By: Tensie Puthuran
The Maharaja’s magnificent Darbar Hall seems purpose built to transport you back to a long-gone era of royal privilege, extravagant artistic expression and exuberant culture. Sunlight streams through the Belgian glass ceiling mosaics, filling the cavernous space with colourful, living rainbows that dance upon the walls. The ornate wooden flooring, carved with intricate designs, emits a perceptible vibration unlocked with keys that subtly matches the rhythm of dancers’ feet performing upon it, augmenting the drama and dynamism of every performance.
The hall was originally constructed in the grandiose Indo-Greek style for cultural performances intended to enchant and entertain the royal family watching from their private balcony boxes high above. Gatherings within these walls were imbued with an almost festive spirit of wonder and delight as ministers, relatives and invited guests revelled in the royal spectacle unfolding before them.
Sitting quietly here today over a late afternoon filter coffee, one can almost see the Maharaja himself surrounded by his ministers and court poets, ornately dressed and be jewelled, gathered around the pillars adorned with the symbol of Karnataka, the Ganda Berunda, a reminder of the power and glory of the princely state. The Darbar Hall now stands at the very heart of a palace hotel property which seeks to offer its privileged guests an opportunity to step into and momentarily inhabit the spirit and atmosphere of bygone kings, their imaginings of royal extravagance and true luxury, and the artisans they employed to construct their magnificent monuments. In the capable hands of new caretakers, this architectural gem continues to shine, keeping alive for future generations the stories and culture of India’s princely past. Sunlight still enters through the colourful stained-glass panels, dancing dust motes still swirl above the vibrant wooden flooring below and, however briefly, we are transported back to a time imbued with an overabundance of pageantry and the passion for exquisite artistic creations that only the truly privileged can indulge.
