From the Desert National Park we moved towards our next destination which was the Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur. It was one of the most famous private residences in the world. The palace was then under the control of the owners of the Taj hotels and resorts and a hot favourite spot for many weddings and reception parties. We knew that many rich businessmen and honchos from different parts of India used that place for organizing functions and celebrating various events at different times of the year. When we had visited the place, the palace was hosting a marriage ceremony arranged by some rich family. We were seriously enthralled by the sheer beauty of the palace.
It was named after Maharaja Umaid Singh who was the grandfather of the present owner of the Palace. The speciality of the monument was that it had 347 rooms and served as the residence for the royal family of Jodhpur. The palace was also famous for the Chittar Palace mainly because of the stones that were used to construct the building. We learnt that the construction of the building had started in the year 1929 and was completed around 1943. The palace had provided employment to thousands of local residents who were hit by the famine in that period.
The owner of the palace at that time was Maharaja Gaj Singh. At the time when we had visited, the place was divided into three parts. While one part was used as the Taj hotels, the second and third parts were used for the residence for the royal family and the museum which focused on the history of the Jodhpur Royal dynasty. We heard that the museum opened at around 9 am and visitors could enter it until 5 in the evening.
Many tourists and foreigners had also visited the place that day. There was also a gallery which showed all the famous exotic cars that were once owned by the royals. Since we had entered the Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur in the evening, it looked tremendously beautiful while basking in the beautiful rays of the sun.