City Palace, Karauli, Rajasthan India

Arjun Pal built the palace, along with the town, in the 14th century. However, little or nothing of the original can now be seen. What you do see is the structure erected by Raja Gopal Singh in the 18th century. He chose to adopt the Delhi style of architecture – the abundance of red sandstone in Karauli, similar to that used in Delhi, made the rendering easy. The more embellished additions came in the 19th century. White and off-white stones have been used very becomingly, painted upon with bright blues, reds, browns and oranges. From the terrace atop the palace, you can see the town laid out by the River Bhadrawati below, and the ravines and hills beyond.

The City Palace is a magnificent piece of architecture. It is adorned with excellent classical paintings, stone carvings, lattice work, stucco work and frescoes. It has a huge Darbaar hall where the royal family used to meet the commons for hearing and resolving their problems. The Darbaar hall with beautiful frescoes and exquisite latticework is a masterpiece of Rajasthani architecture.