The Sheesh Mahal or the `Palace of Mirrors` in Patiala (Punjab) was built by Maharaja Narinder Singh in 1845 behind the main Moti Bagh Palace. The Palace was built in a forest with terraces, gardens, fountains and an artificial lake. The lake has two watchtowers in the north and the south, and is connected to the Banasar Ghar, a storehouse for stuffed animals. The Sheesh Mahal, which was a residential palace, has a suspension bridge that is a copy of the Lakshman Jhoola at Rishikesh. A telling tribute to the days of the colorful Maharajas of Patiala, the Sheesh Mahal is part of the Qila Mubarak. Similar well-known rooms called "Sheesh Mahal" are also found in the palace of the Agra Fort, the Amber Fort of Jaipur, and the Harimandir Sahib.

History

The then Maharaja of Patiala, Narendra Singh, built the Sheesh Mahal in 1847, and his much-admired aesthetic sense governed the design and decoration of this stunning palace to a substantial extent. The Sheesh Mahal`s greatest treasures are its excellent museum, a fine collection of antiques, which gives a fabulous insight into the life, and times of Maharajas of Patiala. The huge range of artifacts on display run the area from costumes and jewellery to portraits, Chinese mirrors, statues, engravings, utensils, weaponry and more. Besides artifacts pertaining to Patiala itself, there are objects from rest of India as well. Foremost among the galleries of the museum is the Medal Gallery, an awesome collection of more than 3,000 medals and coins from across the world, dating from the 12th to the 20th centuries.

Site & Architecture

Sheesh Mahal Maharaja Narinder Singh was known to be a great sponsor of art and literature. He engaged great painters from Kangra and Rajasthan to paint the walls of the Sheesh Mahal with a variety of images pertaining to literature, mythology and legends. Their works portray the vision in the poetry of Keshav, Surdas and Bihari. The paintings also portray Raga-Ragni, Nayak-Nayika and Bara-masa in Rajasthani style. The walls and ceilings of the Sheesh Mahal are rich in floral designs and its interior is a kaleidoscope of images and multi-colored lights. Amongst the Sheesh Mahal`s most highly recommended displays are a series of Kangra-style miniatures depicting the Geet Govind, an epic poem by Jaidev. The Sheesh Mahal illustrates its name from the elegantly designed glass and mirror work, which covers an entire section of the palace.

The Sheesh Mahal also consists of a museum, which displays fine objects of Tibetan art, particularly the sculpture of different kinds of metals. `Bhupindar Singh`, Maharaja of Patiala in the 1920s, put the Sheesh Mahal Medal Collection together. His son, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh subsequently donated the medal collection to the people of the Punjab on India gaining independence in 1947 and the collection now lies in the Sheesh Mahal Museum. Although theoretically open to the public, gaining entrance to the museum can be difficult.

Various other items like the Ivory carvings of Punjab, royal wooden carved furniture, and a large number of Burmese and Kashmiri carved objects have also been exhibited. One can see huge portraits of the rulers of Patiala decorating the walls of museum hall. The museum`s collection also includes some rare manuscripts. Besides Janamsakhi and Jain manuscripts, the most valuable possession is the Gulistan-Bostan by Sheikh Sadi of Shiraz, which was acquired by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his personal library.

Included in the collection are also the five Victoria Cross medal groups, four of which were known, but the fifth VC group was never identified, until now.