muhammad komail Hussain, the palace was built in 1927 in the posh seaside locale of Clifton as the summer home of Shivratan Mohatta, a Hindu Marwari businessman from what is now the modern-day Indian state of Rajasthan. The palace was built in the tradition of stone palaces of Rajasthan, using pink Jodhpur stone in combination with the local yellow stone from nearby Gizri. Mohatta could enjoy this building for only about two decades before the partition of India, after which he left Karachi for the new state of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junagarh Fort</span> Fort in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India

Junagarh Fort is a fort in the city of Bikaner, Rajasthan, India. Raja Dhaj, Ror Kumar, ruled over the principality of Junagarh in the fifth century BC. The fort was originally called Chintamani and was renamed Junagarh or "Old Fort" in the early 20th century when the ruling family moved to Lalgarh Palace outside the fort limits. It is one of the few major forts in Rajasthan which is not built on a hilltop. The modern city of Bikaner has developed around the fort.

<i>Ek Duuje Ke Liye</i> 1981 Indian film

Ek Duuje Ke Liye is a 1981 Indian Hindi romantic tragedy film directed by K. Balachander. A remake of Balachander's Telugu film Maro Charitra, it stars Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri as a pair of lovers from different families who oppose their relationship, and go to dire lengths in an attempt to break them apart. It features Madhavi and Rakesh Bedi in supporting roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amar Mahal Palace</span> Building in Jammu, India

The Amar Mahal Palace is a palace in Jammu, in the Indian erstwhile Kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The palace has now been converted into a museum. Commissioned by Maharaja Amar Singh, a Dogra king, the palace was built in the nineteenth century by a French architect on the lines of a French Chateau. The palace was donated to the Hari-Tara Charitable Trust by Karan Singh for use as a museum. It has many exhibits including a golden throne weighing 120kg, a Pahari miniature, Kangra miniature paintings, a library of 25,000 antique books, many rare art collections, and a large collection of portraits of the royal family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shah Jahani Mahal</span> Historic site in Uttar Pradesh, India

The Shah Jahan Mahal is palace in the Agra Fort in northern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madugula</span> Village in Andhra Pradesh, India

Madugula is a village in Anakapalli district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It was also known as Vaddadi or Vaddadimadugula and was founded by the rulers of the Matsya dynasty. Later, it merged into the kingdom of Nandapur - Jeypore and during the British Raj it remained an independent Zamindari for sometime. Later, in 1915 the zamindaris of Madugula and Pachipenta were purchased by Maharaja Vikram Dev III and they became a part of Jeypore Samasthanam and were governed by the Maharaja of Jeypore until 1947.

<i>Maro Charitra</i> 1978 film by K. Balachander

Maro Charitra is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language romantic tragedy film written and directed by K. Balachander. It stars Kamal Haasan and Saritha in the lead with Madhavi appearing in prominent roles. The film deals with cross-cultural romance between a Tamil man and a young Telugu woman. Upon release, it was commercially successful and remains a cult classic. Owing to its success in Andhra Pradesh, the film was released in the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka without being dubbed into the respective languages. It held the record of being the longest-running Telugu film at theatres in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Across theatres it had an uninterrupted theatrical run of two and half years in Bangalore. The song Ye Theega Poovuno became popular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zafar Mahal (Mehrauli)</span> Building in Delhi, India

Zafar Mahal, in Mehrauli village, in South Delhi, India, is considered as the last monumental structure built as a summer palace during the fading years of the Mughal era. The building has two components namely, the Mahal or the palace, which was built first by Akbar Shah II in the 18th century, and the entrance gate that was reconstructed in the 19th century by Bahadur Shah Zafar II, popularly known as "Zafar" meaning ‘Victory’. It has a forlorn history because Bahadur Shah Zafar, who wished to be buried in the precincts of the Zafar Mahal (palace) and the famous Dargah of Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki in Mehrauli, Delhi, was deported by the British to Rangoon, after the First War of Indian Independence in 1857, where he died of old age. The monument today is in a neglected and ruined state, locals play cricket and gamble freely inside the protected monument. The 18th-century palace has been all but subsumed by unauthorised constructions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Palace, Jaipur</span> Building in Jaipur, India

