Rashtrapati Bhavan Delhi is one of the largest residential houses of any Head of the State in the world in terms of its size, vastness and its magnificence. This marvelous piece of the British era was the residence of the Viceroy of India till the year 1950 and was known as the Viceroy's House.
The breathtaking architecture of Rashtrapati Bhavan was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, a British architech, along with Chief architect and Chief Engineer Hugh Keeling and many Indian contractors.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan was officially inaugurated in the year 1931 and was constructed at a cost of 877,136 pounds (Rs. 12.8 million). The Rashtrapati Bhavan was built with a floor space of 200 000 square feet and has four floors and 340 rooms. There are over 54 bedrooms together with additional accommodation for guests in the President House. The entire building was construted using 700 million bricks and three million cubic feet of stones. Interestingly, there were hardly any steel used to construct the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Another interesting fact about the Rashtrapati Bhavan is that the building, which was supposed to have completed in four years took a rather long time of over seventeen years to get completed and just after one year of its completion, India got its independence.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan of India is perhaps one of the best known monuments of the country and one of the most significant achievements of Sir Lutyens. It is a magnum opus of symmetry, discipline, outline, colour and harmony. Lord Irwin was the first occupant of the Palace. The architecture of the House combines Mughal and Western architectural styles.
Towards the west of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, lies the huge Mughal garden designed again by Sir Lutyens. This beautiful garden has flowers and shrubs, along with series of decorative fountains that make it all the more attractive. The Mughal Garden is home to countless lovely flowers including some species of exotic roses, which simply cheer up the ambience. The garden opens for public every spring during the months of February and March amidst tight security.
The Rashtrapati Bhawan can be reached through taxis or autoriskshaws from any part of the city. Enter to the Rashtrapati Bhavan is banned without permission and the permits to visit the Bhawan can be obtained from the reception office on Raisina Road.
The most appropraite time to visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan is during February, so that you can also get a chance to see the colourful medley of flowers at the Mughal Gardens.
History of Rashtrapati Bhavan:
It was during the Delhi Durbar that happened in 1911, when it was decided that Delhi will replace Kolkata to be the new capital of the country. Subsequently, it was decided that a residence for British Viceroy will also be created in the city. The architects then started working on a plan for establishing a new city, which had to be built towards the south of the old city.
During that planning, they came up with the idea of giving an enormous position and size to Viceroy’s house. The British architects had acquired around 4000 acres of land to build this magnanimous structure, which was originally known as Viceroy’s House. Raisina and Malcha villages were relocated to acquire that humongous piece of land by some 300 families, under the Land & Acquisition Act.
The primary architectural responsibility of creating this amazing piece of craft was rested on British architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, who was one of the most important members of the city-planning process. Lutyens created a design that was classical, yet colourful and detailed, inspired by the Indian architecture.
Lutyens and Baker started working on the design together, where Baker was to design the two Secretariat Buildings, in front of the Viceroy’s House. However, Lutyens had proposed to build Viceroy’s House on top of the Raisina Hills, with the two Secretariat building placed slightly lower. This became a bone of contention amongst the two architects.
After the completion of the building, Lutyens had the argument that the front view of Viceroy’s house was obscured due to the high angle of the road. Lutyens tried convincing the authorities to make the desired change. He, however, could not succeed in his campaign.
Lutyens thought that a little lower road with retaining walls on both sides could enhance the look. He also believed that Baker was not focussing on making the building beautiful. Instead, according to him, Baker was more concerned for his money and pleasing the authorities.
History states that Lutyens travelled between India and England for about 20 years to build the Viceroy’s house in both the countries. Lutyens also had to struggle with Lord Hardinge to reduce the budget of the building while maintaining its grandeur. He did reduce the building from 13,000,000 cubic feet (370,000 m3) to 8,500,000 cubic feet (240,000 m3) because of the budget constraints. The building was finally ready in the year 1929.
When the first Governor General of India C Rajagopalachari, went to live in the palatial house, he used just a few rooms, which are now known as President’s family rooms. However, he converted the other rooms into guest rooms, which are used for the stay of state guests of the country. It was on 26th January 1950 that the building was named as Rashtrapati Bhavan, when Dr Rajendra Prasad became the first President of India.
