The biggest and the most luxurious palace in Asia in 1904 and the largest government secretariat in Asia until 1973 - these historic records belong to the palace in question: Singha Durbar. The story goes that once while Maharaja Chandra Sumsher Jung Bahadur Rana was enjoying the view of Kathmandu with his queen, he caught sight of a beautiful palace complex and asked his queen regarding it. She explained that the palace was ‘Bagh Durbar’ at which point he declared that his palace would be even more grand and will be called ‘Singha Durbar’, literally meaning ‘The Lion’s Palace’. Consequently, the palace complex was completed in 1903 A.D. at an expense of 5 million Nepali Rupees. Spread over an area of 50 hectares, the palace complex was surprisingly completed in a short span of 3 years. After living in the palace for a few years, Chandra Sumsher declared the palace to be the official residence of all prime ministers of Nepal, and sold the palace for 20 million Nepali Rupees. With the profit he made, he built nine more palaces in Kathmandu for his sons!Until 1951, Singha Durbar was occupied by successive prime ministers, at which point it was converted to the government secretariat. It housed every ministry within the same compound till July 4th 1974, when it was engulfed in a devastating fire, damaging most of the complex. Singha Durbar lies in an axial configuration with Dharahara (Bhimsen Stambha). With its play of light and shade through the columns, opulent use of ornamentation in stucco and marble, and the external facade characterized by a dramatic central projection, the architecture corresponds well with the Italian baroque style. Built around 7 courtyards with 1700 rooms, Singha Durbar was designed by Kumar Narsingh Rana and Kishore Narsingh Rana. The buildings, though monumental, have properly proportioned archways and Corinthian columns, with green painted louvered windows adding sensuality to the scenario. In its hey-day, Singha Durbar contained numerous gardens with exotic plants, a deer park, a polo ground, playing field, tennis courts, neo-Grecian statutory, streams, fountains and vast verdure with finely spaced trees. Within this complex, the ‘State Hall’ is the largest and most ornate, with Italian marble floors, coloured mirrors from Belgium, crystal chandeliers from Murano and stained glass doors from England, boasting of rare crystal clock and exquisite water fountain. It was in this hall that King Mahendra threw a great banquet in honour of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip during their 1961 visit to Nepal. It took 3 years to renovate the palace after the damage from the 1973 fire, the front portion was conserved and renovated, but however all the 7 courtyards were not recreated. Around 1998, structural renovation was carried out strengthening the battens and also with change of roofing. Today the Corinthian columns seem to have lost their splendour as the flowers and flutes have disappeared with frequent lime washings. Renovation works have certainly been carried out in many parts of the palace, but in order to preserve the true essence of Singh Durbar, prior 1973, much work is still needed.
1 comments:
Such buildings and monuments should be preserved for coming generations.
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