Rashtrapati Bhavan
Rashtrapati Bhavan
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| Rashtrapati Bhavan |
About
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| View of Rashtrapati Bhavan |
The Rashtrapati Bhavan (About this sound pronunciation (help·info), "rásh-tra-pa-ti BHA-van"; Presidential Residence" previously "Viceroy's House") is the official home of the president located at the Western end of Rajpath in New Delhi, India. It may refer to only the mansion (the 340-room main building) that has the president's official residence, halls, guest rooms and offices; it may also refer to the entire 130-hectare (320 acres) President Estate that additionally includes huge presidential gardens (Mughal Gardens), large open spaces, residences of bodyguards and staff, stables, other offices and utilities within its perimeter walls. In terms of area, it is one of the largest residences of a head of state in the world.
History
This decision to build a residence in New Delhi for the British Viceroy was taken after it was decided during the Delhi Durbar in December 1911 that the capital of India would be relocated from Calcutta to Delhi. When the plan for a new city, New Delhi, adjacent to end south of Old Delhi, was developed after the Delhi Durbar, the new palace for the Viceroy of India was given an enormous size and prominent position. About 4,000 acres of land was acquired to begin the construction of Viceroy's House, as it was officially called, and adjacent Secretariat Building between 1911 and 1916 by relocating Raisina and Malcha villages that existed there and their 300 families under the Land & Acquisition Act.
The British architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens, a major member of the city-planning process, was given the primary architectural responsibility. The completed Governor-General's palace turned out very similar to the original sketches which Lutyens sent Herbert Baker, from Simla, on 14 June 1912. Lutyens' design is grandly classical overall, with colors and details inspired by Indian architecture. Lutyens and Baker who had been assigned to work on Viceroy's House and the Secretariats began on friendly terms. Baker had been assigned to work on the two secretariat buildings which were in front of Viceroy's House. The original plan was to have Viceroy's House on the top of Raisina Hill, with the secretariats lower down. It was later decided to build it 400 yards back and put both buildings on top of the plateau. While Lutyens wanted Viceroy's House to be higher, he was forced to move it back from the intended position, which resulted in a dispute with Baker. After completion, Lutyens argued with Baker, because the view of the front of the building was obscured by the high angle of the road.
Lutyens campaigned for its fixing but was not able to get it to be changed. Lutyens wanted to make a long inclined grade all the way to Viceroy's House with retaining walls on either side. While this would give a view of the house from the further back, it would also cut through the square between the secretariat buildings. The committee with Lutyens and Baker established in January 1914 said the grade was to be no steeper than 1 in 25, though it eventually was changed to 1 in 22, a steeper gradient which made it more difficult to see the Viceroy's palace. While Lutyens knew about the gradient and the possibility that the Viceroy's palace would be obscured by the road, it is thought that Lutyens did not fully realize how little the front of the house would be visible. In 1916 the Imperial Delhi committee dismissed Lutyens's proposal to alter the gradient. Lutyens thought Baker was more concerned with making money and pleasing the government, rather than making a good architectural design.
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| Outside Entrance of Rashtrapati Bhavan |
When Chakravarti Rajagopalachari assumed the office as the first Indian-born Governor General of India and became the occupant of this building he preferred to stay in a few rooms which is now the family wing of the President and converted the then Viceroy's apartments into the Guest Wing where visiting heads of state stay while in India.
On 26 January 1950, when Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India and occupied this building, it was renamed as Rashtrapati Bhavan – the President's House.
Design
Consisting of four floors and 340 rooms, with a floor area of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2), it was built using 1 billion bricks and 3,000,000 cu ft (85,000 m3) of stone with little steel.
