Entrance to the Red Fort today is by the Lahore Gate, facing Chandni Chowk.

Old Delhi – meaning the former Walled City that sits by the banks of the River Jamuna, was once Shajahanabad, having been established by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1639, when he moved the capital of the Mughal Empire here from Agra.

The city became known as Old Delhi after New Delhi – or Lutyens’ Delhi – was built in the 1930s. Here, in the walls of the Old City, is the beating heart of Delhi itself: the Delhi of the Mughals.

Delhi in 1911, with the walled city, or Shahjahanabad in red. Note that the walls of the city still stand in this map. Shahjahanabad is ironically marked here as “Modern Delhi.” New Delhi would later be built in the area marked out as “Firozabad or Ancient Delhi” [Public Domain.]

We begin our ramble at the Jami Masjid, or Friday Mosque of the City. This majestic structure too, was built by Emperor Shah Jahan and completed in 1656. Between then till the end of the Mughal Empire, this was the Royal Mosque of the Mughals.

Once known as Masjid-i-jahan-numa, or “Mosque with a view of the World” in Persian, the mosque is certainly the largest in Delhi and one of India’s largest mosques.

Entrance to the Jami Masjid, through Gate No. 1.

The startling and beautiful (Mughal) symmetry of the Jami Masjid.

Close-up of the arcades.

Close-up of the entrance, noting the Persian-style decorative elements on the sides of the entrance alcove.

From the mosque looking out into the courtyard.

View through the main structure, with its repeated archways.

Chandni Chowk

North of Jami Masjid runs Old Delhi’s main commercial thoroughfare – the historic Chandni Chowk, or “Square of Moonlight”, also a major bazaar.

Chandni Chowk runs right through the middle of Old Delhi, from the entrance to the Red Fort to the East to Fatehpuri Masjid to the West. Along the street lie many different places of worship, as well as historic havelis, or private residences.

Chandni Chowk was also the main processional thoroughfare in Old Delhi, down which the Mughal Emperors would march with their elephants and their Grand Imperial Retinue. The British would continue this tradition with King Edward VII and his consort proceeding down Chandni Chowk during the Delhi Durbar of 1903.

Today, unfortunately, many of the structures on Chandni Chowk are in urgent need of repair, though the Chowk itself, is still bursting with life and commercial activity and well worth a wander, if only to get a flavour of the city.

ES Pearey Lal Building, Chandni Chowk.

Allahabad Bank.

Central Baptist Church.

The Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib (1783) is a historic Sikh Temple. It marks the site where the 9th Sikh Guru was beheaded on the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb for refusing to convert to Islam.

Art deco architecture off the main thoroughfare.

A beautiful marble structure – possibly a haveli?

Gothic-style balconies of (possibly) a haveli.

Crumbling main street architecture.

Old Delhi Town Hall (1863).

Masjid Fatehpuri was built in 1650 by one of Shah Jahan’s wives, Fatehpuri Begum, who hailed from Fatehpuri Sikri. It sits at the western end of Chandni Chowk.

Around the corner sits St Stephen’s Church, built in 1862 in the Gothic style.

Red Fort (Lal Qila)

From Chandni Chowk, we enter the Red Fort through Lahore Gate. The Fort was constructed by Shah Jahan in 1639. It was the Royal Palace to his Capital City of Shahjahanabad, and remained the Royal Palace of the Mughals till the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah was ejected and exiled by the British in 1857.

The name of the Fort comes from the use of red sandstone in its fortifications. Its architecture was eclectic, incorporating Persian, Indian and European styles in the design. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it is considered one of the finest examples of Mughal Architecture.

Much of the Fort was actually plundered and demolished in the aftermath of 1857. The British erected a large military garrison within the walls of the Fort, using the Fort as a military base. The buildings that remain today constitute about a third of what originally stood.

They are still beautiful and timeless reminders of Delhi’s great past.

Lahore Gate, Lal Qila.

Chhata Chowk, the bazaar at the Red Fort.

Naubat Khana (Drum Gate).

Detail of alcove, Drum Gate. Note the Mughal fascination with flora as a decorative element.

Diwan-i-am, the Public Audience Hall, with its many arches.

View laterally through the Diwan-i-am.

Detail of floral

The marble jharokha where the Mughal Emperor would give his audience. Note again, the extensive floral decoration.

The Mumtaz Mahal, which were the womens’ quarters.

The Diwan-i-khas (Hall of Private Audience) and the Khas Mahal (Emperor’s Apartments) behind it.

Marble Screen with the Scales of Justice – indicating the Mughal Emperor’s justice.

Detail of the floral decoration.

British-era military barracks in the Hayat Baksh Bagh (“Life Bestowing Gardens”). Much of the gardens were destroyed by the British and turned into a military garrison. 

One of the Sawon and Bhadon Pavilions in the Hayat Baksh Bagh.

The red sandstone Zafar Mahal was built in 1842, during the reign of the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Lutyens’ style bungalow in the military garrison area.

One exits the Red Fort today by way of the Delhi Gate.

Backward Glance at the Red Fort.

The Secretariat Building, North Block, designed by Herbert Baker and completed in 1927.

From the monuments, thoroughfares and alleyways of Old Delhi, we transition to the epic boulevards and sprawling urban fabric of New Delhi, the Imperial city built by the British and “opened for business” in 1931, less than two decades before the British Imperial project itself would fail in the Subcontinent, and the Republic of India win its independence.

The title of the post features quotation marks for a reason. Unlike the urban centres of the earlier (port) cities featured in this Grand Tour, New Delhi is by no means walkable. It was never planned as such – from the very beginning, the urban plan of this city, built entirely from scratch, was designed to impose and to impress; its radical design also prefigured the advent of the automobile.

In 1911, King George V announced that the capital of the British Raj would be moved from Calcutta to Delhi. The foundation stone of the New Delhi was laid that very year during the Delhi Durbar. Responsibility for the design of the city and many of its buildings proper was given to one Edwin Lutyens; this accounts for New Delhi also being referred to as “Lutyens’ Delhi”.

Map of Lutyen’s Projected Imperial Delhi, 1911.

The best way to explore New Delhi is by car. And even then, due to the fact that many of the colonial-era buildings continue to be either offices of government departments, foreign embassies or residences of government officials, the large majority of the historic buildings of New Delhi are unfortunately off-limits to the average traveller.

Photography is also a huge challenge since many of the facades are obscured by closed gates, or by trees and foliage. So one really does one’s best to capture as much of the look and feel of New Delhi as possible in this post.

India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhawan

New Delhi’s most important and breathtaking landmark is its central horizontal axis – the former King’s Way; today’s Rajpath – which bisects the entire city. At the Rajpath’s eastern extremity sits India Gate, and at its Western extremity, the former Viceroy’s House – today’s Rashtrapati Bhawan, or “Presidential Palace”.  The distance between the two is more than 4 kilometres, but in this case, it is well-worth the walk to get a sense of the scale of the city and its monuments.

Around India Gate sit a cluster of former urban palaces owned by various Indian princes, forced to maintain and locate residences in New Delhi as a show of their loyalty to the British Raj.  Many of these former palaces have been re-used as government offices, though two in particular are publicly accessible – these are the delightful Bikaner House, which is a privately-run cultural and lifestyle centre, and Jaipur House, which houses the National Gallery of Modern Art.

India Gate (1931), by Edwin Lutyens, and the Canopy (also by Lutyens), which once housed a statue of King George V.

Close-up of India Gate. The inscription at the top reads “TO THE DEAD OF THE INDIAN ARMIES WHO FELL AND ARE HONOURED IN FRANCE AND FLANDERS MESOPOTAMIA AND PERSIA EAST AFRICA GALLIPOLI AND ELSEWHERE IN THE NEAR AND THE FAR-EAST AND IN SACRED MEMORY ALSO OF THOSE WHOSE NAMES ARE HERE RECORDED AND WHO FELL IN INDIA OR THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER AND DURING THE THIRD AFGHAN WAR”

Bikaner House is one of a few princely palaces that sit in a ring around the Canopy. It was recently refurbished is now an excellent

Baroda House, designed by Lutyens and completed in 1936 also sits in the first ring of palaces around the Canopy. Today it houses the Headquarters of the Northern Railways.

Jaipur House (1936), designed by F. B. Blomfield, houses the National Gallery of Modern Art.

Art Deco structure.

All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society.

Up the Rajpath towards Raisina Hill.

Approaching the Rashtrapati Bhawan and Secretariat Buildings.

The Parliament Building (1927), by Lutyens and Baker.

Secretariat Building, North Block.

Former Viceroy’s House, today’s Rashrapati Bhawan (1929), Lutyens and Baker.

North to Connaught Place

North of New Delhi lies Connaught Place, the city’s commercial centre – a monumental, circular “square” ringed by Georgian-style neo-classical architecture.  A walk around Connaught Place, and a short jaunt down south as far as the historic Imperial Hotel (to be featured in the next post), is also a must.

The Western Court, along Janpath, towards Connaught Place.

The Imperial New Delhi, 1931, designed by F.B. Blomfield.

The Freemason’s Grand Lodge, New Delhi.

Connaught Place.

Connaught Place.

Connaught Place.

Regal Cinema, at Connaught Place.

Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone

Finally, immediately north and south of Rajpath sits the Lutyens Bungalow Zone (LBZ) – an exclusive area of low-rise bungalows in the neo-classical style, designed by Lutyens (hence the name) and built in the 1930s.

These were built to be residences of government officials, and many of these continue to be residences of high-ranking government officials today, while others house embassies and high commissions. Once again a walk in the Lutyens Bungalow Zone, even if its a small section of it – the area just north of India Gate is a good option – is an excellent way to get a feel for scale of the urban planning.

Bungalow, LBZ.

Bungalow, LBZ

Bungalow, LBZ

Bungalow, LBZ

These three walks are probably the best one can do to get a sense of New Delhi’s radically modern urban plan and its monumental scale. Certainly, the pictures here barely do it justice.

A backward glance at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The Art Deco facades of The Imperial, Delhi. Unfortunately, due to widening of Janpath, it is no longer possible to get a full frontal view of the hotel’s facade.

In Delhi, I had the splendid opportunity to stay at not one, but two of the city’s historic grand hotels.

The first, was, of course, Hotel Imperial (today’s The Imperial, New Delhi), Delhi’s modern and luxurious hotel establishment, the equivalent of the Raffles Hotel in the Indian capital.

Just south of Connaught Place on Queensway (today’s Janpath), The Imperial was opened in 1936, in an Art Deco style – in terms of architecture, it is the contemporary of the Connemara Hotel in Madras (Chennai), built in 1937 in an Art Deco style.

It has, of course, hosted its share of heads of state, royalty, celebrities and writers in its time; and it is undisputedly, one of the most atmospheric hotels in the city, whatwith its splendid collection of historic furniture and art, displayed in the endless corridors and public spaces.

It is conveniently located in the centre of New Delhi, and has marvellously nostalgic bars and restaurants in which one can ensconce one’s self and lose one’s self for hours on end.

The other grand hotel is the equally historic, and somewhat older Maiden’s Hotel Delhi.  Established in 1902 in its present location, and carrying the original name of the Metropolitan Hotel.

It was the grand hotel predating Hotel Imperial, receiving a Royal Warrant of Appointment to the British Monarch (as its luggage label attests), alongside another grand hotel that will feature later in this Grand Tour – Faletti’s Hotel in Lahore.

Unfortunately, being situated in Civil Lines, the former headquarters of the colonial establishment before Delhi was declared the new capital, it was somewhat eclipsed by The Imperial when the headquarters of the colonial government moved south to the newly built New Delhi.

Today, the hotel is a quaint reminder of a time when Civil Lines was the centre of colonial society. It is not easy to get to, and thus, not quite the best option in terms of convenient accommodation.

It does provide, however, a somewhat charming (if a little more basic – if we use The Imperial as a benchmark) sojourn.

The Imperial, New Delhi 

Hotel Imperial Delhi Luggage Label.

Close-up of the facade of The Imperial Delhi.

The Fountain Court, The Imperial.

Oil painting of the Delhi Durbar.

View up the Fountain Courtyard – note the Art Deco fluorishes.

The Atrium restaurant.

Public area leading up to second floor.

My bedroom…

Breakfast is at the 1911 Restaurant.

1911 Bar.

The marvellously cosy Patiala Peg – the Royal Bar, on the second floor.

Champagne at Patiala Peg.

Wandering around the second floor.

One of the ante-lobbies to the Royal Ballroom, the original ballroom, opened in the 1930s with the Hotel.

The Royal Ballroom.

Portrait of Queen V at the other ante-lobby to the Royal Ballroom.

The Hotel Imperial Crest.

