The Bikaner fort (Junagarh fort) is another fort that I visited in Rajasthan. Yes, I have visited a lot of forts and palaces in Rajasthan. What else do you expect from a state that had around 22 princely states before Independence?
One thing that was different from other forts was that it was continuously built for almost 500 years till the 1930s. The second thing different was it had a lot of intricate paintings. And they were very good.
As you walk around the fort and palace you feel that you have entered an artist’s heaven. The length of the walls and ceilings have extremely intricate paintings and they have pure gold in them. Some of the ceilings contains over 40kgs of gold in their paintings. The rich used rich ingredients to make rich looking paintings. The best part is none of this has bee retouched even after 400 years. They have remained as is.
It’s not just the walls, even the courtyard floor looks very beautiful with intricate tile patterns. This tile pattern was made from alternately combining tiles imported from England and Greece.
This Jhoola or swing was specially used in Janmashtami. It is made from Sandalwood. The unique part is there are small figures carved on the sides and they are all connected with a string. When the swing moves the figures also move giving it a dancing appearance. I found it as a nice idea that we can also do to some of the swings we have.
The rooms are HUGE. And they have intricate paintings. The carpets are made from camel wool and they are over 500 years old. Looks like a lot of camels lost their hair for this carpet. The chair is made out of silver and weighs 70kgs. Lot of value in today’s world I must say!
The painting also had an inlay pattern to them. This meant the gold silver and precious stones were inlayed in the tile. It is a typical style in most Mughal forts. So there is a huge influence here. The carvings on the wood also show deep Mughal influence with flowers and plants carved on them.
The rooms are so big that they can fit an aeroplane in them. Yes an aeroplane. And it prove it they have a full sized aeroplane inside the fort. This was a fighter jet used in World War One.
There are some really old photographs. One is arguably the oldest photograph taken in Rajasthan or India. The other photo is of a procession in Bikaner. You can see an ad for Lux soap. Aishwarya Rai or Kareen Kapoor were not born then to feature on the ad if at all you were searching for them.
And just like any other palace there was a display of swords, rifles, spears and so on. What would a display of some of the big houses in the future look like. It will have old PCs, Laptops, TVs and Smartphones may be!
The fort is a good timepass visit. If you are into painting and are into understanding the various schools of art, when they existed, how they evolved and influenced each other, this place is for you. If you also want to appreciate intricate art work, this place is for you. If nothing, you can take some good photos for Instagram here. !
Endless thoughts 