The design of the building fell into the time period of the Edwardian Baroque, a time at which emphasis was placed on the use of heavy classical motifs in order to emphasize the power and imperial authority. The design process of the mansion was long, complicated and politically charged. Lutyens' early designs were all starkly classical and entirely European in style. His disrespect for the local building tradition he dismissed as primitive, is evident in his numerous sketches with appended scrawls such as 'Moghul tosh' and his short remark that 'they want me to do Hindu – Hindon't I say!' In the post-Mutiny era, however, it was decided that sensitivity must be shown to the local surroundings in order to better integrate the building within its political context, and after much political debate Lutyens conceded to incorporating local indo-Saracenic motifs, albeit in a rather superficial decorational form on the skin of the building. Various Indian designs were added to the building. These included several circular stone basins on top of the building, as water features are an important part of Indian architecture. There was also a traditional Indian chujja or chhajja, which occupied the place of a frieze in classical architecture; it was a sharp, thin, protruding element which extended 8 feet (2.4 m) from the building, and created deep shadows. It blocks harsh sunlight from the windows and also shields the windows from heavy rain during the monsoon season. On the roofline were several shutters, which helped to break up the flatness of the roofline not covered by the dome. Lutyens appropriated some Indian designs but used them sparingly and effectively throughout the building. There were also statues of elephants and fountain sculptures of cobras in the gar of the retaining walls, as well as the bas-reliefs around the base of the Jaipur Column, made by British sculptor, Charles Sargeant Jagger. The column has a "distinctly peculiar crown on top, a glass star springing out of bronze lotus blossom".
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| Statue on the outerwall |
Lutyens added several small personal elements to the house, such as an area in the garden walls and two ventilator windows on the stateroom to look like the glasses which he wore. The Viceregal Lodge was completed largely by 1929, and (along with the rest of New Delhi) inaugurated officially in 1931. Interestingly, the building took seventeen years to complete and eighteen years later India became independent. After Indian independence in 1947, the now ceremonial Governor-General continued to live there, being succeeded by the President in 1950 when India became a republic and the house was renamed "Rashtrapati Bhavan".
Lutyens stated that the dome is inspired by the Pantheon of Rome.[8] There is also the presence of Mughal and European colonial architectural elements. Overall the structure is distinctly different from other contemporary British Colonial symbols. It has 355 decorated rooms and a floor area of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m²). The structure includes 700 million bricks[9] and 3.5 million cubic feet (85,000 m³) of stone, with the only minimal usage of steel.
Dome
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| Dome |
The height of the dome was increased by Lord Hardinge in the plan of the building in 1913. The dome combines classical and Indian styles. Lutyens said the design evolved from that of the Pantheon in Rome, while it is also possible that it was modeled partly after the great Stupa at Sanchi. The dome is supported by evenly spaced columns which form a porch with an open area between. In the New Delhi summer heat haze, this gives an impression of the dome being afloat. Workers began to form the reinforced concrete shell of the outer dome at the beginning of 1929. The last stone of the dome was laid on 6 April 1929.
Mughal Gardens
The Mughal Gardens are situated at the back of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, incorporate both Mughal and English landscaping styles and feature a great variety of flowers. The Rashtrapati Bhavan gardens are open to the public in February every year.
Main garden: Two channels running North to South and two running East to West divide this garden into a grid of squares. There is six lotus shaped fountains at the crossings of these channels. Whereas the energetic fountains rising up to a height of 12 feet (3.7 m) create a soothing murmur that enthralls the visitor, the channels are so tranquil in their movement that they seem frozen. In the channels at appropriate times of day can be seen reflections of the imposing building and the proud flowers. There are wooden trays placed on stands in the center of the channels where grain is put for the birds to feed upon.
Terrace garden: There are two longitudinal strips of garden, at a higher level on each side of the Main Garden, forming the Northern and Southern boundaries. The plants grown are the same as in the Main Garden. At the center of both of the strips is a fountain, which falls inwards, forming a well. On the Western tips are located two gazebos and on the Eastern tips two ornately designed sentry posts.
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| Mughal Garden |
Around the circular garden, there are rooms for the office of the horticulturist, a greenhouse, stores, nursery etc. Here is housed the collection of Bonsais, one of the best in the country.
All the presidents who have stayed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan have taken a keen interest in the maintenance and upkeep of the Mughal Gardens. All have contributed in their own way. The underlying themes, however, have remained unaltered.
Museum
In July 2014, a museum inside Rashtrapati Bhavan was inaugurated by President of India Pranab Mukherjee. The museum helps visitors to get an inside view of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, its art, architecture and get educated about lives of past presidents.
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