Maiden’s Hotel, Delhi

Facade of the Main Building, Maiden’s Hotel Delhi, Civil Lines.

Maiden’s Hotel Delhi luggage label

Porte-cochere and rusticated entrance facade.

Main and side wing.

My bedroom

Lobby lounge.

The Cavalry Bar entrance.

Goodbye Delhi!

Next stop on the Grand Tour – Agra.

Goodbye Hotel Imperial! Goodbye Delhi!

Candi Prambanan, c. 9th century, Central Java.

I’ve been standing still for far too long, even as I’ve been travelling more than I’ve ever travelled before in a single year.

But travelling for work is not quite the same as travel for travel’s sake.

I’ve been virtually reliving past travel through my ongoing series, The Grand Tour of the Port and Imperial Cities of the Subcontinent – yes folks, I completed travel and photoshoots for all but 1 of the 15 cities last February, and I’ve been slow in organising these shoots into posts on Dream Of A City because I’ve simply been too busy, and, ironically, travelling too much.

I really do have to take off soon for real.

Wanderlust is rearing its head.

In the meantime, this is a stopgap of sorts – a virtual reliving of the travel I’ve physically – in most cases anyway – undertaken in recent months.

… a dream of statues and monuments, palaces and gardens, jewels and gowns…

ANGKOR – EXPLORING CAMBODIA’S SACRED CITY. TREASURES FROM THE MUSEE NATIONAL DES ARTS ASIATIQUES-GUIMET. @Asian Civilisations Museum Singapore, 8 April – 29 July 2018.

Statue of Brahma, c. 10th century, Koh Ker. ANGKOR – EXPLORING CAMBODIA’S SACRED CITY.

Apsara Dances at the Asian Civilisations Museum.

Østre Anlæg Park, Copenhagen

Statue of David (replica), Copenhagen Harbour.

Botanical Garden, Copenhagen.

Jason and the Golden Fleece. Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen.

Frederiksborg Castle (16th c), Denmark.

Chapel (17th c), Frederiksborg Castle.

Red roses blooming along the sidewalks of Copenhagen.

A home-cooked (cold) lunch in Copenhagen of seasonal Danish fish roe and chicken (à la Hainanese chicken rice), topped with olive-oil marinated cucumber and kohlrabi, and served atop Japanese short-grain rice. The produce comes from the excellent Torvehallerne market.

View of the New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building, Kuching.

Seafood restaurant at Topspot Foodcourt, Kuching.

Absolute scrumptious Kuching kolo mee, accompanied by the lightest pig’s organs soup I have ever had.

Kuching, of another kind. =)

The Surakarta (Solo) kraton, 18th c. Central Java.

Fort Vastenburg, 18th c. Solo, Central Java.

The kraton of Yogyakarta, 18th c. Central Java.

Quaint residence in the grounds of the Pakualaman Palace, Central Java.

In the distance… Candi Prambanan.

Stadhuys (17th c.), today’s Jakarta History Museum, Kota Tua (Oud Batavia), Jakarta.

The Hermitage Jakarta, an absolutely beautiful new heritage hotel, housed in an Art Deco colonial building in Menteng, Jakarta.

Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Guo Pei @ Paris Couture Week 2018.

The show took place at the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Paris.

The pieces featured were inspired by historic European architecture.

Baubles at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, Paris.

Baubles at the YSL Museum, Paris.

…and more baubles.

From Paris…

…to Lyon…

…and back to Singapore.

The Armenian Church of St Gregory the Illuminator, one of my favorite places in Singapore.

Magnificent colonial black-and-white bungalow at Ridout Road. 

And Candi Prambanan again, just because… =)

The Taj Mahal, completed in 1653, in the reign of the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan (1592 – 1666).

Most visitors to Agra come for one purpose alone – to marvel at the Taj Mahal. They day-trip here from Delhi or spend at most a night in this city.

That is a pity, since there is so much more to marvel at in this former Mughal capital. Three days would just be enough to take in its most important sites.

Agra (and its surrounding regions) was the capital of the Mughal Empire under three successive Emperors – Akbar, his son Jahangir, and his grandson, Shah Jahan, who would go on to build the Taj Mahal. Of the four great mausoleums of the Mughal Emperors, two are situated here: Akbar’s at Sikandra, and Shah Jahan’s at the Taj Mahal.  The other two are Humayoun’s in Delhi and Jahangir’s in Lahore.

Baedeker Map of Agra (1914). The old city sits on the western bank of the River Yamuna, just like the Old City of Delhi does. The Red Fort is to the south of the old City, with the Cantonment to the south of the Fort. The Taj Mahal sits to the East of the city, and is visible from the ramparts of the Fort. [Public Domain.]

The spectacular approach to the Taj Mahal. On days with blue skies, the Taj itself is reflected in the fountain.

The Mausoleum of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, situated in Sikandra, a suburb of Agra. It was completed in 1613.

From 1575 to 1585, the Emperor Akbar established his new capital in the outskirts of Agra proper, building an entire new city complete with massive Friday Mosque (Jami Masjid). He abandoned it soon after, moving his capital to Lahore and thereafter to Agra. Fatehpur Sikri, completely deserted and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, still stands today, and makes for an essential day-trip outside of Agra proper.

The Buland Darwaza, or great entrance to the Jami Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri. This was completed in 1577.

Diwan-i-khas, or Hall of Private Audience, Fatehpur Sikri.

Panch Mahal, or wind-catcher tower, Fatehpur Sikri.

The name, “Agra”, was a later invention. During the reign of the Mughal Emperors, the city was known as Akbarabad – “Akbar’s City”.  The Emperor Akbar would rebuild and refortify the existing fort-palace in the city with red sandstone, calling it Lal Qila. We know it today as the Red Fort or Agra Fort, to distinguish it from its younger sibling in Delhi.

The Red Fort would be the residence of both the Emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan as well, with the latter massively beautifying the palace grounds and making it what it is today.

Delhi Gate, Agra Red Fort, 1889. [Public Domain.]

Amar Singh Gate, or Lahore Gate. This is the main public entrance to the Fort today.

The Khas Mahal and Anguri Bagh Gardens, Agra Fort. The former was built by Shah Jahan, known for his predilection for white marble.

The Shah Burj – an exquisite viewing tower, Agra Fort. It was built by Shah Jahan for Mumtaz Mahal and provides stunning views of the Taj Mahal.

The beautiful marble interior of the Shah Burj. Note the Persian elements in the form of the niches.

View of the Taj Mahal from the Red Fort

Emperor Jahangir loved gardens and laid many gardens out within the walls of the Red Fort – these were destroyed by the British and unfortunately lost.  It is his son, Shah Jahan, who would be best remembered for his contribution to the architectural heritage and legacy of not only Agra, but also Delhi.

I refer, of course, to the Taj Mahal, widely considered to represent the apogee of Mughal art and architecture; an impossible confection of gleaming white marble, inlaid with precious stones and decorated with stucco and carvings.

A dream of a monument – one to undying love, that of an emperor for his queen, Mumtaz Mahal – the Taj is everywhere in Agra. It is almost impossible to avoid it, given that it sits in its own prominent location to the East of the city, forever visible from the ramparts of the Red Fort and the banks of the River Yamuna.

Shah Jahan would abandon Akbarabad in 1638, shifting his capital city to Shahjahanabad in today’s Delhi. There, he would build a larger replica of the Red Fort in Agra, calling it by the same name, Lal Qila.

His time in Delhi would be short – his son, the Emperor Aurangzeb, would depose him and imprison him in the Agra Fort, where he lived till the end of his days, admiring the Taj Mahal further down the river. Only in death, would he be reunited with his beloved Mumtaz.

The Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah was commissioned by Nur Jahan, the wife of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Completed in 1628, it is widely regarded as having a direct influence on the Taj Mahal and is colloquially referred to as the “Baby Taj”.

View of the Taj Mahal from the Mehtab Bagh (Gardens of Moonlight).

View of the Taj Mahal from the Mehtab Bagh, across the Yamuna River. 1800s Company School watercolour.

Agra also boasts a surprising array of colonial buildings. The British established the Presidency of Agra in 1835, and with them came all manner of church and civic architecture, concentrated in two locations – Civil Lines, to the north of the Old City of Agra, and Agra Cantonment, to the south.

A trip to Agra would not be complete without also taking in its colonial heritage.

John Hessing’s Tomb (1803), in the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Civil Lines. The tomb is in the Mughal style.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (1848), Civil Lines.

Church of the Pieta, also known as “Akbar’s Church” (1772), Civil Lines.

St George’s Cathedral (1826), Agra Cantonment.

Bungalow, in the Indo-Saracenic style, along Mall Road. Now the NCC Officers’ Mess.

Essential Reference:

• Agra – The Architectural Heritage. An INTACH Roli Guide. By Lucy Peck, 2008.  New Delhi: Lotus Collection – Roli Books.

…and a backward glance at the Taj Mahal.

Lal Qila, the Red Fort, Agra. The red sandstone walls had been erected during Akbar’s time.

In 1563, the Emperor Akbar, the third of the Mughal Emperors, entered Agra and made it his capital. Initially, he lived here, in what would become the Agra fort, on the banks of Yamuna River. But in 1571, he would move his capital and retinue some thirty-odd kilometres west of Agra proper to a brand-new palace and city complex, which he built from scratch.

This city, he named Fatehpur Sikri, or “City of Victory.” Here, he would establish a court known far and wide for its opulence and sophistication.

The Emperor Akbar, was known also known as Akbar the Great, because it under his reign, that the Mughal Empire truly established its foothold over India; and, growing wealthy, powerful and influential, also saw a flourishing of the arts.

Akbar the Great was particularly known for his patronage of the arts, and for also being not only tolerant, but curious of other religions, suffering holy men of the other major religions in India – Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Jainism – at his court.

By 1598, Fatehpur Sikri had been abandoned, and today, it remains a deserted city. Many of the structures still remain, and are architecturally intriguing. But it is hard to imagine just how opulent and sophisticated the court must have been here in the city’s heyday.

Akbar removed himself and the court back within the walls of Lal Qila, or the Red Fort, which he had earlier, in 1565, refortified with red sandstone and rebuilt. It is said that Akbar had built more than 500 structures in the Fort in a pan-Indian style of architecture.  Of these, only one structures remains mostly intact – the Jahangiri Mahal.

Most of the other structures the Grand Tourist would see today date from the time of Shah Jahan – Akbar’s grandson. His mark is obvious – he loved white marble, which is used to exquisite effect in the Khas Mahal and the Shah Burj, and the beautiful Nagini and Moti Masjids.

Unfortunately, much of the Red Fort – including the many gardens laid out by the Emperor Jahangir, Akbar’s son and Shah Jahan’s father – had been demolished during the British Colonial era, and repurposed as barracks. They continue to be barracks today and are off-limits to the public.

Jami Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri

The Bulan Darwaza – grand entrance to the Jami Masjid (1571) in Fatehpur Sikri, built in honour of Sheikh Salim al-Din Chishti.

Entrance to Jami Masjid.

Back view of the Bulan Darwaza. Unfortunately, I visited on a misty day…

Badshahi Darwaza, Jami Masjid.

Prayer niche, Jami Masjid

Trabeate squinch, Jami Masjid.

Tomb of Sheikh Salim al-Din Chishti, in a Gujarati style, Jami Masjid.

Fatehpur Sikri proper

Birbal’s House. Raja Birbal was a Hindu advisor at Akbar’s Court.

Palace of Jodha Bai, who was the Rajput Queen of Emperor Akbar.

Courtyard of the Palace of Jodha Bai.

Miriam’s House

Diwan-i-khas, the Private Audience Hall.

The Diwan-i-khas is known for its carved pillars. This would never be repeated anywhere else.

Panch Mahal, with five (“panch”) floors.

The Anup Talao, with the Turkish Sultana’s House to the left.

The Turkish Sultana’s House has the most exquisite carvings. This one is of pomegranates and grapes.

Carving at the Turkish Sultana’s House.

Lal Qila, or the Red Fort Agra

The Amar Singh Gate, also known as the Lahore, is the main public entrance to the Red Fort.

Jahangiri Mahal, Red Fort.

Chhatri, Jahangiri Mahal.

Interior courtyard, Jahangiri Mahal.

Riverfront courtyard, Jahangiri Mahal.

View from the Jahangiri Mahal to the Taj Mahal.

The architecture at the Jahangiri Mahal blends Hindu styles…

…with Persian styles, resulting in a unique Indo-Persian style that characterised the Mughals.

Khas Mahal, built by Shah Jahan in 1636.

The side pavilions of the Khas Mahal have “bangla” roofs.

Interior of the Khas Mahal.

The slate throne, on which the Emperor would

The exquisite Shah Burj.

Interior of the Shah Burj, a profusion of marble with inlaid precious stones. This was Shah Jahan’s signature style.

