Built
by Sawai Jai Singh, the City Palace of Jaipur still houses the royal
family. The royal family of Jaipur lives in the Chandra Mahal Palace,
inside the City Palace complex. However, the ground floor of this palace
is open to the public. Here, you can see some rare exhibits that are on
display. You can also have a look at the exquisite peacock in the
courtyard outside the palace. A blend of Mughal and Rajasthani
architecture, the Jaipur City Palace is situated in the center of the
walled city. The first sight you see on entering the palace complex is Mubarak Mahal (palace), constructed by Sawai Madho Singh. The palace dated back to 19th Century. The main purpose behind the palace was to serve as a reception center for the persons visiting the nobles. This palace now houses the museum of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. The museum has a rich collection of royal costumes, folk embroidery, rare and invaluable Pashmina (Kashmiri) Shawls, Sanganeri prints and Benaras silk saris. Also on display, are some of the bulky clothes worn by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I, a former ruler.
Also inside the complex of the City Palace of Rajasthan is the Maharani's Palace, the palace of the Queen. Quite unusually, this palace has on a display of the Rajput weaponry dating back to as far as the 15th century. All the weaponry is exquisite and very well preserved. Even the wall frescoes are in an amazingly well preserved condition. The display includes pistols, jeweled swords, guns and gun powder pouches, a belt swords, chain armors, small cannons, poison tipped blades, etc. However, the most impressive of them is the scissor-action dagger, a dagger with handles that were released once the weapon was thrust into a person.
Housing an art gallery is the Diwan-e-aam, the hall of public audience. Some of the invaluable handwritten original manuscripts of Hindu scriptures are exhibited in the museum, especially the miniature copies of the sacred Bhagwat Gita. Also on display are delicate miniature paintings belonging to the Rajasthani, Mughal and Persian schools. These paintings bring forth some very capturing displays like Ramayana theme, etc. also worth seeing are the elephant saddles called "haudha" and the beautifully painted ceilings of the building.
