The domes and arches of the palace are beautifully done. The
Sheesh Mahal inside the palace has beautiful coloured glass artwork on its
domes and walls. Adjacent ‘Motia talab’ is the lake that was the
primary source of water supply to the palace. The architecture clearly shows impacts of Hindu and European
influence on Shah Jahan begum. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan Begum (1868 – 1901) the
daughter of Nawab Jehangir Mohammad Khan and Sikandar Jahan Begum. Shah
Jehan Begum wanted the same glory for herself as Mughal Emperor Shah
Jahan. So, she named this palace the ‘Taj Mahal’. Its construction was
started in 1871 and was completed in thirteen years in 1874 for a cost of
Three million Rupees. Interestingly, in 1949, this palace served as a shelter
to thousands of riot victims and migrants of India Pakistan partition from
Sindh and Punjab for many years. The palace has 120 rooms and
eight large halls. The large entrance of this six storied building, and
the main lobby are huge and spacious in order to accommodated horse driven
carriages inside the palace. The ‘Sawan Bhado’ pavilion in the main
courtyard of the palace is an attempted remake of a similar pavilion in
the Shalimar Bagh in Kashmir. Here, artificial nozzles with underground
water supply were mounted inside walls for spraying cold water in hot
summer afternoons.