Machcchi Bhawan.

Nagini Masjid, made of pure white marble.

Interior of the Diwan-i-am, Shah Jahan’s Hall of Public Audience.

Diwan-i-am.

Essential Reference:

• Agra – The Architectural Heritage. An INTACH Roli Guide. By Lucy Peck, 2008.  New Delhi: Lotus Collection – Roli Books.

Akbar worshipping the sun. Attributed to Manohar (active 1580–1620). Mughal India, late 16th century. Watercolour, gold on paper. Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum Singapore.

Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula, commissioned by Nur Jahan and built between 1622 – 1628.

The Emperor Jahangir, son of Akbar and formerly known simply as Prince Salim, reigned from 1605 – 1627 in his father’s capital city of Agra.

Like his father, Jahangir was a patron of the arts, with himself being known as a great connoisseur of art. Unlike his son, Shah Jahan, however, he did not leave much by way of architecture, in the city of Agra, or at least, not much of it has survived.

Prince Salim, the future Jahangir enthroned, c. 1600. [Public Domain.]

One of the most architectural legacies of his reign, was not commissioned by him, but by his favourite wife, Nur Jahan (“Light of the World”), whom he married in 1611, after (so rumours say) conspiring to have her husband – she was previously married – killed off so he could have her.

Jahangir and Prince Khurram entertained by Nur Jahan, c. 1640-50. [Public Domain.]

The entire mausoleum is constructed in white marble inlaid with semi-precious stone, a technique heavily influenced by Safavid styles in the West, but came to be the epitome of Indo-Persian architectural style. Nicknamed the “Baby Taj”, this mausoleum represents a transition between early Mughal red sandstone architecture to the Taj Mahal, and is often cited as an inspiration for the latter.

Situated on the banks of the Jamuna River like its more famous relative, it is one monument in Agra not to be missed.

Akbar’s Tomb at Sikandra

Entrance to Tomb Complex is by the South Gate.

Nearby sits the Kanch Mahal, or “Glass Palace”, built by Jahangir.

Facade of the Kanch Mahal.

Back to the South Gate of the Tomb Complex.

Close-up of the entrance, revealing the intricate decoration in red sandstone.

Approaching the mausoleum.

View of the Mausoleum’s south-facing facade.

Note the intricate upper floors of the tomb structure, in particular the white marble screens with accompanying marble chhatris.

Further approaching the structure.

Unfortunately, the closer one gets to the tomb structure, the less one is able to see the upper floors.

Interior of the cenotaph.

The highly elaborate and beautiful ornamentation of the ceiling in the cenotaph. This has roots in Safavid Persian architectural and interior design.

The corridors

Muqarnas features.

Deer on the grounds of the tomb complex.

Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula

Entrance to the Tomb structure.

Approaching the heartbreakingly exquisite “Baby Taj”.

The Mausoleum itself, constructed in white marble, inlaid with semi-precious stones. The structure, with its four minarets, echoes that of the Taj Mahal, to come later.

Close-up of a minaret – every inch of the surface of the marble is decorated.

Detail of the facade. Note the beautiful latticed window.

More details of the facade. This is the entrance to the cenotaph.

The interior of the cenotaph is also exquisitely ornamented, though in a slightly poorer condition than that of Sikandra. The cypress trees draw from Persian tradition.

Detail of interior ornamentation.

“Zoom out” to demonstrate the extent of ornamentation (and disrepair). 

Detail of ceiling ornamentation, in a rather poor condition.

Detail of ceiling ornamentation.

Enjoying the tomb in the evening.

A backward glance at the Tomb of Itimad-ud-Daula, and Jahangir and Nur Jahan’s Agra.

Essential Reference:

• Agra – The Architectural Heritage. An INTACH Roli Guide. By Lucy Peck, 2008.  New Delhi: Lotus Collection – Roli Books.

The Taj Mahal (1632 – 1643), Monument to Love and a stunning work of art, even with one of its minarets being restored.

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan is probably the best known of the Emperors. He reigned from 1628 – 1658, a short 30-year reign.  But during his reign he would also commission a grand number of buildings across the capitals of the Mughal Empire; during his reign, Mughal architecture reached its zenith.

His most important architectural legacy is also one of the famous buildings of all time – the Taj Mahal. The building is so well-known not just because it is simply breathtaking in its beauty, but also because it was and still is the world’s greatest Monument to Love.

Betrothed from birth to Shah Jahan, Arjumand Banu Megum was finally married to him in 1612. She was his second wife, though they were very much in love. She hailed from the same Persian family as Nur Jahan, her aunt and the Emperor Jahangir’s beloved wife.

Upon being married, she was conferred the title “Mumtaz Mahal” – “Chosen One of the Palace”. Shah Jahan’s name itself was a regnal title which (fittingly) meant “King of the World.” His own name was Prince Khurram.

Emperor Shah Jahan with his three sons and father-in-law, c. 1628. [Public Domain.]

Shah Jahan would never recover from his grief. In 1632, he commissioned the building of the Taj Mahal on the banks of the Yamuna River. It would only be completed in 1643, and it would be the grandest of all Mughal structures, the pinnacle of Mughal Architecture.

The Taj Mahal is one of the few great Monuments of World Heritage that truly lives up to expectations. Even though it is one of the most regularly-represented monuments in the media, nothing quite prepares one for a visit in person.

The gleaming white marble, seen from afar, takes one’s breath away. And as one approaches the structure, the details of the ornamentation – particularly the Mughal predilection for flora – begin to emerge from the marblework, such that one is quite overwhelmed by beauty.

Bird’s Eye view of the Taj Mahal and the Mehtab Bagh (across the Yamuna River), 1790 – 1810. [Public Domain.]

The Mehtab Bagh (Gardens of Moonlight) is a Persian-style garden laid between 1631-1635 by Shah Jahan (around the same time as he had commissioned the Taj) on a site that had been earlier made into a garden by the Mughal Emperor Babur.  As the name suggests, this is the place to view the Taj Mahal by moonlight, and one can only imagine…on clear, starry nights with a full moon, the etheral white form of the Taj Mahal, reflected in the still waters of the Yamuna River.

Quelle belle rêve!

The Taj Mahal

The Main Gateway, or Darwaza-i-rauza.

View of the Taj.

Approaching the Taj, set in Persian-style gardens.

Taj from the lawns

Taj and sky…

At the foot of the Taj…

The entrance to the marble mausoleum. Note the band of Arabic in thuluth script.

Close-up of the entrance to the cenotaph.

Tourists resting by the entrance. The ornate decoration on the walls derive from Persian antecedents.

Detail of floral relief, and inlaid floral band.

View upwards of the entrance alcove.

The cenotaphs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. These aren’t the actual tombs – the actual ones are at a lower level.

Emerging from the mausoleum.

Side view of the Taj…

The Mosque, mirrored with the memankhana (or Guest House) on the other side of the Taj.

Ceiling, mosque.

Detail of floral relief, mosque.

Museum on the grounds of the Taj.

Mehtab Bagh

Corner chhatri, Mehtab Bagh.

Approaching the Taj…

Panoramic view of the Taj and its two accompanying buildings, across the Yamuna River.

The Taj from the Mehtab Bagh.

The Old City

Delhi Gate, Old City.

Chhatri, Jami Masjid, Old City.

The Jami Masij (1648) was commissioned by Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal’s loving daughter, Jahanara.

And finally, a backward glance at the Taj…

Essential Reference:

• Agra – The Architectural Heritage. An INTACH Roli Guide. By Lucy Peck, 2008.  New Delhi: Lotus Collection – Roli Books.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 1848. Civil Lines.

For the sake of completeness, our Grand Tour of Agra also takes in the city’s lesser-known colonial history and heritage.

In 1803, the British invaded Delhi, and shortly after, Agra, commencing 150 years of colonial rule. Earlier on, there had been the odd European mercenary in the region – the likes of Walter Reinhardt, or Samru and John Hessing, who worked for local royalty and whose tombs still stand today in the local Roman Catholic cemetery.

The British built there city around the Old City, roughly stretching from Civil Lines to the north to the Cantonment (known colloquially as Agra Cantt) to the south. And so this final tour of Agra takes in these two key districts.

Civil Lines is far older. Here’s where the city’s earliest Christian settlement was when the Jesuits arrived in the 1500s, during the reign of Akbar the Great. Their legacy – the so-called “Akbar’s Church” and the aforementioned Roman Catholic cemetery (which dates to the 1550s) – still remain.

The Cantonment is a more recent, and structured along the same lines as British Cantonments in other Indian cities. The heart of the Cantonment is The Mall, a major thoroughfare stretching from Agra Cantt Station to the West to the road that leads to the Taj Mahal in the East. Along the road sit many examples of colonial bungalows, military buildings and educational institutions.

In the Cantonment sit two of the city’s historic grand hotels. The first, Laurie’s Hotel, was the equivalent of the Imperial Hotel in Delhi, and at the turn of the 20th century, it played host to royalty, heads of state and celebrities in its time.  The second, the Grand Imperial Hotel (formerly known as the Metropole) – where I stayed – is of a similar pedigree.  Unfortunately, both no longer hold quite the same stature as in their heyday.

This post barely touches the tip of the colonial Agra “iceberg”. A far better overview can be found here: https://sarsonkekhet.in/2014/02/26/a-peek-into-colonial-agra-mostly-along-mg-road/

And naturally, in the course of my wanderings through colonial Agra, I have depended on Lucy Peck’s excellent INTACH ROLI Guide, Agra – The Architectural Heritage.

Civil Lines

Church of the Pieta, also known as “Akbar’s Church” dates from 1772, though a Church has stood here since the 1500s.

St Paul’s Church, 1855.

Hessing’s Tomb, in the Roman Catholic Cemetery, dates from 1803. The early Europeans were fascinated by Mughal culture, and “assimilated” so to speak.

Samru’s Tomb, in the Roman Catholic Cemtery, dates from 1782.

Agra Cantt

St George’s Cathedral, 1826.

St Mary’s Church.

Baptist Church, 1845.

PWO Office, 1908.

Agra Cantt Train Station. Unfortunately the contemporary facade masks the historic Indo-Saracenic building. 

The Post Office, in Art Deco style.

Indo-Saracenic style bungalow on The Mall.

Bungalow on The Mall, in Indo-Saracenic Style.

No. 22 The Mall.

Bungalow, just off The Mall.

Queen Empress Mary Library, The Mall.

NCC Officers’ Mess, The Mall.

British Higher Secondary School, MG Road.

Agra Hotel.

Laurie’s Hotel and the Grand Imperial Hotel

Unfortunately, I did not get any good shots of the Grand Imperial Hotel, and so the photographs here are taken from the Hotel’s official website:  http://hotelgrandimperial.com/.

Laurie’s Hotel Luggage Label, early 1900s.

Perimeter wall, Laurie’s Hotel.

Front facade of Laurie’s Hotel.

Colonnades, Laurie’s Hotel.

Courtyard and facade, Grand Imperial Hotel.

Swimming pool, Grand Imperial Hotel.

And finally, a backward glance at Hessing’s Tomb.

Goodbye Agra!

Next stop on our Grand Tour: Jaipur, Pink City. 

Hawa Mahal (“Palace of the Winds”), built in 1799. This is the most iconic

And so we arrive in Rajasthan, formerly known as Rajputana – Land of the Rajput princes.

Unlike the Mughals, the princes here were Hindu princes, and almost all had sworn fealty first to the Mughal Emperor, then to the Marathas when they displaced the Mughals in this north-western part of the Subcontinent, and subsequently to the British.

When India became independent, the name of the region was changed to Rajasthan (“Land of the Kings”), and many of the princely families retained their titles though not all of their privileges.

Map of Rajputana, 1909. Jaipur sits to the right of the region. [Public Domain.]

Jaipur was established in 1727 by the Raja Jai Singh II of Amer, who shifted his capital city from the imposing hill-top Amber Fort (still standing) to his new capital city, which would bear his name: Jai-pur = Jai’s City. Within his city he would build his spectacular new City Palace, as well as one of five Jantar Mantars, or astronomical observatories.

The city’s other claim to fame (besides being pink), is the fact that it was entirely planned based on the traditional Hindu principles of architecture. The rational grid structure and wide boulevards that seem European are actually based on ancient Indian traditions!

The city itself was only painted pink in 1876, during the reign of Sawai Ram Singh I, to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales at the time – the future Edward VII.  The colour stuck.

Over the next few posts, we will take in the major sites of the city, and the stories of its illustrious Rajas.

Amber Fort (also known as Amer Fort), built in the 1500s by Raja Man Singh I.

A line of elephants snaking up to Amber Fort.

Ganesh Pol, 1640. Amber Fort.

