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Located in the heart of Jaipur, the
Pink City, Jai Mahal Palace has been converted into a
5-star hotel. The Jai Mahal, infact, is the oldest
heritage hotel in India, and its first guest was Nikita
Khrushchev in the 1950s. The hotel, run by the Taj Group,
offers guests an authentic experience of the past.
The Jai Mahal, interestingly, was not built by the
reigning monarch of Jaipur. Instead, it was built by
Hargobind Natani, who rose to the post of prime minister
from the ranks of a lowly commander in the army. The land
on which the palace is built was a gift to him from the
grateful ruler of Jaipur after Natani helped beat back a
huge alliance of enemy forces. Natani’s glory did not last
long. After growing in power and status, he committed
treason and died before he could be tried for it. The
land, along with the palace, was taken over by the king.
In the early twentieth century, the palace became the
official residence of the prime ministers of the princely
Jaipur state. After 1947, when monarchies were abolished
in the newly independent India, the palace stood empty for
a few years. Then the royal descendants had the palace
converted into a hotel. |
