From the Junagarh Fort we reached the Lalgarh Palace, Bikaner, which was built by Sir Ganga Singh Maharaja. The palace was built in the period between the years 1902 and 1926 and the building was a masterpiece in terms of architecture. The sculptures and designs inside the building impressed us a lot. The main attraction of the structure was that it was built in the Indo- Saracenic style which made it extremely amazing innovative. The architecture was quite similar to a style which belonged to that of the Europeans, Mughals and the Rajputs. Though the main Palace was in Junagarh, the then Maharaja decided to build a palace in memory of his father Maharaja Lal Singh. That had resulted in the establishment of the Lalgarh Palace. Presently a portion of the palace was a hotel and run by a trust which was under Rajyashree Kumari, the princess at that time.
The entire plan of the building was made by a British designer named Samuel Swinton Jacob. Initially the palace was planned to be built within 1 million rupees in the Indian currency but later on, all the cost cutting measures were removed out of the plan. Approximately 1 million rupees was spent for the establishment of the first wing only. The building was designed with finely carved stones and all the finest materials in the world.
It was due to these factors that led to the high cost of the building. The three storey building was covered with red sandstone which was specially extracted from the Thar Desert. The palace had a sufficient number of complexes which consisted of drawing rooms, massive halls, dining rooms, smoking rooms and many more. The Darbar Hall had an interior swimming pool and each and every building was carefully maintained. Some of them were specially hired for wedding functions and other parties.
The Lalgarh Palace, Bikaner was the perfect example of extremely well-designed buildings for which India was famous. The amazingly constructed building stood tall on a massive base. The palace was open for visitors and we were accompanied by many foreign travellers as well.