Mubarak Mahal (1900), City Palace, Jaipur.

Riddhi-Siddhi Pol and Chandra Mahal. City Palace, Jaipur.

View of the city from the City Palace. Note the Ishwar Lat tower (

Astronomical instrument in Jantar Mantar (1734), Jaipur.

Close-up of Hawa Mahal, Jaipur.

Pink facades in the main streets.

Pink city.

Bazaar,

Albert Hall Museum (1887), built in an Indo-Saracenic Style.

Raj Mandir, Jaipur.

Rambagh Palace was a hunting lodge and subsequently the official residence of Maharajah Sawai Man Singh II – the last ruling Maharajah of Jaipur.

And a backward glance at Hawa Mahal.

The Amber Fort, reflected in Maota Lake. The entrance to the fort – the Suraj Pol, or “Sun Gate” – is to the right.

The Amber Fort, also known as the Amer Fort, is the ancestral seat of the Maharajas of Jaipur. The fort is not named for its colour, but for the town it sits in, called Amer.

Perched impossibly on a hill-top, it presents a stunning vista when juxtaposed against the azure-blue skies of Rajasthan.  The historic and most evocative way to reach it is by elephant, though certainly, visitors arriving by car can also access the fort today.

The fort as it stands was first built in the late 1500s, in the reign of Raja Man Singh I. It would be occupied for just under 200 years. By 1727, under the reign of Sawai Jai Singh II, the capital of the region was moved to the city of Jaipur (“Jai’s City”). A shortage of water and a difficulty of access made it necessary for the move.

The Fort is primarily made of sandstone. It is laid out in a series of four courtyards that become increasingly private. While it is no longer occupied, it continues to remain immaculately restored and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with five other hill forts of Rajasthan.

This gallery takes one through the key sights.

View of the ramparts of the Amber Fort. To the right is a viewing platform that is part of the Diwan-e-am, or Hall of Public Audience.

Elephants winding up the path to the Fort. In the background is Maota Lake with the Kesar Kyari Bagh – a man-made island that houses a spice garden.

The Suraj Pol (“Sun Gate”) is the Eastern gate into the Fort. Through the gate can be seen the Jaleb Chowk, the First Courtyard, which was a courtyard for public events.

Overview of the Jaleb Chowk.

View towards Singh Pol, the gates to the second courtyard.

Singh Pol.

The back of Singh Pol. Note the Mughal style decoration.

The Diwan-e-Am, or Hall of Public Audience, where the Raja held audiences with the public.

Close-up of the elephant head capitals of one of the pillars, Diwan-e-Am.

Viewing gallery, Diwan-e-Am. The archway is in Rajput-style architecture, fusing elements of Mughal with local Hindu.

The stunning Ganesh Pol takes one into the third courtyard.

The Ganesh Gate is so-called because of this exquisite portrait of Ganesh. The gate itself is an eclectic mix of Mughal and Hindu, with muqarnas as well as lotus flowers.

View of Jaigarh Fort from the top of Ganesh Pol.

The third courtyard consists of the private quarters of the Maharaja and his family. In the foreground is the Aram Bagh or pleasure gardens, to the right is the Sukh Niwas. In the background is Jaigarh Fort.

The Sukh Niwas, or Hall of Pleasure. Note the Rajput-style arches.

Detail of Sukh Niwas interior walls, decorated in marble with inlay work, demonstrating eclectic Rajput style which fused elements of Indo-Persian (Mughal) style with local elements.

The Sheesh Mahal (“Palace of Mirrors”) sits across from the Sukh Niwas. It is exquisitely ornamented with glass inlaid panels.

Restoration works in progress, Sheesh Mahal.

Detail of one glass-inlaid panel, Sheesh Mahal.

The stunning ceiling, Sheesh Mahal.

The fourth courtyard holds the zenana, or harem, where the Maharani, concubines and other women lived. To the left is the Baradari pavilion, used for meetings with the Maharanis.

Close-up for the living quarters of the zenana.

And finally, a backward glance at the Ganesh Pol.

Mubarak Mahal, City Palace. This was built by the Maharaja Madho Singh in the late 19th century in an eclectic style that fused Mughal, Rajput and European.

In 1727, the Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Amber moved his capital city and residence from the Amber Fort to a new city he would call Jaipur (Jai’s City). In that city, he built a palace that would come to be known as the City Palace, and is one of the key sights of the city of Jaipur today.

The palace, completed in 1732, continued as the residence of the Maharajas of Jaipur, and is still partly a residence today.  Besides the public areas, I had the privilege of touring some of the private quarters – unfortunately, almost all of these cannot be photographed. And so what I can present of the palace here is limited.

Just outside the City Palace, Sawai Jai Singh II built another monument – the Jantar Mantar, or collection of astrological instruments, in 1734. This was one of 5 Jantar Mantars in India, including those in Delhi, Benares (Varanasi), Ujjain and Mathura.

This Jantar Mantar consists of 19 large astrological instruments with the most astonishing of all being the vrihat samrat yantra, which is the biggest sundial in the world. It is the perfect spot at which to spend an afternoon of contemplation.

The City Palace

Rajendra Pol Gateway.

The Diwan-I-Khas, or Hall of Public Audience.

Diwan-I-Khas, in a Mughal, Rajput and European style.

Riddhi-Siddhi Pol.

Chandra Mahal – this is the most imposing structure in the palace complex. Unfortunately, there was an event being held that evening in the courtyard and much of this structure was blocked off. I managed to have a tour of its interior.

Peacock Gate, Pritam Chowk courtyard.

Close-up, Chandra Mahal. You can see the Sukh Niwas in blue.

Up in the Chandra Mahal.

View of the City Palace Complex and Jantar Mantar, from the Chandra Mahal.

View of the private residential gardens of the City Palace.

Exiting the Pritam Chowk.

The Clock Tower, City Palace.

The City Palace Museum.

Jantar Mantar

Outside the Jantar Mantar.

Laghu Samrat Yantra. This sundial is used to measure time.

Jai Prakash Yantra measures altitudes and azimuths.

Rashivalaya Yantra – there are 12 of these – measure the alignment of stars and planets of 12 constellation systems.

View towards city palace with the Yarivalaya Yantra.

And finally, the Vrihat Samrat Yantra, the largest sundial in the world.

Albert Hall Museum, opened in 1887, blends European, Mughal and Rajput styles. It is the oldest museum in Rajasthan.

Jaipur was established in 1727 by the Maharaja Jai Singh II, who shifted his capital here from the Amber Fort.

From the beginning, the Maharaja wanted a city that married ancient traditions with modern needs – and so, surprisingly for many visitors to this city of wide boulevard and an orderly grid layout, the city was planned to Hindu (and not European) principles.

The architect and city planner for Jaipur was Bengali architect Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, who planned the city according to Vastu Shastra, or the traditional Hindu system of architecture that emphasise symmetry, directional alignment and geometric patterns.

The entire downtown was only painted in a salmon-pink hue in 1876, to welcome the arrival of the Prince of Wales, who would become the future King Edward VII.  The colour stuck and almost the entire old town of Jaipur today continues to sport this colour.

Another important monument in the city that was named after the Prince of Wales is Albert Hall Museum, designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob (who also co-designed the City Palace) in an ebullient Indo-Saracenic style that had been used in civic and monumental buildings all over British India at the time (particularly in Bombay).

The foundation stone was laid in that very same year the Prince of Wales visited, and the building opened as a museum in 1887. It was named after the Prince of Wales himself (whose first name was Albert). It is still one of the most important sites to visit in the city today.

Around the City Palace

Tripolia Gate is the entrance to the City Palace Complex.

Jami Masjid – the main mosque in Jaipur , dates back to 1569.

The Hawa Mahal or Palace of Winds was built in 1799. It is Jaipur’s most iconic structure.

Back view of the Hawa Mahal, and where the visitor enters.

Sawai Man Singh Town Hall, built in 1884, has Greco-Roman elements.

Balconies, latticework and chhatri.

Eclectic architecture in the pink city – Mughal domes, Bengali roofs and Rajput arches.

Bustling corner of Tripolia Bazaar.

Close-up of Rajput-style lotus dome – Tripolia Bazaar.

Ishwar Lat was built in Sawai Ishwari Singh in 1749 to commemorate victory over his brother Madho Singh.

Hindu Temple in the Pink City.

Pink City façades

Ajmeri Darwaza lies on the westerly road to Ajmer.

Latticework and green shutters. Restoration in progress at the lower levels.

…could be shophouse architecture.

Beautifully ornamented facade at right. Covered walkways are equivalent of “five-foot-ways” in Southeast Asia.

Variety of functional architectural styles.

White Rajput Arch windows.

Latticed windows denote residential quarters on the upper levels.

Entrance to bazaar.

Multiple styles of architecture.

One of the many bazaars in downtown Jaipur.

Commercial architecture – Tholia House

Golcha Point.

Raj Mandir – Art Deco Cinema.

Commemorating the visit of the Prince of Wales, 1876

The King Edward Memorial, in Indo-Saracenic style.

The Memorial comes with an attached clocktower, known as Yaadgar.

Naya Pol, or “New Gate”.

A little south of the bazaar area sits Albert Hall Museum, opened in 1886. This is the view from Nehru Garden, south of the building.

The entrance to Albert Hall.

The Ante-lobby presents portraits of past Maharajas of Jaipur.

Interior of Albert Hall Museum.

The Albert Hall Museum Courtyard juxtaposes Moorish and Rajput style arches.

Close-up one of the side towers of Albert Hall Museum, demonstrating Indo-Persian (i.e. Mughal), Rajput and Bengali elements.

And finally…a backward glance at Albert Hall Museum from the front (north).

Rambagh Palace, Jaipur.

In Jaipur, I stayed at the Rambagh Palace – that exquisite fairytale palace of a Grand Hotel, nestled in its own extensive grounds to the south of Albert Hall Museum.

Built in 1835, the palace was once the home of the Maharani of Jaipur’s favourite handmaiden. In 1887, during the time of the Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh, it was converted into the royal guesthouse and hunting lodge.

In 1931, following a major expansion undertaken by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, it became the principal residence of the Maharajah Sawai Man Singh II and his legendary queen, the Maharani Gayatri Devi. It would remain the residence of Jaipur royalty till 1957.

The palace was designed in an eclectic Rajput style, with marble jalis and Mughal gardens, Rajput arches and cupolas, chhatris and colonnaded arcades. Needless to say it has paid host to royalty, celebrities and heads of state in its time.

The palace is today managed by the Taj Group and is simply divine. The perfect place to unwind in, after a whole day out in the sweltering heat, photographing the city.

The Main Lobby of the Rambagh Palace. Note the scalloped arches that are typical of Rajput architecture.

The lawns of the palace. In the background is the Moti Dungri Fort and Hindu Temple.

Courtyard in the palace complex.

The arches along this colonnade are in the Mughal style.

A portrait of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II.

Bedroom…

Breakfast is taken at the Rajput Room.

Peacocks on the grounds.

The Swimming Pool…

The Chinese Rooms…

The Polo Bar.

View towards Verandah Cafe, where I spent a few evenings relaxing and swilling a glass of red wine.

Suvarna Mahal, the palace ballroom, built in an exuberant 18th century French style, complete with chandeliers.

Dinner at the Suvarna Mahal – a Royal Rajasthani thali.

Down the corridors to my room.

Portraits of former Maharajas line the corridors.

Side view of the Palace, with chhatris and cupolas.

Close-up of the Verandah Cafe, with its scalloped arches.

Goodbye Rambagh Palace! And goodbye Jaipur!

SINGAPORE 1819 – A LIVING LEGACY, by Kennie Ting. Published by TALISMAN Singapore. In bookstores 18 October 2018.

On October 18^th, my new book, SINGAPORE 1819 – A LIVING LEGACY launches.  This is my third book, and it comes some three years after the first two.

I’m immensely pleased that it’s finally done, given that it is pretty much a year late, and the last few months, when I was busy coping with my job as well as finishing up the book, had been particularly challenging.

The book is what I would describe as a “big-picture take” on Singapore history and heritage. One that acknowledges and has as its starting point, the fact that Singapore history and heritage have always been global; that this phenomenon of Singapore has never existed in isolation from global geopolitics and the global economy of the day.

The Asian Civilisations Museum today sits at a historic location at the mouth of the Singapore River. [Photograph by the author.]

It is the second oldest-still standing building Singapore, having been built in 1867 to house Colonial Government Offices.  Early 1900s. [Author’s Collection.]

From that vantage point, a global perspective on history and heritage is easy. I take on some 56 different aspects/chapters of our heritage, from People & Places, to Monuments & Architecture, Cultures & Communities, Arts & Leisure, and finally, Flora & Fauna.

