The Jal Mahal, or “Water Palace,” in Jaipur, India, was intended to be a maharajas’ duck-hunting lodge. It was constructed in the mid-18th century in the center of a man-made lake for that purpose. Nature, however, appears to have had different designs.
This majestic landmark, one of the most visited and photographed places in the country, had recently fallen into disrepair after being abandoned for more than two centuries. Fortunately, it was preserved, and if all goes as planned, it might become the most exclusive restaurant in the world within a few years. But first and foremost.
How could a wonderful spot like this, as big as it appears now, resembling a castle floating serenely on the water’s surface, become neglected? How did it come to be so overlooked that it was practically drowning in rubbish and junk for a time?
According to legend, at the end of the 18th century, a terrible drought raged over the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. Naturally, the drought produced challenges. It jeopardized the delicate lives of those living in an already parched area. The only thing delivering fresh water essential for living was the monsoons, and the reservoir was the only thing keeping it after they were gone. The lake, which was formed in the 16th century by damming a local river in the hills, was the only reliable supply of drinking water. It was designed specifically for that purpose.
Unfortunately, the monsoons did not appear for quite some time. The water level was gradually falling in front of everyone’s eyes.
In desperate necessity, the Maharaja rebuilt the dam in the hills on the Dharbawati river, east of the lake, to guarantee that what water remained stayed near the city his father created. Following in his father’s footsteps, his son, Sawai Pratap Singh, the Maharaja next in line, did the same. In the 1790s, he fortified the dam even further and restored his beloved cabin, where he and his company spent their youth. Their preferred sport was duck hunting.
Jaipur was his home; it was his grandfather’s idea of a beautiful metropolis that was growing at the time. A lack of water would have resulted in a rapid demise. On the other hand, the Jal Mahal held great significance for him. Nothing like it could be found anywhere else, not even in the nearby old city of Amer. He wanted to make the area last and keep the city affluent.
According to the story, he did everything he could to ensure that when the water level rose, the solid stone walls would remain strong against the lake, so that when the drought ended, his favorite spot would be as if nothing had happened, and he could relax and unwind during hunting seasons once more.
The nineteenth century dawned, years passed, and the amount of water in the lake rose. Everything was going according to plan. Singh couldn’t unwind at his favorite lounge for the time being, but he could do the other thing he pledged to do: make the city great, which was simple now that the scarcity of water was no longer a danger. In 1799, he completed the magnificent beehive-shaped Palace of the Winds (Hawa Mahal) on the outskirts of the City Palace, and he now set out to modernize the city’s infrastructure.
But then the long-awaited monsoons returned. They hit with ferocity and stayed for a while this time. Within months, the lake’s water level surged to the point that it nearly engulfed the resort. There was no longer a hunting field. There was no sign of a lodge. Regrettably, the Raja lost his favorite hideaway. Following him, the Rajas completely ignored the location. Even after the monsoons had gone and life had returned to normal, the Jal Mahal was abandoned and left to decay. The city was fast expanding, and there were more pressing issues to be handled.
Jaipur had 80,000 residents by the mid-nineteenth century, up from a few thousand barely a half-century before. There were at least 160, 000 afterthe conclusion of it. The Sanskrit College, which opened in the 1860s, was attracting scholars from all over the country, and the all-important visit of Prince Edward VII of Wales in 1876, the year when all the city streets were paved in red in his honor to give it that distinct pink look it is known for, meant that the inflow would be even greater shortly the near future.
When visitors arrived from the surrounding hills of the Aravalli Range, the first thing they saw was a Water Palace inside a lake. And the first thing they’d do was take a gondola ride on the lake, resting among flocks of flamingos, pintails, kestrels, marsh sandpipers, or gray wagtails, and taking in what was arguably the only peaceful sight in a metropolis under development.
But there was more to come. They couldn’t be stopped. At the turn of the century, the metropolis had grown to house millions of people. The Jal Mahal was abandoned as a lonesome dead statue amid thethe midst of a lake, left to the mercy of millions of people who did not pity any no pity at all. Rapid development and an insufficient sewage infrastructure made the lake a preferred dumping spot for rubbish, waste, and raw sewage, which was seriously destroying the lake’s and surrounding area’s environment year after year.
The lake was chloride-filled, and the groundwater was poisoned to the point where the lake posed an environmental health risk. After a period, the odor became strong enough to keep any visitor away from the magnificent palace, and the toxins killed every fish in the lake and every bird in the region. The area became a true swamp, and the Jal Mahal became a huge palace of plastic.
According to various existent pages of history and anecdotes related by residents over the years, this is how the Jal Mahal wound up sunk four floors underground and completely abandoned for two centuries. It might have simply vanished, never to be seen again.
Fortunately, and thanks to meticulous engineering, the walls held back millions of gallons of water over the span of two centuries, exactly as Pratap Singh planned when he strengthened them, and the wonderfully built and made lime mortar kept water from flowing within. Those walls stayed firm against everything hurled at them. They had to deal with the lake, monsoons, and men. Or, to be more exact, their garbage.
The Jal Mahal was still lovely even though it was no longer performing its purpose and no one was utilizing it.
In 1999, a private corporation controlled by a local jeweler took acquired the land to turn the intention of turning it into a resort and tourist destination. From 2004 to 2010, the team was able to thoroughly clean the lake and restore the castle to its brief grandeur. Fish and birds have returned, and the top floor of the Jal Mahal, poking out of a pristine, deep blue-colored lake, is once again a sight to see. A floating Water Palace that was never intended to be a palace in the first place, but a magnificent masterpiece that has everyone in amazement. Particularly at night.
Aside from totally refurbishing the castle and rooftop garden, the owners lighted up the exterior and illuminated the entire location, giving it the appearance of something out of a storybook. There are plans to turn it into a restaurant. Some believe Jaipur’s gastronomic treat Jal Mahal, an award-winning restaurant only adjacent to the Trident Hotel, to be the most likely contender.