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The Prag Mahal is a 19th-century palace located next to the Aina Mahal in
Bhuj Bhuj () is a Municipality and District Headquarters of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. Etymology According to legend, Kutch was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to Kin ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
, India.


History

Prag Mahal is named after Rao Pragmalji II, who commissioned it and construction began in 1865."All about Gujarat: Palaces"
Gujarat State Portal.Haresh Pandya

Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...
(4 September 2006). It was designed by Colonel
Henry St Clair Wilkins General Henry St Clair Wilkins (3 December 1828 – 15 December 1896) was a British army officer who served the East India Company in India, Aden and later in Abyssinia. He was also a noted architect and is credited with having designed several b ...
in what the local tourist office describes as the Italian Gothic style, although it would be better described as a
Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...
twist on the Indo-Saracenic Revival style, and many Italian artisans were involved in its construction. The palace artisans' wages were paid in gold coins. Construction of the palace, which ultimately cost 3.1 million
rupees Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
, was completed in 1879 during the regency of
Khengarji III Maharajadhiraj Mirza Maharao Sir Khengarji III Sawai Bahadur (23 August 1866 – 15 January 1942) was a progressive and one of the longest ruling monarchs of a dependent state and also the longest ruling king of the Princely State of Cutch ...
(Pragmalji II's son) following Pragmalji II's death in 1875. The local Kutchi builder community (
Mistris of Kutch Kutch Gurjar Kshatriya (also known as Mistri or Mestri) are a minority Hindu and one of the Socially and Educationally Backward communities of Gujarat in India, who claim to be Kshatriyas. They are an artisan community related with Kadia wor ...
) were also involved in construction of Prag Mahal along with Colonel Wilkins.


Notable features

*The palace is made of Italian marble and sandstone from
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
. *The main hall, filled with decaying taxidermyJane Yang. ''Let's Go India & Nepal''. Let's Go (2003)
pp. 218-19
. *
Durbar hall Durbar can refer to: * Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs * Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria * Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance o ...
, with broken chandeliers and classical statues * Corinthian pillars *
Jali A ''jali'' or jaali (''jālī'', meaning "net") is the term for a perforated stone or latticework, latticed Window screen, screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy, geometry or natural patterns. T ...
work depicting European plants and animals *It has 45 foot high tower with a clock, from where you can see the entire Bhuj city. *There is also a small temple in the courtyard behind the palace with nicely carved stonework.


Restoration

The
2001 Gujarat earthquake The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January, India's 52nd Republic Day, at . The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District of Gujarat ...
severely damaged the palace. In 2006, the palace was burgled, with thieves stealing antiques worth millions of rupees and damaging other items throughout the palace. The palace was in a "ghostly", "forlorn" state. However, the palace and the tower have been repaired, after
Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
took personal interest in restoration of palace. and its tower and clock have been repaired and are now open for public viewing. The Darbar Hall of the majestic Pragmahal Palace was renovated by the Maharao Pragmalji-III at a personal cost of Rs 5 crore. Visitors may enter the main palace halls and ascend the bell tower, which offers views of the city."Prag Mahal"
. Gujarat Tourism. File:PragMahal-Bhuj-Gujarat-JM18.jpg, Durbar Hall File:Prag Mahal Bhuj.jpg, Italian Gothic architecture of Prag Mahal with clock tower on right File:Prag Mahal.jpg, Back side of Prag Mahal File:Prag Mahal Palace Bhuj.jpg, Full View of Prag Mahal


In popular culture

Scenes from the Bollywood blockbusters ''
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam ''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'' () is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It was released internationally as ''Straight From the Heart''. The film stars Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn. Ba ...
'' and ''
Lagaan ''Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was produced by Aamir Khan, who stars alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Sh ...
'', as well as a number of Gujarati films, were shot in the palace.Joe Bindloss & Sarina Singh. ''India''.
Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...
(2007)
p. 760
.


See also

* Aina Mahal * Vijaya Vilas Palace


References

{{coord, 23.25479, 69.66833, display=title Palaces in Gujarat Bhuj Royal residences in India Rajput architecture History of Kutch Tourist attractions in Kutch district 1879 establishments in India Museums in Gujarat