Jaipurs Jal Mahal has been restored and will be open to the public soon It rises out of the water like a jewellery box. A sheet of clear water below wraps itself around its walls in a comforting embrace. Till last year though,travellers would only bother to glimpse the Jal Mahal from the distance on the road,as it lay abandoned in the murky waters of Jaipurs Man Sagar lake. But now,a Rs 68-crore restoration drive,that began in 2004-5,has made the 18th-century monument and the lake clean enough to be thrown open to the public next month. People will be able to reach the monument by boats,rowed by oarsmen attired in traditional Rajasthani costume,to enjoy the monument as it shines against the backdrop of the Aravalli hills. Our idea was to turn a five-minute roadside view into a four-hour enjoyable visit, says Rajiv Lunkad,architect and project director,Jal Mahal Resorts Limited,which is managing the restoration project. To do that,the 310-acre Man Sagar lake was cleaned up,by de-silting it,and preventing rain water and sewage from entering it. The lakes depth has also been increased by 1.5 metres. After cleaning up the lake,which took two years,the four-storey mahal became the focus of the restoration. A team of historians and conservation architects studied the monuments history,which is inadequately documented. It took a year of research to find just one page of evidence: a ledger sheet at the Rajasthan State Archives in Bikaner,which says that the Jal Mahal was built at a cost of 30,000 monetary units in 1730 AD,during the time of Jai Singhs rule. Then,the work on the ground began. The mahal was in a dilapidated state. Marble walls had been covered only with plaster,which was peeling off. Some places had no roof,and the floors were made of a mixture of sand and cement. The restorers scraped off the plaster and replaced it with a mix of lime,sand and burnt clay. Damaged pillars were reconstructed with andhi marble. The hallmarks of Rajput architecture domes,arched pavilions,latticework and murals were created by local artisans. A new feature has been added the char bagh,a garden of jasmine and frangipani flowers,divided into four parts,which one can enjoy by walking through four,criss-crossing white marble passageways. We were inspired by Rajput and Mughal architecture for the garden, says Mitchell Abdul Karim Crites,an American architect who has designed the char bagh. The next phase of restoration,expected to take two years,will involve setting up craft bazaars,two luxury hotels,a convention centre,and food and beverage outlets. The once-neglected water palace is finally getting royal treatment.