For each of these aspects/chapters, my approach is the same – to uncover something new or forgotten about this particular “piece” of heritage, using a lens that is inevitably ACM-ish, which is to say it is a global, cross-cultural and art-historical lens. I believe that in so doing – because no one has really applied such an eccentric lens to Singapore heritage – the resulting book will prove to be a serendipitous read and a rather more contemporary take on very familiar issues.

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, by George Francis Joseph. Oil on Canvas. 1817. [Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.]

The portrait is painted in the Regency style – referring to the period when the future King George IV reigned as Regent in the stead of his father, the mad King George III. Raffles is portrayed as a man of letters – an allusion to his being the author of the seminal History of Java. Raffles has, for a backdrop, with a utopian landscape of Java. Beside him, sit two Hindu-Buddhist sculptures, alluding to his achievements in relation to “re-discovering” Borobudur and Prambanan – Java’s two most important Hindu-Buddhist monuments

While he was sitting for this portrait, he wouldn’t yet have known, that his greatest achievement – the founding of modern Singapore – had yet to come.

The Jackson Plan (1828), Singapore’s earliest town plan, was modeled after similar plans in the cities of British India, in particular, Calcutta. [Collection of the National Museum of Singapore.]

So we have everything from portraits of important personages, to a discussion on architectural styles, to forms of traditional arts and sports, and I even throw in the city-state’s increasingly ubiquitous Asiatic small-clawed otters as a tongue-in-cheek way of closing the whole narrative.

The book isn’t by any means comprehensive – in the process of curating what goes into the book, I either dropped or “merged” many aspects of heritage, opting for a sort of harmonious and elegant composition of 5 main chapters containing within them, either 10 or 12 “nuggets” of heritage.

The resulting product is just about right in length and depth – enough to provoke new ways of thinking about age-old things, but never once overstaying its welcome.

That it is beautifully designed – I am also MOST PLEASED with the design, and so a BIG thank you is due to TALISMAN, my publishers for this!! – with almost 200 mostly archival images is a plus.

View of the Singapore Harbour and the HSBC Tower, early 1900s. In PEOPLE & PLACES. [Author’s Collection.]

Fullerton Hotel today. In MONUMENTS & ARCHITECTURE. [Photograph by the author.]

Malay woman, Singapore. c 1903. In CULTURES & COMMUNITIES. [Collection of the National Museum of Singapore.]

Tepak sireh, Surabaya, 19th century. In ARTS & LEISURE. [Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum.]

Black-capped Kingfisher. William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings. Malacca, early 19th century. In FLORA & FAUNA. [Collection of the National Museum of Singapore.]

The reference to 1819 was important because I wanted to make the point that colonial-era, British heritage is very much still an integral part of Singapore’s heritage.  Who we are today is inextricable from who we were in the aftermath of 1819, when that most doughty official of the Honourable (English) East India Company planted the Union Jack on our shores.

That might seem obvious, given that Singapore – unlike many of its Southeast Asian and Asian neighbours – has retained much of its colonial heritage in its urban landscape and way of life (high tea, anyone?); and it (wisely) did not choose a violently anti-colonial path to statehood.

But there is an increasing discomfort with anything that is colonial, and an unwillingness to re-examine this aspect of our past critically to extract values and glean learning points that will prove to still be relevant today.

That is a shame, because if there’s one unique and distinguishing feature of Singapore and its recent history, it is that we have stood apart from every other nation-state in Asia in reconciling ourselves with and assimilating the colonial past as part of OUR past. This acceptance of the East-West character of our history and our identity is what has made us an exception and exceptional in Asia, and even the world.

And so therefore, chapters on “The British (and Other Europeans)”, and “Cricket in Singapore” appear alongside more readily accepted aspects of our European colonial heritage – those numerous neo-classical buildings that have been immaculately preserved as National Monuments.

British gentlemen with Chinese servants, late 19th century. [Collection of the National Museum of Singapore.]

Singapore Cricket Club, early 1900s. [Author’s Collection.]

This is yet another aspect of Singapore’s heritage that we have increasingly,  conveniently forgotten, as we have leapfrogged Southeast Asia to become more North American and North Asian (read: Chinese and Korean) in outlook.

I felt I very much needed to emphasise our Malay roots, in terms of archaeology, folklore, myth and legend, historic sites, literary epics, arts and material culture – in order to maintain a firm equilibrium between the colonial and local; between West and East, but also to, once again, make a point that we cannot escape our geography.

Malay-ness, also doesn’t automatically equate Malay-Muslim. In parts of the book, I reach back further, to a time when the Malay Archipelago was a Hindu-Buddhist archipelago. Traces of that past remain in Java today in the form of the sacred temple-mountains of Borobudur and Prambanan, and the Javanese tradition of wayang kulit or shadow puppetry, which is based on the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.

Incidentally, the Ramayana, and wayang kulit also form parts of Singapore’s own heritage, and the traces of the Hindu-Buddhist past also remain in the form of that enigmatic (and enigmatically named) “Majapahit Gold” that sits in the galleries of the National Museum of Singapore.

Makam Puteri Radin Mas Ayu. [Photograph by the author.]

Istana Kampong Gelam, today’s Malay Heritage Centre. [Photograph by the author.]

Pages from the Sejarah Melayu – the Malay Annals – written in jawi script. 1896. [Collection of the National Museum of Singapore.]

Wayang kulit puppet figure of the monkey god Hanoman. Java, 20th century. [Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum.]

Gold armlet and earrings – the so-called “Mahapahit Gold”, 14th century. [Collection of the National Museum of Singapore.]

I am happy to say that the port city of the 1800s and 1900s, and perhaps even the older, pre-colonial port settlement buried deep within the recesses of Fort Canning and Empress Place, still rears its colourful, global, cross-cultural head up in today’s gleaming, hyper-modern, super-efficient city-state.

The spirit and legacy of Singapore 1819 lives on.

View of Singapore Harbour in the 1830s. Anonymous painter, Canton. [Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum.]

View of Singapore from Government Hall, by John Turnbull Thomson. Lithograph, 1846. [Collection of the National Museum of Singapore.]

Palm Valley, Singapore Botanic Gardens. Singapore’s first and thus-far only UNESCO World Heritage Site. [Photography by the author.]

Boat Quay today, with the towering skyscrapers of Raffles Place dwarfing historic godowns.

SINGAPORE 1819 – A LIVING LEGACY, by Kennie Ting. Published by TALISMAN Singapore.

The vision and manifesto for the new Asian Civilisations Museum.

Last Thursday, we launched three new permanent galleries at the museum, (almost) completing our transformation from one kind of museum into another… I took the opportunity of the launch to also reveal, my own personal vision for the museum as its Director.  Here is my speech. And I invite you all to come see the new galleries (and museum)…

Please note the specific CONTEXT of the speech and launch: Asian Civilisations Museum’s exhibition openings are typically attended by the ambassadorial corps in Singapore, so there is typically a diplomatic “flavour” to the speech. The Southeast Asian theme of the launch must be seen in the context of Apr 2018 – Apr 2019 being ACM’s “YEAR OF SOUTHEAST ASIA”, where we throw the spotlight on the art, culture and heritage of the Southeast Asian region in our special exhibitions and programmes. This particular launch was also to celebrate the successful culmination of Singapore’s chairmanship of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in 2018. 

Your Excellencies, the High Commissioners and Ambassadors here with us this evening,

Distinguished patrons, board members, guests, friends, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening and welcome to Asian Civilisations Museum!

We are absolutely delighted to be launching three new permanent galleries today, namely our Islamic Art, Christian Art and Ancestors and Rituals Galleries. The launch of these permanent galleries represents a significant milestone for us because they complete ACM’s dramatic transformation these past few years into a completely different museum than what it was before.

Our visitors today will know that instead of being organised by geographical region, our permanent galleries are organised thematically, with the first-floor galleries exploring the theme of Maritime Trade; and the second-floor galleries exploring the theme of Faith and Belief. With the three new galleries done, the visitor today can finally, after years of confusion, experience ACM’s thematic curatorial approach properly and fully. The two grand themes of Trade and Faith, are, of course, drawn from what Singapore is, at its very essence – a multi-cultural, multi-faith port city and trading hub. At the same time, Trade and Faith are major driving forces in history, fuelling the movement of people, cultures, goods and ideas across the globe. Our Faith and Belief galleries, in particular, represent the museum’s commitment to a very important and increasingly universal value, and a fundamental part of life here in Singapore – religious harmony.

Even though the new galleries do not only present works of art from Southeast Asia, we decided to launch the galleries on the theme of Southeast Asia in the World for three reasons.

The first reason is to acknowledge and honour ACM’s own heritage as a museum. The core of our collection was and still is the Southeast Asian ethnographic collection that used to belong to the former Raffles Library and Museum (this is today’s National Museum of Singapore). The collection was built during the British colonial period and many of the best pieces in that collection have resurfaced in their full glory in the Ancestors and Rituals gallery, which is the largest of all three galleries being launched today.

Southeast Asia continues to be a strength of ACM’s collection. Some of you may recall that in the old ACM, Southeast Asia was limited to the Southeast Asian gallery. What you now get in the new ACM is the very strong presence of Southeast Asia in ALL of our permanent galleries. In the new ACM, Southeast Asia forms the backbone of the museum, and rightfully so, since we are all literally standing at the heart of Southeast Asia today. The story we now tell in the museum is how Southeast Asia has played a critical role in global maritime trade, and in the spread of systems of faith and belief across Asia.

The third reason for choosing the theme, Southeast Asia in the World is somewhat more strategic, in that this year also saw Singapore chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). We at the museum applaud the important role ASEAN has played to secure peace in the region in the last 50 years. And we hope the diversity of works of art we present in the new ACM reflects the incredible diversity of faiths and of cultures in the ASEAN region, co-existing in harmony. Today’s launch, therefore, also celebrates a smooth and successful year for Singapore in ASEAN – a year spotlighting the themes of resilience and innovation. Certainly, this launch is the culmination of many other ASEAN-themed cultural programmes we have presented at the museum in the course of 2018.

The new Ancestors & Rituals Gallery, featuring our excellent collection of Southeast Asian ethnographic material, curated and displayed in a way that acknowledged the fact that they were masterpieces of Southeast Asian art, design and craftsmanship.

The completion of these new permanent galleries also signals another kind of dramatic transformation for ACM, from being a museum of ethnography, to being a museum of Art and Design. This is evident in the fact that every single piece that we now present to you, the visitor, in our galleries is a masterpiece – both an artefact AND a work of art. It is still important, of course, that each piece is historically and culturally significant – that each piece has its own very unique and compelling story to tell. We still place a strong emphasis on history.

But over and above that, we also demand that the piece demonstrates great beauty and artistry. The point we are making is that here in Asia, especially Southeast Asia, we have had a long and enviable tradition and heritage of artistic excellence, of design and craftsmanship, of innovation and the innovative use of materials. And we ought to and should be very proud of our Asian and our Southeast Asian heritage of artistry, excellence, design and innovation.

This being now a museum of Art and Design, much effort has gone into not only the choice of the pieces displayed but also the design of the galleries, so that the overall emotion that the visitor experiences upon entering the museum is one of awe and wonder. This needs to be especially so on the second floor, since each and every piece displayed here is a work of Sacred Art and possesses within it, an element of the divine. So we have made sure to curate, light and design the second floor with a sense of deep reverence, emphasising aura, form, detail, introducing a touch of playfulness, drama, sensuality where appropriate. We have consciously turned away from traditional ways of displaying antiquities for a more contemporary approach.

Speaking of contemporary… given I am technically near the upper age range of the “millennial” generation, I have also demanded that every inch of the museum be curated and designed to be digital media-ready, which is to say, to be eminently Instagram-friendly – allowing for sweeping panoramas, epic sight-lines and close-ups revealing hidden, often gorgeous details – all this keeping in mind that the new language of digital media is one that is visual, immediate and visceral. I encourage our guests this evening to take as many snaps as you can of the artworks and galleries, and to post them copiously and unrestrainedly on Facebook, Instagram and WeChat.

Being now two years at the helm as the ACM’s director, I have had the opportunity to hone my vision for the museum. And the vision, if I may share it this evening, is this: that the museum be a place of BEAUTY – of beauty rooted in our Asian and Southeast Asian heritage. That the museum be a place of WONDER – by which I mean that indescribable and overwhelming outpouring of emotion and sensory stimuli when we encounter something amazing and out of this world. And finally, that the museum be a place of RELEVANCE, contributing to a larger purpose – be it harmony and resilience, or diplomacy, or creativity and innovation, or education, by which I mean providing Singaporeans and our visitors from afar with a better understanding of Asia and Singapore’s place within it. Understanding Asia well is becoming increasingly critical as the world’s centre of gravity, economic and geopolitical, shifts inevitably eastward.

