Rashtrapati Bhavan

The Rashtrapati Bhavan ('Presidential Palace') is the official residence of the President of India located on Rajpath in the western end of New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace of the world's largest democracy, is a symbol of Indian democracy and its secular, plural, and inclusive ideals. It lies on a 330-acre estate designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker. This presidential residence took seventeen years to build and was finished in 1929. This architectural marvel, which includes 2.5 kilometres of corridors and 190 acres of garden land, was built with almost 700 million bricks and three million cubic feet of stone. The main structure is 5 acres in size and contains 340 rooms spread out across four floors. 

The Rashtrapati Bhavan's famed Rashtrapati Bhavan Mughal Gardens cover 15 acres and include 159 famous rose varieties, 60 varieties of bougainvillaea, and many more flower varieties. The Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum Complex (RBMC), which includes the Clock Tower, the Stables, and the Garages, among other things, features exhibitions on previous and present presidents, regal rituals, and Rashtrapati Bhavan's abundant flora and fauna. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the RBMC on July 25, 2016.

Rashtrapati Bhavan - Museum

A world-class museum with a high-tech story-telling format and contextual narrative woven around original exhibits. The Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum's uniqueness rests in its concept of an event-based history museum, as opposed to the country's typical object-based museums. Virtual and augmented reality, an interactive digital cascading table, a video wall, three-dimensional stereoscopic projection, holographic projection, and sound-light-video synchronised stage settings are used to tell the narrative of Rashtrapati Bhavan. The use of digital storytelling ensures accessibility to guests who are handicapped, such as the blind and deaf-and-dumb.

In another aspect, the Museum looks gorgeous in the country compared to sensitivity to historical challenges. The 11,000 square metre area was conceived and constructed entirely below, with heritage structures created by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens perched atop. The Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum is the most technologically superior visitor-interactive story-telling museum in the country.

Rashtrapati Bhavan - Mughal Garden

Mughal Gardens, which cover a vast 15-acre area, has been portrayed as the heart and soul of the Presidential Palace, and deservedly so. Mughal Gardens of Jammu and Kashmir, gardens surrounding the Taj Mahal, and even Indian and Persian miniature art have all influenced the Mughal Grounds. The designs for the Mughal Gardens were created by Sir Edwin Lutyens as early as 1917, although plantings were not finished until 1928-1929.

William Mustoe, Director of Horticulture, was his garden partner. Sir Lutyens combined two separate horticulture traditions for the gardens, the Mughal style and the English flower garden, much as the structure of Rashtrapati Bhavan has two different architectural styles, Indian and western. European flowerbeds, lawns, and private hedges are wonderfully mixed with Mughal canals, terraces, and flowering plants. 

The Mughal Gardens, which are part of the third Circuit of the Rashtrapati Bhavan tour, were previously only open to the public during the annual festival, Udyanotsav, which takes place in February and March. However, from August to March, the Mughal Gardens, which are part of the third Circuit of the Rashtrapati Bhavan tour, will be available to the public. 

Rashtrapati Bhavan - Architecture

• With four floors and 340 rooms, the Rashtrapati Bhavan is a large and spacious house. It has a total area of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2). The structure faces east and is located west of India Gate.

• The structure was embellished with many Indian patterns. Water elements are an essential aspect of Indian design, thus there were numerous round stone basins on top of the structure. There was also a typical Indian chujja or chhajja, which was a pointed, thin, projecting feature that stretched 8 feet (2.4 m) from the structure and cast profound shadows. It shades the windows from intense sunlight and protects them from heavy rain during the monsoon season. Several chuttris were placed along the rooftop to help break up the flatness of the roofline not covered by the dome.

• There were jalis or jaalis, which were red sandstone grilles. Rajasthani design was used to create these jalis. The front of the palace has twelve irregularly spaced columns with Delhi order capitals on the east side. The four pendant Indian bells are surrounded by acanthus leaves on these capitals. The bells were inspired by a Jain temple in Moodabidri, Karnataka, and are meant to look like those seen in Indian Hindu and Buddhist temples. At the top of the column, there is a bell on each corner. When the bells stopped ringing, it was claimed that British control in India would continue. The structure has no windows in the front save in the wings on the sides.

• The dome is inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, according to Lutyens. Mughal and European colonial architectural influences can also be seen. In general, the building stands out among other current British Colonial emblems. It contains 355 rooms with a total floor space of 200,000 square feet (19,000 square metres). Steel is utilised sparingly throughout the structure, which is built up of 700 million bricks and 3.5 million cubic feet (85,000 m3) of stone.

• Lutyens added several small personal touches to the house, such as a garden wall area and two ventilator windows in the stateroom that resemble his glasses. The Viceregal Lodge was almost finished by 1929, and it was officially opened in 1931, along with the rest of New Delhi. Interestingly, the structure took seventeen years to construct, and India got independence eighteen years later. The now ceremonial governor-general continued to live there after India's independence in 1947, and was succeeded by the president in 1950 when India became a republic and the house was renamed "Rashtrapati Bhavan."

Rashtrapati Bhavan Facts

• The Presidential Palace, commonly known as Rashtrapati Bhavan, is the world's second-largest after the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy.

• The presidential office, guest rooms, and staff rooms are among the more than 300 rooms.

• It employs 750 people, including 245 working in the President's Secretariat.

• It is situated on Raisina Hill, which was named for one of the two villages that were destroyed to construct this palace (Raisini and Malcha). Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, a British architect, designed it.

• It was built using 700 million bricks and 3 million cubic feet of stone.

• It took 17 years to build, with construction beginning in 1912 and ending in 1929, with about 29,000 people working on it.

• The King George V's silver chair, measuring 640 kg, can be found at the Gift Museum of Rashtrapati Bhavan, where he sat at the Delhi Durbar in 1911.

• The Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan is used for ceremonial functions such as swearing-in of Ministers and contains amazing paintings such as Fateh Ali Shah, Qajar rulers of Persia, and some paintings by an Italian painter Colonnelo of forest themes, among other things.

• “A Talking Wall” and “A Planet Wall” provide interesting audio-video displays that tickle the children's interest.

Conclusion

Rashtrapati Bhavan is the world's largest democracy's presidential residence. The main structure is 5 acres in size and contains 340 rooms spread out across four floors. It lies on a 330-acre estate designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker. Mughal Gardens were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens as early as 1917. Plantings were not finished until 1928-1929, and are part of the Rashtrapati Bhavan tour. Previously only open to the public during the annual festival Udyanotsav in February and March.