Rashtrapati Bhavan Information :

Place : Presidential Estate, New Delhi
Significance: Official residence of the President of India
Best Time to visit : February-March
Highlight : Mughal Gardens

Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi : 

Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India, is located at the west end of the 2 ¹/₂km long Rajpath (King's path), a tree-lined avenue flanked by lawns with orderly flowerbeds and clipped hedges, with the India gate at the opposite end. Designed by Sir Edwin L. Lutyens and completed in 1929, this palatial building on the Raisina hill was formerly the Viceregal Lodge (Viceroy's House), during the British rule.

The city of New Delhi officially inaugurated in 1931, was conceived and constructed by the British when they moved their capital from Calcutta to Delhi. Among the Government buildings of the city, the Viceroys house was the centre piece with imperial proportions. Built in two shades of sandstone, it covers an area of 18,580 sq meters (200,000 square feet), about 1km around the foundation, bigger than the Louis XIV's place at Versailles. The total cost for the construction was Rs.1.4 million and over 3,500 men worked on 3.5 million cubic feet of marble and 700 million bricks for nearly two decades (17 years) for its construction.

After India became independent the Viceroy's house was re-named Government House and when the country became a republic in 1952 it was re-christened as Rashtrapati Bhavan (President Quarters). A combination of Mughal and classical European architectural styles, it has a huge copper dome surmounting a long colonnade and 340 decorated rooms. There are 31 steps at the entrance to the portico with 20 columns. Across the portico, the Durbar hall (Audience hall), with golden pillars and coloured marble from all parts of India, is 23m in diameter and has an exquisitely carved 2300 year old sculpture of the Ashokan bull at the entrance. It is the venue for all official functions of the President including the National Award ceremonies. There is a 4th century statue of Gautam Buddha behind the Presidents chair. The hall served as a museum for several years until the present venue of the National Museum was constructed.

The Attractions of The Palace :

The main entrance is approached by a broad flight of steps which lead to a 12-column portico. Do notice the enormous projecting cornice or chajja, a Mughal device, which blends so effortlessly with the classical style of the monument. Lutyens’ ability to smoothly incorporate light oriental touches is all the more remarkable given his active and profound dislike for Indian architecture.

The most outstanding feature of the House – you can spot it while you are still a kilometre away – is the huge neo-Buddhist copper dome that rises over a vast colonnaded frontage. Beneath the dome is the circular Durbar Hall 22.8m in diameter. The coloured marbles used in the hall come from all parts of India. The Viceroy’s throne, ceremonially placed in this chamber, faced the main entrance and commanded a view along the great axial vista of Kingsway (now Rajpath). At present the hall is the venue of all official ceremonies such as the swearing in of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the Members of Parliament. It is in this very chamber that the President annually confers the Arjuna Awards for Excellence.

The columns at the front entrance have bells carved into their capitals. Lutyens reasoned that ‘the ringing of bells sound the end of an empire and stone bells never sound’. Despite this, the empire came to an end a brief 16 years later.

The Great Interiors :

The principal floor comprises a magnificent series of state apartments. The State Drawing Room is barrel-vaulted and plainly treated with domestic fireplaces. The State Ballroom is enriched with Old English mirror glass. The State Library is based on the form of Wren’s St Stephen’s, Walbrook. The State Dining Room is lined with teak panelling enriched with the star of India. The concept of Imperial order and hierarchy permeates the entire house.

Marble staircases flanking the Durbar Hall provide access to the private apartments above. There are 54 bedrooms together with additional accommodation for guests. Lord Irwin, its first occupant, ‘kept losing his way’ but insisted that "in spite of its size, it was essentially a liveable-in-house."

Mughal Garden :

To the west the palace overlooks an enormous Mughal garden designed by Lutyens. Here the principles of hierarchy, order, symmetry and unity are extended from the house into the landscape. A series of ornamental fountains, walls, gazebos and screens combine with scores of trees, flowers and shrubs to create a paradise so delightful that Indians called the garden ‘God’s own Heaven’. The Irwins supervised the planting of the garden which grew in tropical profusion softening the formal pattern of lawns and waterways. Popularly known as the Mughal Garden, it is open to public every spring but be prepared for the tight security check.

The Glory of The Palace :

After India became independent, the sheer size of the building overwhelmed its new keepers. Mahatma Gandhi suggested it be turned into a hospital. Thankfully, nobody took him seriously. The Durbar Hall served as a museum for several years till the building which now houses the National Museum was completed.

Here’s what Mark-Bence Jones remarked about life at the Viceroy’s House in his book Palaces of the Raj. Do note the then-and-now comparison he makes on a later visit to the palace, long after the British had gone.

"Then there were the banquets held during sessions of the Chamber of Princes, when every other guest at the long table was the ruler of a State. The gold plate glittered in its crimson-lined niche, the lustres glinted, the scarlet and gold khitmagars moved deftly against the teak-panelled walls, and from an adjoining room came the music of the Viceroy’s band."

"In India that replaced the Raj, Lutyens’ Palace has managed to keep some of its glory. …As the home of a modern democratic President, it is certainly on the large side, but the Indians have been wise enough to maintain a Presidential establishment worthy of the setting. Scarlet-clad guards still sit on their chargers beneath the stone sentry boxes, khitmagars in white, red and gold line the corridors."