Karan Mahal, Bikaner

After the second quadrangle, with its marble fountain and the throne room, we entered the third quadrangle of Junagarh fort in Bikaner. This was even more exquisite, but beyond lay a second throne room, the Karan Mahal, which was so fabulous that I have to talk about it first. The featured photo shows the gallery with a niche where the throne sits. This is an altogether more intimate setting than the first previous throne room that we had seen, and much richer in work. It is a showcase of the different styles of fresco that developed in the court of Bikaner.

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The two photos above illustrate the three main techniques. The pillar on the right is in the Sonakin style. A pillar is covered with white plaster and delicate patterns in gold are painted on it. You can see that the gold has been worn off in the front part of the pillar, by the thousands who run their hands over it daily. The walls are painted in the Manovat style. Plaster covered clay is covered completely in gold paint with other coloured highlights to give the impression that it is wall of gold. The doors are painted in the Jangali Sunthari style. Over a green background gold outlines a tree and its flowers and fruits. The painting is completed with other colours, and is said to resemble emeralds laid into golden jewelry. The style is attributed to the artist Ali Raza, who met Raja Karan Singh during his campaign in Golconda, and was brought to this kingdom.

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These photos show the details of the carved wooden ceiling gilded in the Manovat style, the Jangali Sunthari style of paintings on various doors, the exquisite tiles showing the locally rare phenomenon of massed cumulonimbus clouds and lightning, and the Sonakin style of paintings on the walls and ceilings. These styles were elaborated further in works that we saw later in the palace museum.

We stepped back into the tiled courtyard outside and looked at the elaborate stone work of the exterior walls. Raja Karan Singh was engaged in a war against Emperor Alamgir until he was deposed and exiled to the Deccan by the emperor. The fact that art could flourish in his court speaks of the enormous wealth of Bikaner, situated as it was on one of the major branches of the Silk Route.

It was time to visit the museums in the side galleries. That is really a story for another day, but one exhibit belongs here. Just off the throne room was a massive portrait of a king seated in a darbar in Karan Mahal. There was no identifying plaque, so, until I’m proved wrong, I like to believe that this shows Raja Karan Singh, soldier and patron of the arts.

Science da kamaal! Posts appear automatically while I travel off net.