The Pataudi Palace sprawls across some ten acres of greenland in the vast countryside of Haryana. Although an older colonial Gothic palace existed, this fresh, white pillared and arcaded palace was especially built when the Nawab of Pataudi Iftikhar Ali Khan aspired for the hand of the Bhopal princess Sajida Sultan. The main palace faces fountains and a large rose garden and has 10 large suites, each with an ante room, dressing room as well as bathrooms. The palace is flanked by two colonial bungalows, one with five guest rooms and a charming private garden, a private cricket ground, as well as a badminton court. The other one is used by the royal family whenever they visit Pataudi. The main palace also houses a well-equipped billiards room. The palace was designed by the Austrian architect Karl Molt Von Heinz in the style of the grand colonial mansions of Imperial Delhi, somewhat resembling the stunning grand residence of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces built by Russell – now called the Teen Murti House.
Robert Tor Russell who largely set this style, also built Connaught Place (now Rajiv Chowk), the rather grand Eastern and Western Courts, Delhi’s civil airport (Safdarjung), Irwin Stadium (now National Stadium), the grand Indian Military Adademy at Dehradun and over 4000 government houses. The other bungalows of New Delhi are the work of prominent architects like W H Nicholls, C G and F B Blomfield, Walter Sykes George, Arthur Gordon Shoosmith (from Lutyen’s office), and Henry Medd. Herbert Baker also made seven “bungle-ohs” – as described by Lutyens – besides the North and South Blocks. The Pataudi Palace also borrows elements from all these other British architects of the period who were harping back to the 16th century through the Italian Renaissance – which had in turn already looked back to classical antiquity. The irony is that Edwin Lutyens made only 4 bungalows – and those too within the Governor’s House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) but all the bungalows are now bundled under the misnomer “Lutyen’s Bungalow Zone”!
Such bungalows flaunted their slender Palladian pillars, their cornices and wide verandahs which shaded the walls of the rooms from the harsh Indian sun. The Pataudi Palace was christened Ibrahim Kothi after the father of its builder – Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan, and was built to a fairly symmetrical plan: a central drive-in-portico (with an interesting grille design displaying two cricket bats crossed below an imperial crown) – which has since been enclosed around a raised garden on each side, a large pillared verandah which leads to a chequered and domed foyer with two stairways leading up to a grand open air court on the first floor. The durbar and dining halls are downstairs, whereas the Begums’ chambers were upstairs segregating the Mardana and Zenana portions. The large hall, with gilt-covered capitals above the pillars, is a favourite of many a film maker.
The suites have large colonial beds as was the vogue, many from ancestral homes of the Bengal talukdars of the 19th century, almirahs from the renowned cabinet-maker Lazarus, bulky armchairs and sink-in sofas facing fireplaces. The large carpets in pastel lines evoke the 1930s. Its vast spaces and high ceilings immediately give a sense of arrival into another century and lifestyle with signed family portraits of royals and an impressive collection of memorabilia and art.
This palace was not created with airconditioning facilities – which were still an expensive luxury in the early 20th century, affordable only by the wealthiest maharajas like Man Singh of Jaipur and Umaid Singh of Jodhpur of that time because the gigantic machines had to be imported. Khus-Khus or vertiver root screens were fixed on the doors and windows during the summers, to turn the hot wind that blew in the plains into a cool scented breeze. In later years desert coolers were also very effective. But now all the rooms are airconditioned by Neemrana Hotels, which has involved new cabling and a discreet chasing of the walls.
After being the home of two generations of the Nawabs of Pataudi, Iftikhar Ali Khan and Mansur Ali Khan – both cricket legends – this palace gave entry to Sharmila Tagore. And today, The Pataudi Palace is famous as the home of two generations of Bollywood stars which include Soha and Saif Ali Khan.
It was here, among others, where Mangal Pandey, Veer Zara, Rang De Basanti, Gandhi My Father and now Eat, Pray, Love – starring the legendary Hollywood star Julia Roberts – were filmed.
