Musafir

Continued from the previous post…

The royal pavilion is also of small dimensions, the main room square and plain. It has windows on the east and west and a pentagonal projection towards the south. There are also projections in the corners which give a look of a star shaped medieval Deccan temple. The beauty of the room lies in its rich decorations and mother-of-pearl work and tile mosaics. The former is fairly intact in the entrance arch, which is built of basalt of a very dark variety. The floral patterns and calligraphic texts have been depicted by inlaying mother-of-pearl of the finest quality. The effect is lovely and is further enhanced by the architect’s choice of the verses which he has inserted in the decorative scheme. 

The pavilion once had a fountain in the middle, the basin on which is now lying in the outer court of the palace between the two flights of steps referred to in the previous post. Like the Mughal kings, the Baridis were also fond of fountains and it can be noticed in laying of waterworks in many of their buildings.

The Rangin Mahal, however beautiful its wood carving and fascinating are its tiles and mother-of-peal work, suffers by the smallness of its dimensions and shows a lack of vision on the part of the builders. But the plan of the structure is so much altered at various periods, that it is difficult to visualize in its original form or to appraise correctly its beauty or defects.

In the basement of the Rangin Mahal there is a series of rooms, which were apparently occupied by guards and the menial servants of the palace. The ceilings of these rooms are vaulted, being massively built with a view to supporting the weight of the royal apartments above.