Sukh Niwas Palaces in Bundi

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The palaces and forts of Bundi have a charm of their own. They have a picturesque location and have a fairy tale like quality about them. The entire town of Bundi is isolated and independent. It appears like a magical town from a painting frozen in time. Bundi is accessible by road from the Jaipur, Rajasthan. Bishen Singh built this palace as a pleasure palace. The Sukh niwas palace was built by the Italian war prisoners held here.

The Sukh Niwas palace stands in front of the Jai Mandir and has some very interesting features. The doors of this palace are made up of sandalwood. Some channels in the palace allow water to flow. These channels were used in the olden days to allow flow of cold water. This way the palace was kept cooler during the hot days. This trick was used to get the effect of the air conditioner of the pre-electricity days.

There are beautiful Bundi style murals in the palace. The characteristic of these murals is they are in rich maroon, deep blue and off green. Not many tourists visit this palace and actually it is a must visit sight .

The palace is build up of the locally quarried stones in the area. The palace is an example of one of the finest examples of Rajput architecture. There are intricately carved brackets, pillars and balconies in the palace. The sculptures of elephants are very beautiful and used liberally all over the palace. There is a Diwan - I-Am, Hathi pol and Naubat khana inside the palace. There is a famous chitrashsla located in the palace. It gives you a glimpse in the history of the past. The walls and ceilings are completely covered with paintings of the Bundi School. There are hunting scenes, court scenes, festive processions and celebrations on the wall. There are also pictures of beautiful birds, animals and the scenes from the life of Lord Krishna. All these paintings are in very good condition and tell you a lot about the art and lifestyle in the past. Rudyard Kipling stayed here at the Sukh Niwas Palaces, Bundi.

The palace evokes fond memories of Rudyard Kipling. He stayed here and was very fascinated by the beauty of the place. He is believed to have found inspiration for his famous work KIM here.