The Power and the Glory: Stories from Rashtrapati Bhavan
From today, The Indian Express begins a series, in partnership with Rashtrapati Bhavan, bringing little-known anecdotes and records and rarely-seen-before photographs that document stories of history, heritage and culture from the seat of power to the people
For the first time, long-time staffers share behind-the-scenes anecdotes of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. By Ajay Singh
If there is one monument that epitomises modern Indian history, it is the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It has been witness to the high noon of colonialism, negotiations of a painful Partition, the dawn of Independence, and countless events that have shaped the republic since.
As a symbol of the seat of power, its majesty is overwhelming. A report published in The Daily Telegraph of London on December 12, 1928, said that the palace that Lord and Lady Irwin would occupy contains “340 rooms, 227 columns, 35 loggias, 37 fountains, 14 lifts, 45 lac bricks, 14 lac cubic feet of stone, 7,500 tons of cement and 1,350 tons of iron and steel”. Its architecture, though European in concept, was executed predominantly with Indian motifs and craftsmanship. Spread over 330-odd acres, it is also called a “geometrical extravaganza” because of chief architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens’s fascination with a mathematical balance in architecture. This is why it is bound by a distinct thread of sound logic.
Courtesy: Rashtrapati Bhavan
Share