I want to thank everybody who has made the galleries and today’s event possible – first of all, our wonderful team of curators, conservators and collections managers; exhibition designers, lighting designers and project managers; programmers and educators, marketing, PR and fundraising professionals; operations, estates and security professionals, and our docents and volunteers, all of whom spend almost all of their waking hours right here at the ACM. You are some of the most brilliant, passionate and dedicated people I have ever had the privilege to work with and to work for. You make me so proud and yet so humbled to serve you as your director.

I want to thank each and every donor and patron who has given to the museum – it is because of you that we have been able to acquire beautiful masterpieces and to create beautiful new galleries and exhibitions in which to present them to the public. Special thanks go to Pernod Ricard, for their generous sponsorship of champagne and wines this evening, without which we would not be able to celebrate with abandon.

I also wish to thank the National Heritage Board and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) who always have our back and from whom we receive very generous and very critical government funding for the important work that we do. Ginormous thanks go to our CEO, Ms Chang Hwee Nee, our former CEO, presently Deputy Secretary of Culture and CEO of the National Arts Council, Mrs Rosa Daniel; the former Chairperson of the NHB, Mr Ong Yew Huat, and the present Chairperson of the NHB, formerly the Permanent Secretary of MCCY, Ms Yeoh Chee Yan – thank you for your unstinting encouragement and for being our greatest champions.

Finally, and most importantly, I wish to thank members of the Asian Civilisations Museum Board, led by our Chair, the one and only Mr Loh Lik Peng – thank you so much to the Board for being with us on this journey of transition from one kind of museum to another, a journey that has been enjoyable and excruciatingly painful in turn. Thank you for supporting us every step of the way in not only an emotional and intellectual manner, but also in a philanthropic manner. Thank you for being just simply a mind-blowingly awesome board!!

Ladies and gentlemen.

Beauty.

Wonder.

Relevance.

Welcome to Asian Civilisations Museum.

I hope you have had an amazing 2018 and here’s to an even better 2019!!

Thank you so much and enjoy the party.

The vision and manifesto for the new Asian Civilisations Museum.

Southeast Asia in the World promotional banners on the facade of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

It so happens I wrote another manifesto for the museum earlier this year, this time to explain our “YEAR OF SOUTHEAST ASIA 2018/19” – the why and how of our focus on Southeast Asia, and the approach we took in curating and positioning our special exhibitions and permanent gallery launches between April 2018 to April 2019. This “manifesto” was published in May 2018 as a thought essay entitled “Re-presenting Southeast Asia” in Cultural Connections Volume III, an annual journal published by the Cultural Academy of the National Heritage Board. I reproduce the essay… well, an unedited “Director’s Cut” of the essay… here.  

Southeast Asia is a liminal place, an in-between, hard-to-define almost-continent straddling the maritime trade routes linking the grand civilisations of India and China. It is not quite South nor East, but an uneasy South-East; and for a few brief centuries, even West – regional headquarters to the colonising European powers.

Until very recently, “Southeast Asia” as a term and a geography did not even exist. The region was a nameless backdrop throughout much of antiquity to various fabled polities and regional empires – the Chersonesus Aurea and Suvarnadvipa, Funan and Chenla, Angkor and Bagan, Srivijaya, Majapahit and Nusantara.

When the Europeans swept in with their guns and monopolies, they defined the region in relation to India, variously referring to it as the “East Indies”, or “Farther India”. And then again, it was really only the tiny Spice Islands in the far eastern corner of the almost-continent that initially held their attention. Meanwhile, the Chinese referred generically – and perhaps also a little dismissively – to it during the same period as Nanyang or 南洋, which translates into “oceans to the south”. The actual territory itself, those scattered peninsulas and islands in the oceans to the south, did not even feature in the name.

Map of the East Indies – Insulae Indiae Orientalis, Gerhard Mercator, c. 1607. Collection of the National Museum of Singapore.

The geographical boundaries of Southeast Asia are most tangibly circumscribed by way of an extremely recent phenomenon – the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967, and the gradual expansion of this multilateral organisation to encompass 10 neighbouring, post-colonial (with the exception of Thailand) nations in 1999.

The boundaries of Southeast Asia are today understood to correspond almost exactly with the collective national boundaries of the ASEAN bloc, with the nation-states of Timor-Lesté and Papua New Guinea seeking accession too, and therefore prefiguring a further expansion of said boundaries.

ASEAN, therefore, necessarily and inevitably, grounds any exploration or discussion on the “Southeast Asian”. Certainly, ASEAN, and Singapore’s chairmanship of it in 2018, are the instigating factors behind the “Year of Southeast Asia” initiative at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), which will see the museum focus its exhibitions, conferences, programmes, and other activities on the region from April 2018 to April 2019.

Angkor Wat, early 20th century. Author’s Collection.

Candi Prambanan, c. 9th century, Central Java.

Batavia Stadhuis (City Hall), from Het Kamerlid van Berkestein in Nederlandsch-Indie., by M. T. H. Perelaer, 1888. Author’s Collection.

The underlying question ACM will ask is – “What exactly is Southeast Asia?” With ASEAN as a frame, the museum will explore three broad curatorial themes.

First, the idea of a “global Southeast Asia” – a region that played a pivotal rather than peripheral role in global maritime trade and the spread of systems of faith and belief across Asia. This being ACM, the focus, naturally, is on antiquity and the historical, and what new insights they may offer for today. The themes of Trade and Faith draw reference from Singapore’s own essence as a multicultural, multi-faith port city, and trading hub, and thus we “view” Southeast Asia “through the lens of Singapore”.

This viewing of the region through a Singaporean “lens” lends itself also to the second theme – colonialism and its impact on a post-colonial Southeast Asia. Singapore did not undergo a violent process of decolonisation. Its own treatment of the colonial past can be considered a kind of tacit assimilation, as compared to extremes of violent suppression some of her neighbours had experienced. In Singapore, we are thus more able to approach and present colonial history in Southeast Asia with some objective distance and neutrality.  .

The intent in accounting for colonial history is not, however, to reiterate the horrors and demerits of colonialism – there is plenty of literature on that front. As a museum, our intent is instead to objectively examine – through colonial collections of Southeast Asian heritage – the extent to which the colonial gaze, and colonial methods of collecting, categorising, organising, and presenting knowledge continue to impact the way we consider and conceive Southeast Asia today. In typical ACM fashion, we will pay particular attention to cross-cultural, hybrid “East-West” forms of art, material culture, and ways of representation.

Southeast Asia itself consists of a vast diversity of indigenous and migrant people, cultures, and faiths. A third theme, therefore, pertains to the unabashed celebration of Southeast Asia’s cultural heritage. In the course of our “Year of Southeast Asia”, the museum shall endeavour to throw light upon cultural diversity, even as we find aspects of cultural commonality. Our explorations will range from north to south, east to west, rural to urban, hill tribe to port city. And we will consider the widest possible range of domains – ritual and tradition, visual arts, craft, architecture, textiles, performing arts, as well as food and other aspects of intangible heritage.

Promotional poster for ANGKOR – Exploring Cambodia’s Sacred City.

Avalokiteshvara, Mekong Delta region, 7th – 8th century CE (Pre-Angkor period), demonstrating influences from Gupta India. Collection of the Musée nationale des arts asiatiques-Guimet.

Figure of Buddha seated on Naga, 11th century, Jayavarman Period. Collection of the Musée nationale des arts asiatiques – Guimet.

The “Year of Southeast Asia” is book-ended by two major exhibitions that explore the above themes from the perspectives of mainland and maritime Southeast Asia respectively.

In April 2018, we presented Angkor – Exploring Cambodia’s Sacred City, in collaboration with the Musée national des art asiatiques – Guimet in Paris, and as part of a longstanding Singapore – France cultural co-operation project.

The exhibition, curated with ACM’s cross-cultural mission in mind, places at centre-stage the “East-West” encounter between France and Cambodia in the 19^th century.

The first part of the exhibition explores the ways in which Angkor, and Khmer civilisation, were presented to audiences within France and to the rest of the Western world, and features early French photographs, paintings, sketches, architectural plans, books, and plaster casts of Angkor. It suggests that modes of representing Angkor in the colonial era – emphasising adventure, romance, nostalgia, and exoticism – continue to colour how Angkor is perceived and promoted today.

The second part of the exhibition showcases the splendour of Khmer art and the magnificence of the city of Angkor, inscribed as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage site in 1992. Through a selection of Khmer sculpture and architectural elements from the Guimet’s collection, we explore the vision, artistry, and technology of the ancient Khmers, and the artistic legacy of the Khmers in mainland Southeast Asia.

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, by George Francis Joseph. Oil on canvas, 1817. Collection of the National Portrait Gallery, UK.

Map of Java from The History of Java, by Thomas Stamford Raffles, 1817.

Javanese art at the Asian Civilisations Museum.

In February 2019, we will present Raffles in Southeast Asia, in collaboration with the British Museum and other museum partners in the Netherlands and Indonesia. This exhibition commemorates the bicentennial of the arrival of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and the British in Singapore. This time we zoom in on maritime Southeast Asia, specifically the islands of the Malay-Indonesian Archipelago.

The exhibition has three aims. The first is to demystify and problematise Raffles, present him as a complex and multi-faceted personality (rather than the mythical, one-dimensional “founder figure” most Singaporeans “know” him as) – he was a scholar and avid collector of natural and cultural heritage, but also a ruthless politician, colonial opportunist and imperialist.

The second aim is to tackle the question of how to re-present, for a contemporary audience, colonial collections of Southeast Asian material that continue to sit at the heart of major museums today, including the ACM (the Raffles Library and Museum Collection). The third, and perhaps most important, is to provide a sweeping history and art history of the cultures of the Malay world, with an emphasis on Java and the lands of the former Johor-Riau-Lingga Sultanate (to which Singapore had belonged in 1819).

The core of the exhibition will feature the Raffles Collection from the British Museum – an important collection of mainly Javanese ethnographic material that Raffles personally amassed during his time as Lieutenant-Governor of Java from 1811 – 1815, which he brought back to the United Kingdom. This will be accompanied by a selection of Indonesian material from the Museum of World Cultures in the Netherlands, the National Museum of Indonesia, as well as from ACM’s historic Raffles Library and Museum Collection, so one gets a fuller picture of collecting in the Malay world.

Launch of Southeast Asia in the World, New Permanent Galleries on 29th November 2018. The launch featured three new galleries – Islamic Art, Christian Art and Ancestors and Rituals. It also celebrated a smooth year for Singapore and ASEAN, with Singapore as the Chair of ASEAN. 

The Ancestors and Rituals gallery at ACM presents works of art related to the many traditions and rituals of ancestor veneration and worship in mainland and maritime Southeast Asia. A large part of the artefacts on display come from the historic Raffles Library and Museum Collection, amassed during the British Colonial Period.

View of a hornbill, from the Iban tradition, Sarawak, Borneo, early 20th century. Ancestors and Rituals Gallery, ACM.

In between these exhibitions, ACM will re-open new and refreshed permanent galleries in November 2018. The highlight of the new galleries is our Ancestors and Rituals gallery, in which we throw the spotlight on Southeast Asian ethnographic material.

One thing all Southeast Asian cultures share is a devotion to ancestors. Ancestors fulfil three main functions. They provide a social position within the community, act as guardian figures for the living, and bring about fertility for future generations. Many rituals and traditions – particularly funerary rites – are related to honouring ancestors, and the ideas behind ancestor worship and ritual practices are also linked to harvest, rain, and a variety of religious beliefs.

Objects on view, from bronze vessels and wooden sculptures to kerises and woven textiles, were meant to be charged with ritual meaning, and thus were produced with great care and artistic skill. Our displays in the gallery aim to marry ritual with art, and provide the visitor with a sense of the complex layers of meaning and artistry behind each and every object.

Elsewhere in the museum, other permanent galleries will be updated such that Southeast Asia features more prominently in each. In our refreshed Maritime Trade galleries, visitors will be able to learn more about the material culture of major Southeast Asian port cities, such as Batavia (today’s Jakarta), Rangoon (Yangon), and Manila, as well as their roles in world trade. In our new Faith and Belief galleries, the visitor will similarly be able to understand Southeast Asia’s important contribution to the development of styles of Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, and Christian art.

As part of the permanent gallery launches, ACM will also introduce two special in-museum trails. The first is a Southeast Asia in the World Trail, in which visitors will be introduced to some two dozen important objects in the museum that highlight Southeast Asia’s contribution to global trade and the spread of faith. The second trail will be an ASEAN Trail, in which ten objects, representing the tangible cultural heritage of each of the 10 member nations of ASEAN, will be featured.

Large blue and white Vietnamese export stoneware jar, North Vietnam, 15th century. Maritime Trade Gallery, ACM.

