Pravin Rai Mahal is a palace in
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...
built by prince (and later King) Indrajit Singh in 1618. It was built for his love interest, Pravin Rai, who was a beautiful poet and musician, also known as the "Nightingale of
Orchha
Orchha is a town, near the city of Niwari in the Niwari district of Madhya Pradesh state, India. The town was established by a Bundela Rajput ruler Rudra Pratap Singh some time after 1501, as the seat of an eponymous former princely state ...
". It is a state protected monument. The other names of this palace are Anand Mandal Bagh and Rai Praveen Manika Bhavan.
It is also known as 'Tope Khana' since later in time, it was used as a lookout post for
Orchha Fort.
Architecture
The palace has three stories. There is a central hall on the second floor with multiple paintings and depictions of various moods of Pravin Rai. There is also a garden attached to the palace which is divided into two parts. The palace has a large mansion, and alongside, it has small chambers with large windows. There is good lighting and circulation of air.
The palace's semi-subterranean summer room has been measured cooling its air to more than 10 degrees below exterior temperatures, using
passive cooling
Passive cooling is a building design approach that focuses on heat gain control and heat dissipation in a building in order to improve the indoor thermal comfort with low or no energy consumption. This approach works either by preventing heat fro ...
.
Legend of Pravin Rai
Pravin Rai was a favourite courtesan of King Indrajit Singh of
Orchha State
Orchha State (also known as Urchha, Ondchha and Tikamgarh) was a kingdom situated in the Bundelkhand region and later a princely state in British India. The state was ruled by Bundela clan of Rajput, Rajputs. It was located within what is now the ...
.
It is said that Emperor
Akbar
Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...
summoned Pravin Rai to his court after hearing about her beauty and poetry. Pravin Rai reached the court and said a couplet,
''“Vinit Rai Praveen ki, suniye sah sujan. Juthi patar bhakat hain, bari, bayas, swan”''
It translated to - 'Oh you great and wise! Please hear the plea of Rai Praveen. Only someone from a low caste, barber or scavengers would eat from a plat that was partaken by someone else'. With this, she indicated that she was already in love with Indrajeet.
Akbar
Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...
was impressed from this and she was sent back to Indrajeet with respect.
Rai Praveen is the central character in Sudheer Maurya's Hindi Novel Indrapriy
See also
*
Jahangir Mahal, Orchha
Jahangir Mahal, Citadel of Jahangir, Orchha Palace, Mahal-e-Jahangir Orchha, Jahangir Citadel is a citadel and garrison located in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh, India.
History
The establishment of the Jahangir Mahal dates back to the 17th century ...
*
Orchha Fort complex
References
{{Reflist
Monuments and memorials in Madhya Pradesh
Orchha
Tourist attractions in Tikamgarh district