Shoor Singh ki Haveli
| back to overview | next >> |
.jpg) |
Show a July 2007 photograph of the ruins of the Shoor Sing Ki Haveli. Hard as it may be to believe, parts of the Haveli are still in use by the Bhattacharyas. (click image to open large version) |
 |
The stunning image of the original building is also brought to life in a 3D rendering by Shri Surjit Singh and the Studio IMCON. (click image to open large version) |
 |
Artist Shri Hamlet uses a pencil sketch to show what the Shoor Singh Ki Haveli may have looked like in its original condition about five hundred years ago. No exact images are available but the Albums of Heritage team was able to recreate the most probable view based on surviving elements of the building, location of the ruins and the advice of architects familiar with the Jaipur heritage architecture. (click image to open large version) |
| SOURCE: Information supplemented by interviews with Dr. Zafferulah Khan, Superintendent of Amber and Hawa Mahal and Shri Prakash Verma. |
Before Jaipur city, there was the town of Amber, which was established in 1135. Then it was the home to the Kachhawahas, a Rajput tribe, that eventually built Jaipur. When Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II came to power, he realized that Amber was no longer large enough to meet the peoples’ needs. They required a city that could support trade with the major centers of the Mughal Empire, such as Delhi and Agra, while being able to defend itself. The site for Jaipur was finally chosen on land that used to be the Maharajas’ personal hunting reserve.
Located by the Amber Palace, the Shoor Singh ki Haveli is a majestic building that has unfortunately fallen into ruin. Maharaja Man Singh I’s cousin, Shoor Singh was the kotwal of Amber and in charge of maintaining the discipline in the area. The building was used not only as Shoor Singh’s home, but also for holding court.
Eventually, when the citizens of Amber moved to Jaipur, the haveli was abandoned. Over time, people began to encroach upon the building, including a Bengali priest named Bhattacharya. In both 1968 and 1974, the government attempted to intervene and protect the building as it had collapsed from decay. The government is currently involved in a court case with the Bhattacharya family over control of the haveli and has plans for its restoration.
The Amber valley at one time must have had 20-30 havelis descending from the grand palace of Amber and down the hills. After the migration to Jaipur, Amber became a ghost town and its havelis started falling in disrepair. Visitors in the late 1800s described the abandoned Amber as “the city of dead splendors”. Of the original havelis and mandirs, five to eight still survive and can be restored.
| back to overview | next >> |