In my Previous blog (Click to read) you read how we reached Narkanda from Ambala. and visited Hatu Mata Mandir at Narkanda.
It was 10 am when we left Hatu Mata mandir, while returning from the temple, the Mahila mandal ladies told us to visit Tani Jubbar Lake lake however we were running late as we had spent quite a long time at Hatu Peak and Hatu temple. Actually while visiting places our intention is not to tick off the boxes as to we have visited so many places, on the contrary we like to sit and absorb the feel of the destination that we are visiting and in the process we often end up spending too long a time at one place and often miss few places. “Ab kya kare, hum aise hi hai, apna manana yeh hai ki koi medal thoda milne wala hai bhagam – bhag me jagah dekne ko! Aur agar mil bhi raha hai toh humme nahi chaiye!
Aapan toh bhaiya aise hi hai Pehle hi bola tha! 😄
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The downhill drive of 6 kms, till we reached highway was quite cool and pleasant and Our next destination today was Rampur Bushahr. which was around 67 kms (2 hrs drive), we kept passing through several towns. Viz. Kumarsain, Dutt Nagar etc on the way to Rampur Bushahr.
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The drive from Narkanda to Rampur Bushehar was quite amazing especially when for company you have Sutlej river flowing along with you all the way and trees with beautiful flowers waving at you as if welcoming you to the mountains . I know I may end up sounding too repetitive but Ab, kya kare, nazaare ek ke baad ek zabardast khoobsurat hote ja rahe the “
Man me ek hi geet chal raha tha ..Aagaaz yeh hai toh anjaam hoga haseen😄
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In Rampur Bushehar , our plan was to visit Padam Palace , as it falls on the way , so we won’t have to take diversion from our main route to Chitkul.
Padam Palace lies in the heart of Rampur town and it is located in the main center of the town. The entry is off the highway road. You enter the palace through the big gate and as soon as you enter you may get confused as to whether you have entered the hotel premises, Well don’t worry you are in the right direction because this hotel is attached to the Palace compound. This heritage hotel is called Nau Nabh.
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You need to walk straight from the main gate with the entry of heritage hotel on your left side and pass through the small gate which suddenly opens up to the spectacular looking palace with a huge sprawling lawn in front of it.
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Padam Palace, Rampur is also known as a private residence of Mr. Virbhadra Singh. He is royalty and also the former chief minister of Himachal Pradesh for 30 long years. Yes, you read it correctly because he was chosen as chief minister of Himachal Pradesh 6 times. Can you believe it! It happens only in India. It is believed that this royal family is the descendant of Pradyumna – the Son of Lord Krishna. So, Won’t you like to know more about this Palace.
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Padam Palace is one of the most attractions at Rampur Bushahr. It once served as the Winter Capital of the former princely state of Bushair. Raja Padam Singh laid the foundation the palace on the left bank of River Satluj in the year 1919. The construction of Padam Palace took six years and it was completed in 1925. Chief engineer who supervised its construction was known as Bir Chand Shukla.
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The main structural component material of the palace is stone and the stone was quarried from a nearby place called Khaneri. You will be amazed to know that cementing of stones is done by using black gram paste. Other than stone wood is the main material used in the palace and this wood was procured from the jungles of the nearby village called Munish
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The architectural style of Padam Palace resembles Indo-Saracenic architecture and this architecture type was basically a revivalist architecture style used by British Raj in India. The Palace of the Rulers of princely states was designed on the same lines by British architects during the colonial time. One can feel the royalty kind of ambiance especially with huge arches and imposing doors.
Once you enter the palace compound, the first structure that you see is the beautiful octagonal roof-shaped gazebo in a gorgeous turquoise blue color. This structure is known as Macchkandi. We were informed that this was the place where the king used to interact with his subjects and took all important decisions of royal matters.
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As you enter this Octagonal structure you see lots of carvings on wood, and the ceilings are painted in such beautiful colors that you simply keep staring with awe, other than the woodwork, and carvings we also noticed amazing mirror work here. After clicking some pictures from here we moved on to check out the imposing Palace next to it.
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The palace looks quite large and imposing and has a symmetrical façade and the series of arches and a huge portico in the front make it grand. The major attraction of the palace is this alluring turquoise-blue wooden door. Intricate wooden geometrical carving with mirrorwork makes it feel like a door to heaven and Honestly speaking it is one of the most amazing door designs I have ever seen. The upper facade of the palace is filled with dark brown intricate wooden carvings. These carvings are geometrical jaalis with different patterns and are partially covered by tinted or simple glass
We enjoyed watching and exploring this palace. What was supposed to be a small break for sightseeing at the Palace, we ended up spending an hour here. As this place is almost in the center of the town so there is no parking place outside this site. Our driver had parked the car somewhere away. Therefore after coming out of the Palace, we called him and he came over to pick us up, and we were now on our way to Chitkul, our next destination for the day.
Stay tuned for the next part