The City Palace, Jaipur is a royal residence and former administrative headquarters of the rulers of the Jaipur State in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Construction started soon after the establishment of the city of Jaipur under the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, who moved his court to Jaipur from Amber, in 1727. Jaipur remained the capital of the kingdom until 1949—when it became the capital of the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan—with the City Palace functioning as the ceremonial and administrative seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur. The construction of the Palace was completed in 1732 and it was also the location of religious and cultural events, as well as a patron of arts, commerce, and industry. It was constructed according to the rules of vastushastra, combining elements of Mughal and Rajput architectural styles. It now houses the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum, and continues to be the home of the Jaipur royal family. The royal family has around 500 personal servants. The palace complex has several buildings, various courtyards, galleries, restaurants, and offices of the Museum Trust.The MSMS II Museum Trust is headed by chairperson Rajamata Padmini Devi of Jaipur. Princess Diya Kumari runs the Museum Trust, as its secretary and trustee. She also manages The Palace School and Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh School in Jaipur. She founded and runs the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation to empower underprivileged and underemployed women of Rajasthan. She is also an entrepreneur. In 2013, she was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan from the constituency of Sawai Madhopur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bijapur Fort</span> Fort in Bijapur, India

The Bijapur Fort is located in the Bijapur city in Bijapur District of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bijapur fort has a plethora of historical monuments of architectural importance built during the rule of Adil Shahi dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orchha Fort complex</span> Historical monument site in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India

The Orchha Fort complex, which houses a large number of ancient monuments consisting of the fort, palaces, temple, and other edifices, is located in the Orchha town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The fort and other structures within it were built by the Bundela Rajputs starting from the early 16th century by King Rudra Pratap Singh of the Orchha State and others who followed him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khetri Mahal</span> Ruined palace in Rajasthan, India

Khetri Mahal, also known as the Wind Palace, whose ruins are an example of palace architecture in the Indian state of Rajasthan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vizianagaram Fort</span> 18th-century fort in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, South India.

Vizianagaram fort is an early 18th-century fort in the city of Vizianagaram in northeastern Andhra Pradesh, South India. It was built by Vijaya Rama Raju, the Maharaja of Vizianagaram in 1713. The formal ceremony, while laying the foundation for the fort, was very auspicious as it represented five signs of victory. The square-shaped fort has two main gates, of which the main entry gate has elaborate architectural features. There are many temples and palaces within the fort and a victory tower. This alternative name is Pusapati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vikram Deo Verma</span> 25th Maharajah of Jeypore

Maharajah Vikram Dev IV or Vikram Deo Varma was the 25th king of the Suryavansh dynasty that ruled over Kalinga and later Jeypore Samasthanam under the British. A patron of the arts and literature, he was also a writer and playwright himself. He was also an administrator, a magistrate for Visakhapatnam by the Madras government in 1914 and involved in the delineation of the state of Odisha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeypore Estate</span> Kingdom of the Kalinga region of India

Jeypore Estate or Jeypore Zamindari was a Zamindari estate of the Madras Presidency in British India. Historically it was a kingdom known as Jeypore Kingdom, located in the highlands of the western interiors of the Kalinga region that existed from the mid-15th century to 1777 CE as a tributary state of the Gajapati Empire and following its decline retained various degrees of semi-independence until it became a vassal state of the British. It eventually formed a part of the linguistic Orissa Province in 1936 upon transfer from the Madras Province and became a part of the independent Union of India in 1947.

References

  1. "Host literary fest in Hawa Mahal to promote tourism in Visa". Times of India. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  2. "7 historical monuments in Vizag that you must visit at least once". Vizag. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Hawa Mahal: Where the movie 'Ek Duje Ke Liye' was filmed | Visakhapatnam News - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  4. "Hawa Mahal turns art centre". Deccan Chronicle. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. "The story behind Visakhapatnam's historic building". Vizag. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2021.