Project Calm – July 2019

Pho

tog

rap

hs:

ba

ckg

rou

nd

:^ P

ete

r^ Ze

lei^

Im

ag

es/

Ge

tty

;^ to

p:^ R

ed

tea

/G

ett

y;^ i

llu

str

atio

n^ b

ott

om

:^ SA

HA

S^20

15 /

Sh

utt

ers

toc

k;^ o

pp

osi

te^

pa

ge

:^ Pa

me

la^

Joe

M

cFa

rla

ne

/G

ett

y

115

Once the capital, Amer Fort stands on the Aravalli
Hills overlooking the ruins of the small town of
Amer. It was designated as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site in 2013. An extensive and opulent
palace complex, it is built from yellow and pink
sandstone and white marble. The layout of such
palaces is around a series of courtyards or ‘chowks’
leading on from the most public, with the Diwan-
i-am (Hall of Public Audience) to the Diwan-i-khas
(Hall of Private Audience), to the most private, the
Zenana, occupied by the queens and harem, who
practised the purdah system so couldn’t show their
faces to anyone outside the family.
The buildings become more ornate as we
move into the most private parts of the palace.
The Jai Mandir is a pavilion covered in intricate

carvings and small mirrors. It is said that when the

queen wanted to see the stars, they would light

the candles or small earthen lamps and the flame

would sparkle in the hundreds of small mirrors all

around them like a star-studded sky. The Sukh

Niwas, or The Palace of Pleasure, is in front of the

Jair Mandir, showing the technological advances of

the time. Here, water channels have been used to

create an air-conditioning effect, an early example

of bio-architecture.

As I move from one to the next through the

maze of corridors, it is easy to imagine the people

who lived there. Even as I meditate on women’s

rights and gender equality, the magic of this

building, with its shimmering walls, light refracting

and reflecting, fills me with wonder.

Feel the rise and fall of lives within the stone walls.

AMER FORT:

THE YELLOW AND PINK PALACE