Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official home of the President of India. It is now the world's biggest house for any Chief of State. The beauty of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is multifaceted. It is a massive home with stunning architecture. More than that, it has a holy place in democratic history as the house of the President of the world's biggest democracy. Few official residences of the Head of State in the world can compete with the Rashtrapati Bhavan in terms of size, breadth, and splendour.
Rashtrapati Bhavan's History
The current Rashtrapati Bhavan was the British Viceroy's previous home. Edwin Landseer Lutyens designed it. The decision to build a home for the British Viceroy in New Delhi was made when the Delhi Durbar in December 1911 agreed that the capital of India would be transferred from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi that same year. Rashtrapati Bhavan was built to ensure the continuation of British authority in India. According to one critic, this structure appeared to be the scene for a continual Durbar. The structure and its environs were meant to symbolise "an empire in stone," "exercising imperial influence." This structure became the permanent institution of democracy on January 26, 1950, when Dr. Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India and inhabited it to preserve, protect, and defend the Indian Constitution. This edifice was renamed Rashtrapati Bhavan, or the President's House, on that day. Aside from Edwin Lutyens, the Chief Architect, and Hugh Keeling, the Chief Engineer, several Indian contractors were involved in the construction of this structure.
Rashtrapati Bhavan's Location and Architecture
The Rashtrapati Bhavan is a four-story house with 340 rooms. It is made of 700 million bricks and three million cubic feet of stone and has a floor size of 200, 000 square feet. The structure was constructed with very little steel. The dome that covers Rashtrapati Bhavan is the most visible and defining feature of the edifice. It is the most noticeable spherical roof with a circular base in the centre of Delhi from afar. It is very firmly believed by qualified experts that the dome was fashioned in the pattern of the magnificent Sanchi Stupa. In fact, Rashtrapati Bhavan as a whole includes Indian architectural motifs such as Buddhist railings, chhajjas, chhatris, and jaalis.
Chhajjas are stone slabs that are installed beneath the roof of a structure to prevent sunrays from falling on the windows and to shield the walls from rain during the monsoon. Jaalis, like chhajjas and chhatris, are classic Indian designs that add to the grandeur of the Rashtrapati Bhavan's architecture. Jaalis are stone items with a lot of scratch on them that are fashioned with exquisite floral and geometric designs.
Another persistent characteristic of the Rashtrapati Bhavan's design is the placement of Indian temple bells in its pillars. It is well known that temple bells are an integral part of our combined culture, particularly Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. Blending these bells with the Hellenic style building is a good illustration of the fusion of Indian and European ideas.
The President of India does not inhabit the suites currently known as the Ashoka chamber, which are held by Viceroys. Instead, he takes up residence in one of the guest rooms. Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, the first Indian Governor General, thought the master bedroom was too glitzy for his modest tastes. All subsequent Presidents have followed suit. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is the world's largest presidential residence. Every year in February, the RoseGarden at Rashtrapati Bhavan showcases a variety of roses and is available to the public. The Rashtrapati Bhavan was built without the usage of steel.
Rashtrapati Bhavan is widely regarded as India's best monument, alongside the Taj Mahal and the Qutub Minar. It is undeniably a work of art in terms of symmetry, discipline, silhouette, colour, and harmony. Though Rashtrapati Bhawan has been heavily criticised, this has largely been for the imperial aim behind it rather than its architecture.
Comments