Buraq, Mindanao, the Philippines, early – mid 20th century. Islamic Art Gallery, ACM.

The Virgin Mary, made in Manila, the Philippines, decorated in Mexico. Ivory, painted and gilded, mid 17th century. Christian Art Gallery, ACM.

In the meantime, we will be presenting the more intangible aspects of Southeast Asian heritage and culture in a series of festivals and programmes throughout 2018 and early 2019. The most important of these is the quarterly Asian Cultural and Music Series (ACMS), which will see traditional Southeast Asian performing arts being featured on ACM’s riverfront courtyard, against the backdrop of Singapore’s contemporary skyline.

The ACMS represents our museum’s commitment to celebrating, presenting, and documenting Asian intangible cultural heritage. The Southeast Asian performing arts groups we feature are required to deliver public talks on the basics of their art-form, and all performances and talks are recorded for use in future museum exhibitions or publications.

The implicit message behind presenting traditional performing arts in a highly urban environment against a contemporary backdrop is that cultural heritage can and must have a place in contemporary economic development in Southeast Asia. It is a most important marker of cultural diversity and identity in the region, even as much of the region becomes urbanised and increasingly generic in outlook.

The Asian Culture and Music Series – featuring Htwe Oo Myanmar Traditional Puppet Theatre – on the ACM Riverfront Terrace.

ASIAN CULTURE AND MUSIC SERIES – Javanese Wayang Kulit and Gamelan performance. ACM Riverfront.

Apsara Dancers, Cambodia. ASIAN CULTURE AND MUSIC SERIES.

Cambodian shadow puppets, set against Singapore’s contemporary skyline. ASIAN CULTURE AND MUSIC SERIES.

One year is insufficient time for definite answers to the question of What is Southeast Asia; a proper exploration would take generations. One thing is for sure – Southeast Asian identity, rooted in Southeast Asian heritage, is complex, shifting, rich, colourful, exuberant, surprising, and sophisticated.

It is not, for even a moment, simple, straightforward, or boring.

Promotional imagery for RAFFLES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA – REVISITING THE SCHOLAR AND STATESMAN, co-curated with the British Museum and featuring major pieces loaned from the National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta, the National Museums of World Cultures, the Netherlands, ACM’s Raffles Library and Museum Collection and other institutional lenders in the UK, Indonesia and Singapore.

Red rose in bloom, streets of Copenhagen in Summer.

2018 has been an extremely challenging year.

Despite all, I have somehow managed, this year, to always carry myself with a sense of purpose, duty and positivity, smiling and laughing through the many lunches, dinners, drinks, meetings, tours, speeches I’ve had to helm even as I have oftentimes been just a little lost, conflicted and grieving.

My resolution for 2018 was to keep calm and smell the roses. I defined this resolution as follows: a) to keep a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity; b) to take time out to succor my mind and soul; c) to be able to see beauty all around me, in the simplest of things; and d) to see the best in people and in the world.

[See https://dreamofacity.com/2017/12/28/resolution-for-2018-keep-calm-and-smell-the-roses/]

I must say that on the whole, I’ve achieved my resolution. I was just a wee bit prescient in setting this resolution in the first place. As if to remind me of my resolution, I took to exclusively wearing floral ties, floral pocket squares and floral socks for the most part of the year as I went about my work. My (somewhat eccentric) rationale was that beauty was a kind of armour, and so I surrounded my body with roses (and their thorns), in order to steel myself with courage.

The Rose, by Aphonse Mucha, 1898. [Public Domain.]

At the museum, I’ve been able to witness my short-term vision for the institution made tangible in an extremely well-received special exhibition (our only one this year), in three equally well-received brand-new permanent galleries, and in all the festivals, programmes and activities we’ve undertaken this year.

It’s great seeing vision become reality. There’s only one thing to say to this: Yay!!!!!!!

[See https://dreamofacity.com/2018/12/03/beauty-wonder-relevance-welcome-to-asian-civilisations-museum/]

Curious Creatures by fFurious, at the Light to Night Festival 2018, Asian Civilisations Museum.

ANGKOR – EXPLORING CAMBODIA’S SACRED CITY. MASTERPIECES FROM THE MUSÉE NATIONAL DES ARTS ASIATIQUES – GUIMET. At the Asian Civilisations Museum from April – July 2018.

Christian Art Gallery, Asian Civilisations Museum, launched 29th November 2018.

Ancestors and Rituals Gallery, Asian Civilisations Museum, launched 29 November.

I continue to see my being at the museum as a tremendous privilege. Not least because I know that there is something wonderful about being able to work, all the time, with so much beauty, from across space and time. Each time I feel particularly down or lost in my office, I only have to walk down to our galleries, and there amongst the many works of art in them, I find peace and clarity.

And I must add that there have been many, many moments of this nature this past year.

The museum, and my own love for museums, has also brought much beauty in my life. By way of the many places my work has taken me to this year. By way of the many exhibitions I’ve had the chance to view in the course of work and leisure. And by way of the many works of art I’ve had the opportunity to encounter and to handle with my bare hands as we install new galleries and plan for future special exhibitions.

National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, where I had meetings to share more details about the ANGKOR exhibition, and to seek advice on academic and public programming accompanying the exhibition.

Mogao Caves, Dunhuang – the highlight of all my travelling this year.

My favourite exhibition this year – OCEAN LINERS: SPEED & STYLE at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Another of my favorite exhibitions – PEINTURES DES LOINTAINES, at the Musée du Quai-Branly Jacques Chirac, Paris. The image is a detail from Baie d’Along, fins des années 1920, début des années 1930, by Lucien Lièvre.

The spectacular jewellery display at the Yves St Laurent Museum, Paris.

My Grand Tour of the Port and Princely Cities of the Subcontinent (on this very blog) took me virtually to Goa, Bombay, Delhi, Agra and Jaipur this year. I have three more stops – Jodhpur, Udaipur, Lahore, after which I’m done – and it’s time to think of what’s next!

Speaking of travel… In 2018, I also morphed into somewhat of a diplomat, at least of the cultural variety.

Never in my life have I travelled as much as I have this year on official business, representing Singapore and the museum on international museum associations and advisory panels, at museum conferences, travelling exhibition openings and meetings to discuss future exhibition collaborations.

Never in my life have I had to hold my own against so many museum directors, curators and collectors from all over the globe, and from so many different cultures, ALL of them extremely wise and way more experienced than I am.

And I am pleased and proud to say that the museum itself has also been a venue of choice for diplomacy and diplomatic events, welcoming royalty, heads of state, ministers and ambassadors from all over the world.

Through it all, I have acquitted myself as best I can by always demonstrating a sense of childlike wonder and passion for my work, and by always insisting on affording a sense of Southeast Asian warmth and hospitality to our guests.

And I have to thank all our ambassadors/high commissioners and our colleagues at the foreign ministry, for the opportunity, support and sincere regard for the museum this year.

ASEAN handshake at the Asia-Europe Cultural Ministers’ Meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, February. I was representing Singapore, as well as the Asia-Europe Museum Network (ASEMUS), which I chair.

April: Discussing modern Chinese fashion with an expert in Hong Kong, and for our future permanent Fashion & Textiles Gallery, opening in late 2019/early 2020.

That moment of sheer elation when you realise ALL the meetings and negotiations in Indonesia (for the RAFFLES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA exhibition) are done, and you can go stock up on Indomie at Carrefour in Blok M – because the Indomie tastes MUCH better in Indonesia. Jakarta, June.

Hosting the Singapore-China Joint Council for Bilateral Co-operation 2018 at the Asian Civilisations Museum. Helmed by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean of Singapore and Vice Premier Han Zheng of China. ACM’s Tang Shipwreck Collection travelling to Shanghai in 2020 was mentioned as a collaboration between the two countries.

Chairing (and speaking at) the Asia-Europe Museum Network General Conference and Executive Committee Meeting in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia in November. The GC and Exco Meeting were excellently hosted and organised by Sarawak Museum.

The final work engagement for the year – the launch of Secrets of the Sea – The Tang Shipwreck at the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage in Mokpo, South Korea, 10 December. I was there to deliver an opening speech alongside my counterpart.

Then, of course, there was my book, SINGAPORE 1819 – A LIVING LEGACY, launched in October.

It was hard getting this book done while working full-time. People did not and still do not realise just how much effort, resolve and determination – and how many bouts of late night drinking – it required to get the book done. It was grueling, grueling work – by the time the book was published, I didn’t want to look at it again. I still don’t.

I am, however, extremely pleased by how it turned out – not just how lovely it looks, but how it provides a very different, somewhat against-the-grain view on Singapore heritage that takes as its initial reference point, Singapore’s essence as a cosmopolitan, colonial Asian port city, and highlights its global, cross-cultural nature (rather than more nationalistic elements, if that even makes sense).

[See https://dreamofacity.com/2018/10/14/singapore-1819-a-living-legacy/]

There have been some small mistakes in the book despite multiple rounds of editing – signs of just how unlikely and precarious the entire process of putting the book together was. Some readers have taken offense at these slight errors. I apologise. I am only human. These shall be corrected in the second edition. In the meantime, hold on to the first edition as it will be a collector’s item in the future.

But minor setbacks aside, the process of putting the book together – particularly the amassing of the many images in the book – allowed me to see Singapore with rose-tinted glasses, uncovering what was beautiful, surprising and less well-known about my city, re-experiencing it with a sense of curiosity and wonder.

In the process, I fell in love. My city became for me, a precious work of art, to be admired in all its intricate detail, and appreciated for all its flaws.

I would like to thank my publishers once again for the opportunity to (re-)fall in love with my home. Here’s to the next book – on Asian port cities from Bombay to Tokyo.  =)

SINGAPORE 1819 – A LIVING LEGACY. Published by TALISMAN, Singapore.

Signing books at the book launch in November.

The magnificent Chesed-El Synagogue in Singapore, a National Monument. Very few of the photographs I took for the book actually made it into the book because a decision was made to use primarily archival images.

The mysterious keramat of Puteri Radin Mas – the supposed tomb of a mythical Javanese princess.  Pre-colonial, Malay heritage features strongly in the book….

….and so does our British Colonial heritage, to be objective and neutral.

It wasn’t all hunky-dory in 2018. All that travel and constant work at the job and on the book made for a very, very lonely year.

I have never felt quite so alone and vulnerable as I have this year, speeding along as I did, my feet barely touching the ground; and if I wasn’t speeding along, spending all my waking hours either at the museum or staring at my laptop screen working on the book.

This year I turned 40 – a milestone sort of age.  And so I reflected pretty frequently in the course of the year on whether or not the life and profession I have chosen was indeed worth it. Particularly since the nature of the profession made it very difficult for me to draw a line cleanly between the professional and the personal.

[Witness how the museum has “seeped” inexorably into my personal blog.]

More than once this year, I faced challenges that have necessitated me reviewing and clarifying my core values. I’m happy to say that not once have I compromised them – I have always chosen the course of rebelling charmingly, where I need to, as much as I can, to preserve my integrity.

[See https://dreamofacity.com/2018/05/20/taking-stock-or-the-most-important-measure-of-success-in-life/]

And I would be remiss if I did not mention that I have also been at the receiving end of tremendous kindness, generosity and encouragement in the course of the year – something that played a HUGE role in keeping me going.

Launch of AMEK GAMBAR – PERANAKANS & PHOTOGRAPHY, at the Peranakan Museum on 4th May (which was also coincidentally, my birthday!)

By brilliant, brilliant team at the Asian Civilisations Museum and Peranakan Museum, who have been a source of strength, comfort and encouragement this year. Here we are at the launch of SOUTHEAST ASIA IN THE WORLD – NEW PERMANENT GALLERIES on 29th November.  This was the final launch of the year.

The lowest point for me this year had to be the death of my beloved pet – my cat, Baby.

Baby was always there each time I returned home, patiently – and sometimes impatiently – waiting. Because he was always there, I took him for granted. Something else was always more important. If it wasn’t the job, it was the book, which took up all my time when I wasn’t at the job. It didn’t help that I didn’t like being at home, because I felt so lonely at home. It didn’t strike me that he would have felt the same.

All in all, I was never there for him this year. I was a terrible parent.

[See https://dreamofacity.com/2018/09/02/home-is-the-cat-memorial-for-baby/]

That explains why I am now still suffering the aftershock of his sudden death. Still wracked by guilt at the thought that I killed him through neglect; by the thought that he had died of loneliness, sitting, as he did, night after night, month after month, in the darkness of an empty home, waiting for attention that I could not give.

Baby…scolding me for getting home late.

Baby (whose real name is Theo – but we never called him that).

This is, in my view, the best portrait of Baby, capturing him as he always was – strikingly handsome with those hazel-green eyes, always inquisitive, tremendously affectionate and a personality that really came through for us and for guests alike. Goodbye Baby!

