The herald., 1893-05-01
ITISA CITY OF AMBER
A BEAUTIFUL BUT DESERTED PAL
Il ACE IN NORTHERN INDIA


the Barbaric splendor Enjoyed by
Noble Race of Hindoo Kings who Lived
Long. Long Before Modern Times.
The renowned and now deserted city
81 Amber, in northwestern India, -four
ished with its countless thousands of in
habitants and untold wealth and splen-
dor in the time of the Ptolemys.
1t is situated in a mountain nook,
about five miles from the present city of
Jeypoor, and Is one of India's jeweled
possessions for antiquarians.
The great Amber palace is built of
solid red sandstone and variegated Jey-
poor marble and inlaid with costly gems.
1t has stood for centuries as it now
stands, upon an elevated mountain slope
overlooking picturesque lake and sur
rounded by steep and rugged fortified
peaks, with the walled and long since
doomed and ruined city below.
The palace is q mastery structure of
Hindoo architecture, solid and secure,
yet ornamental and beautiful. Entrance
Is gained through a massive and strongly
fortified gate which leads into spacious
central court richly adorned with rare
carvings, mighty trees and Towering
shrubbery.
The grand diwan-i-am or audience hall
is reached from the spacious court by a
massive fight of carved marble steps.
This hall is noble example of Raj-ut-
art, with it's double rows Of shining mar
BILE columns supporting a massive entab-
Y 1ature, above which are latticed galleries
of marble worked in rare designs.
The ceiling is of sculptured freestone,
while the floor is made mp of huge slabs
of polished marble.
1t was upon this floor that the ancient
kings and mobiles of this once royal city
witnessed many gorgeous scenes of gayety
and cruelty. Here they applauded the
royal tilts and sports, and here they re-
viewed the many fierce conflicts between
men and beasts and between royal Ben
gal tigers and noble fighting elephants
in the grand courtyard below.
1t was also upon this spacious floor
that the kings and queens of this ancient
realm gathered together at sunrise every
morning for many centuries witness the
sacrifice of living human being on that
huge black, blood besrneared stone altar
In the small royal temple just over there
to the right of this marble hail.
Here they would sit on their gold
woven rugs and hear the dying means
and see and smell the smoke of these
sacrificed victims, in order to appease
(as they devoutly believed and believe to
this day. the divine Shivas wrath.
1t is here that one may see every morn
ing in the year an innocent goat burned
alive as a substitute for human being
as an offering to heaven to appease the
destroyer's anger. How very like our
early biblical history.
From this hall, echoing with memo
ries both gay and sad, we wander
through spacious halls and galleries,
elaborately carved apartments, up and
down long rows Of splendid stairs,
through sculptured gateways covered
with rnosaics and doors inlaid in ivory
and precious stones, until we reach the
highest terrace in the palace.
This was exclusively devoted to the
rajah's personal apartments, contrary to
our modern rules of sanitary arrange
ments, for now we place our servants in
the airiest and best ventilated rooms and
remain ourselves in the lowest, dainpest
and unhealthiest parts of our houses
These kingly apartments are beauti-
fully constructed with marble lattice
windows and pavilions, gilt and carved
ceilings and spacious arched porticoes.
On our left is the JOY mandir, or hal
of victory. adorned by panels Of alabas-
ter inlaid with flowers in alto relieve
and ceiling glittering with mirrored and
spangled work, for which Amber was
long renowned, and for which Jeypoor.
its successor, is now justly celebrated.
Opposite this grand hall of victory is
the sukh nawas, or hall of pleasure, with
its doors of sweet scented sandalwood in
laid with ivory and its gorgeous paint
ings of pleasures on earth and in heaven.
Here are groves from which issue cool.
clear streams of pure mountain water,
which is perfufned and made to run in
carved channels the whole length of the
marble floor to cool the heated at1nos-
phere and the gay occupants of this hall.
Adjoining this beautiful hall are the
sumptuous bathing apartments and the
deep, cool pleasure caverns, surrounded
by ferns and rare flowers, where the
kings and queens Of this ancient castle
bade defiance to old Soils burning rays
during India's hottest days.
Here they whiled away their happy
days amid love and pleasure in an atmos-
phere rendered sweet by the aroma of
Costly incense, listening to the strains Of
Indian music, gazing now and then up
ON the beautiful girls as they performed
in scanty attire-as they do TO this day
the famous nautch dance of India
Next to these pleasure halls and groves
are the spacious apartments once occu-
pied by the harem--an Indispensable ad-
junct to all eastern palaces.
It was here that the mighty mahara-
jah, Jey Singh, in the early part of the
eighteenth century ruled supreme in
this jeweled spot on earth among his
hundreds of carefully chosen wives like
King David Of old.
From every halland terrace, from ev-
cry arched pavilion and cavern latticed
window Of this wonderful old palace, we
got glimpses of this picturesque spot, this
historic city, surrounded as it is by all
that nature and art can do to make it
beautiful.
Mirrored in that clear, blue lake boz
low one sees the ancient gilded domes
md shrines of many costly te1nples