Today, it is perhaps India’s best known monument after theTaj Mahal andthe Qutub Minar. Bigger than the Palace of Versailles, it cost a whopping£12,53,000 and now houses the President of India. It is unquestionably a masterpiece of symmetry, discipline, silhouette, colour and harmony. of course, it has come in for much criticism too but that has mostly been limited to the imperial intent behind it rather than its architecture.
Better known now as the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the sprawling palace straddles the crown of Raisina Hilland is the focal point ofNew Delhi. The majestic Rajpath(earlier Kings Way) leads up to the palace on Raisina Hilland here comes into view the one fatal flaw in design. Lutyens and Baker had a major showdown about the height of the slope approaching the palace which was at that time caricatured as the‘War of the Gradient’. Lutyens wanted the palace to come into view as one climbed Raisina Hill. Unfortunately, Baker miscalculated. The palace disappears from sight till only the copper dome is visible. Furious with Baker, Lutyens said he had‘met his Bakerloo’.
The palace is flanked by the two Secretariats and the three together, open into a huge square called the Viceroy’s Court where the Jaipur Column stands tall. The Viceroys Court, which frames the main entrance to the house, has lateral entrances on the axis of theJaipur Column. Here the levels were reduced artificially and cascades of steps are flanked by huge sandstone elephants and ranks of imperial lions modelled by thesculptor C.S. Jagger.
The main entrance is approached by a broad flight of steps which lead to a 12-column portico. Do notice the enormous projecting cornice or chajja, a Mughal device, which blends so effortlessly with the classical style of the monument. Lutyens’ ability to smoothly incorporate light oriental touches is all the more remarkable given his active and profound dislike forIndian architecture.
The most outstanding feature of the House– you can spot it while you are still a kilometre away– is the huge neo-Buddhist copper dome that rises over a vastcolonnaded frontage. Beneath the dome is the circular Durbar Hall 22.8m in diameter. The coloured marbles used in the hall come from all parts of India. The Viceroy’s throne, ceremonially placed in this chamber, faced the main entrance and commanded a view along the great axial vista of Kingsway (now Rajpath). At present the hall is the venue of all official ceremonies such as the swearing in of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the Members of Parliament. It is in this very chamber that the President annually confers the Arjuna Awards for Excellence.
The columns at the front entrance have bells carved into their capitals. Lutyens reasoned that‘the ringing of bells sound the end of an empire and stone bells never sound’. Despite this, the empire came to an end a brief 16 years later.