Even though I am not religious, I have, this year – more than ever before – sought divine intervention.

Thankfully, I needed to look no further than the museum for this. In November, with the launch of our three new permanent galleries, we completed our second floor dedicated to the theme of FAITH & BELIEF and presenting masterpieces of Sacred Art from all of Asia’s grand world religions.

What this means is that all the deities and ancestors are now physically present at the museum.

I have insisted on regarding the deities and ancestors with awe and respect, by having the works of art in our Faith & Belief galleries lit and displayed with utmost reverence, acknowledging and heightening the sense of the Divine that inhabits these works of art and pervades these galleries 物有靈氣.

And I am pleased and moved when I see guests, or staff – our security guards, for instance – bowing and paying obeisance to the deities and ancestors in their midst.  I often do that silently myself.

This is the only place in Singapore to have all of Asia’s deities and ancestors under one roof. I believe that one must accord them the proper respect. Because in according them the proper respect, they will, in turn, protect the museum and everyone in it, including me.

While I am not religious, I can perhaps confess that I am spiritual.

And so I conclude 2018 by praying – to all the assembled deities and ancestors at the museum – for overflowing blessings for everyone who works for and at the museum, and for all the friends and visitors who step within our doors, however far they may have hailed from.

And I pray also for peace and harmony for Singapore and the world, regardless of faith and belief.  Because this is what we most need in this time of divisive and jingoistic rhetoric.

Pantheon of Buddhist and Taoist deities, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Gallery of Ancient Religions, Asian Civilisations Museum.

Somaskanda, Shiva with Parvati and their son Skanda. Chola period, c. 1200. Tamil Nadu, India. Bronze. Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

Emaciated Christ. 18th or 19th century, Goa, India. Woodcarving. Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

Monumental Safavid ‘Alam (brass and bronze processional standard). Early 18th century, Iran. The calligraphic script around the heart of the ‘alam is the Surat an-Nasr – the surah of Divine Help or Victory (in Battle). Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

Household Deity Figure (Siraha Salawa), 19th century, North Nias, Northwest Indonesia. Woodcarving. Collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum.

BEAUTY, DIPLOMACY, FRAGILITY, DIVINITY – this was 2018 in a nutshell.

With the door closed on 2018, it is time to take on 2019.

In keeping with the previous three years, I have decided on a resolution that is more of a guiding principle for the year, rather than a goal to achieve.

This new resolution will come as no surprise. It is hinted at in the preceding paragraphs – and has already been an implicit operating principle for me. In expectation of another year of great opportunity but also great adversity, there is only one thing to do – hunker down and stand firm(er) on first principles.

Mounted Incense Burner – porcelain horse from China (Jingdezhen kilns), Kangxi period, 17th century; Japanese lacquer cups from the 18th century; red coral from Southeast Asian seas or South China Sea; Rococo-style gilt bronze mounts are French, Louis XVIIème period, 18th century; and incense, of course, comes from either India or the Middle East. Presently displayed in the Maritime Trade Gallery, Asian Civilisations Museum. This is one of my favourite pieces because it seems to me perversely/subversively symbolic – in the way it is hybrid, cross-cultural, East-East and East-West, and strangely (love-it-or-hate-it) beautiful – of Singapore!

While in 2018 I resolved to see beauty all around me, in the simplest of things, in 2019, I shall go one step further and resolve to INSTIGATE SUBVERSIVE BEAUTY ALL AROUND ME.

This means, first of all that I shall respond to ugliness with beauty. However I am treated – and in the course of my work, I am sometimes, perhaps inadvertently, not treated as well as I hope to be – I shall always respond with respect and utmost courtesy; with firmness of resolve, but always polite.

My friends and colleagues know that one of my oft-repeated mantras in life is to “nice them to death”. This year I shall “nice them all to death,” armed, as I will be, with a smile and with laughter, because laughter and a smile disarms, creates a moment of uncertainty, when flashed at one who least expects it.

But don’t worry, I have a gun in my glove compartment if all fails.  =)

Torso of Banović Strahinja, 1908, by Ivan Meštrović. Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

This year, I shall also pursue beauty to an unconventional degree. Beauty of the kind that breaks your heart, that brings tears to your eyes, but that also makes your heart leap with joy, and moves you to burst into song, or dance when there is no music playing.

I pursue beauty because of what it stands for – excellence, aspiration, harmony, hope; the best of (and from) each and every culture, faith, community, individual; a basic and universal human value and need.

And because I understand that beauty has the power to subvert hearts and minds; to inspire and to move; to bring down an empire 傾城之美.  Pursuing beauty for its own sake is these days regarded as an act of subversion as mankind trends towards chaos, disruption, divisiveness, difference.

Nordic Summer Evening, 1899 – 1900, by Richard Bergh. The Göteborgs Konstmuseum, Sweden.

In 2019, at the museum or for myself, I shall also champion and demand radical new ideas and perspectives, beautifully “gift-wrapped”. 

 By “radical”, I mean ideas and perspectives that change the entire way we view the world, view Asia and view ourselves; ideas and perspectives that are completely original, unique, non-obvious and against the grain, which only the museum and I are able to explore due to our very specific background and context right here in Singapore.

Let me state upfront that I don’t believe in courting controversy, because I believe that one should never be rude or give offence. Particularly in Asia.

Therefore these perspectives shall always be “beautifully gift-wrapped”, so to speak – delivered in a fashion that is subtle, never obvious, never imposing or likely to give offence, always swathed in curiosity, beauty, wonder, relevance; such that one may fail to recognise them for what they are at first, but when one finally does, the impact is profound.

White statue of Raffles at the Singapore River. The ACM’s first offering for 2019 is the RAFFLES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA – REVISITING THE SCHOLAR AND STATESMAN special exhibition in February.

Finally, in 2019, I shall continue to see the world with child-like wonder, never taking myself too seriously. Whatever may happen to me, to my friends and family, to the museum, or to the world at large, I shall continue to be just a bit wide-eyed, eccentric, whimsical, self-deprecatory, and possibly even a wee bit silly; I shall continue to be always positive, always curious, always questioning, and unafraid to speak my mind, gently and politely.

This year I shall close some doors and (re-)open others, pursue new beginnings and new relationships with gusto. I shall celebrate small and large victories with great cheer, and soften setbacks with a warm cup of tea or a sweet glass of wine with those I love.

And above all, whatever may come, I shall laugh and laugh and laugh merrily and at the least provocation, in such a manner that you too, will laugh and laugh and laugh along with me, forgetting all your sorrow, or anger, or anxiety.

2019 will be a spectacular year. I can feel it.

Happy New Year to everyone!

The absolutely stunning Louvre Abu Dhabi, where I was at in October, speaking about ACM at the museum’s 1st anniversary International Conference.

A snowy winter’s morning, Copenhagen.

Magnificent golden butterfly 蝶 on a Republican-era Chinese robe.

Chhatri, Lake Palace at sunset, Udaipur.

At the foothills of the Aravalli mountains floats a city.  A beautiful dream of a city, in the midst of seven lakes.

Founded in 1558 by Maharana Udai Singh II of the Sisodia Clan as the capital city of his kingdom of Mewar, the city bears the name Udaipur, or “Udai’s city”.

It is well-known as a City of Lakes, though these lakes are man-made, created in the course of centuries. That notwithstanding, they are breathtakingly beautiful and the city itself was built on their banks.

The City Palace on Lake Pichola.

The Lake Palace, viewed from the City Palace.

Tourists in the City Palace Museum.

Riviera-style cafe along the City Palace waterfront.

The old city of Udaipur.

The City Palace at night.

The most central of these lakes, and with the most picturesque name, is Lake Pichola. It is here that the heart of the Old City of Udaipur sits.

The most imposing monument on the Lake is, of course, the simply-named City Palace – a sprawling complex of palaces built along the Eastern bank. First begun in 1553, the palace was improved and expanded on in the course of 400 years and today contains royal residences, a museum, as well as a luxury hotel.

Just across the water from the City Palace sits the other palace – the Lake Palace. This jewel of a palace, built in white marble, was created in 1746 as a Summer Palace, and it floats impossibly on the surface of the still waters of Lake Pichola.

South of the Lake Palace sits a third palace – the Jag Mandir, begun in the mid 1500s (around the time Lake Pichola itself was created) and completed in the mid 1600s.

There is a fourth palace in this City of Palaces – the Monsoon Palace – high up in the Aravalli Hills and completed in the late 19^th century. From here, there is a view upon the entire city with its seven lakes, and the pendulous clouds that hang over the city during the Monsoon Season, hence the name.

The Udaipur World Music Festival, on Jag Mandir.

Elaborate temple carvings, Jagdish Temple.

Sahelyon-ki-bari (“Garden of the Maidens”), built in 1734.

The Monsoon Palace.

Back in the Old City, one can wander for days through the warrens and alleyways, stumbling upon magnificent Hindu Temples or quaint colonial-era edifices.

Another view of the city is offered by touring it by boat – one is able to admire the many ghats and facades of the city as they were meant to be admired: from the water.

Fateh Memorial, Old City.

The former Victoria Hall Museum, in the Gulab Bagh.

Artistic rendering of historic Udaipur, in traditional Mewari painting, at the Udaipur Train Station.

Time passes one by as one floats upon the azure waters of Lake Pichola.

Before long it is evening. The City Palace glows a burnished shade of gold by the light of the setting sun.

I hop a return speedboat leisurely back to the Lake Palace – in which I’ve chosen to sojourn during my time here – to prepare myself for the coming few days of wandering.

Jag Mandir in the evening.

Boat floating on Lake Pichola.

Returning to the Lake Palace.

Sun setting over the City Palace.

The golden glow of the City Palace at sunset.

View of Lake Pichola from the Karni Mata Temple. The City Palace is to the right. The two islands in the Lake are Jag Mandir (left) and Jag Niwas (right), where the Lake Palace sits.

The Lake is everywhere you look.

It shimmers and gleams, turning a dozen shades of yellow and gold in the course of a day.

The city, with its magnificent palaces and temples, quaint havelis and gardens, and winding alleyways, clings picturesquely to its shores. But make no mistake, the main attraction here is the lake itself.

It is hard to believe that Lake Pichola is man-made; and that it is quite so old, having been created in the mid 1300s.

The city and its Maharanas came after the lake – almost 200 years later. Everything you see at the edge of the water – and occasionally on the water; on one of its four artificial islands – dates from the 1500s and later.

The best experience to be had in the city is to be in a boat on the lake, leisurely taking in the sights by water.

Oh yes, emerge occasionally to take in those winding streets and pay homage to the magnificent palaces and temples – in particular, the Karni Mata Temple high on the hills, where one gets a stunning panoramic view of the Lake.

And by all means don’t miss the City’s colonial district, either, in particular, the delightful Gulab Bagh Gardens, which date to the late 1800s.

But then return again to the water, and watch the theatre of life in the city pass you by as you float.

And above all observe the Lake itself as it shifts its mood and personality like an actress on the stage.

The Lake…

Jag Niwas is one of the artificial islands on the Lake – it houses the exquisite Lake Palace.

The other large artificial island on the lake is Jag Mandir, which houses the Jag Mandir Palace, which dates back to the mid-1550s.

Along the eastern bank of the lake sit residences, guesthouses, temples and gardens.

And of course – the magnificent multi-layer-caked structure of the City Palace.

Lal Ghat Guesthouse.

Gangaur Ghat is home to the beautiful Bagore-ki-haveli, which dates to the 18th century.

Floating pavilion on the Lake…

A closer view of Jag Mandir, with the Gul Mahal visible.

The Jag Mandir palace.

View from the Jag Mandir towards the City Palace.

The City Palace at dusk.

…and the City

The Jagdish Temple is a major Hindu Temple in Old Town Udaipur. It dates back to the mid 1600s.

Close-up of the relief in the Jagdish Temple.

Mural at the Bagore-ki-haveli.

Scenes in the old town…

Scenes in the old town…

Scenes in the old town…

The Vintage and Classic Car Collection.

Shepherd Memorial Church, 1877.

Fateh Memorial

Rajasthan College of Agriculture.

Sahelion-ki-bari was a pleasure garden built in the early 1700s for ladies of the court.

One of the many fountains in the Sahelion-ki-bari.

A delight fountain with cherubs at the Sahelion-ki-bari

The former Victoria Hall, at the Gulab Bagh Gardens. Victoria Hall was built in 1887 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria – it housed a museum and library.

Udaipur Train Station houses an exquisite series of freshly painted murals, in the traditional Mewari style.

Detail of murals, Udaipur Train Station.

Detail of murals, Udaipur Train Station.

And finally, a view of Lake Pichola at sunset.