Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior, India - an inspiring building with ''silver toy train'' to serve liquor to royal guests!!

chandeliers-largest pair in the world''Jai Vilas Palace,Gwalior Indiawikimedia.org/

Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior. India .livehistoryindia.com/living-history/forgotten-treasures

Built in 1874 by Maharajadhiraj Shrimant Jayajirao Scindia Alijah Bahadur, the Maharaja of Gwalior when India was under the direct control of the British Crown administration, London, the

Jai Vilas palace, Gwalior, dinning table with model train track.alamy.com

Jai Vilas Palace, is a beautiful building designed and built by Sir Michael Filose for the popular ruler. Presently, a part of the palace is converted into a Museum called the "Jiwajirao Scindia Museum". It was opened on 12 December 1964 by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (a great Indian Philosopher), then president of India to be used by the public. Part of the palace is being used by descendants of the former royal Maratha Scindia dynasty as their residence. The palace has 400 well- furnished rooms, out of which 40 rooms form the famous Jiwaji Rao Scindia Museum. The palace has a fine collection of amazing gadgets and antiques of past era and other attractions. The reading rooms, drawing rooms, JSM hall, and breakfast room are built in a nice way.

Jai Vilas Palace, Gwalior. India livehistoryindia.com

What is so unique about this 19th century historical palatial palace is it a fine model of a combination of various styles of European architecture. The first story is of Tuscan, the second Italian-Doric and the third has a touch of Corinthian style. It was constructed on a plot of 1,240,771 square feet and the most impressive part of this palace is its large Durbar Hall that is carfully decorated with gilt and gold furnishings and adorned with a huge carpet and gigantic chandeliers. It is 100 feet long, 50 feet wide and 41 feet in height. The Durbar (royal court) hall ceiling is very high and it has a pair of 12.5m-high, 3.5-ton impressive pure crystal chandeliers with 250 light bulbs and it said to be ''the largest pair in the world''.

Maharajah Jayajirao Scindia of Gwalior. .theindianportrait.com

Above image: Sir Shrimant Jayajirao Scindia (19 January 1834-20 June 1886) of the Scindia dynasty of the Maratha clan was the ruling Maharajah of Gwalior from 1843 to 1886 under the British rule. keenly interested in the welfare of his state, in 1872, Sri Jayajirao gave Rs. 7.5 million for building the Agra-Gwalior portion of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, and a similar amount in 1873 for the Indore-Neemuch section of the Rajputana-Malwa railway. In 1882 land was ceded by the state for the Midland section of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway.
Shrimant Jayaajirao was a great builder and constructed many impressive buildings like Moti Mahal, Jai Vilas Palace, Kampoo Kothi, Victoriya Building, Gorkhi Dwar Gate and Daffrine Sarai. Being a true Hindu, he reconstructed the Koteshwar Mandir and about 69 Shiva temples across his state. With a view to improving fortification etc., he gave Rs. 1.5 million for the reconstruction of Gwalior fort boundary wall and the broken parts of Man Mandir, Gujri Mahal and Johar Kund. In 1886 he made efforts to get back Gwalior fort and Morar cantonment, with some other villages, which had been held by British troops since 1858, by exchanging Jhansi city. In 1861, Shrimant Jayajirao was given a Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India. His photos appeared in the London press and was regarded as the friend of the British Empire. In 1877, he became a Counselor of the Empress and later on a GCB and CIE (https://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Jayajirao_Scindia) ....................................
Located in the heart of the city, Jai Vilas Palace is a major destination for the visitors to this city. Befitting to the prestige of this royal family, the palace is known for excellent embellishments. Many of the rooms, including drawing rooms, bed rooms and bath rooms, are lavishly decorated and are being well-preserved as of today, thus maintaining its old charm and the splendor for which this palace was famous. The kitchen where the quality food was made for the royal family members and the visiting guests is well built with fine furnaces, pots, china etc. Its preservation as of today is praise-worthy. A descendant of this royal family - Madhavrao Scindia, served as the Railway Minister of India when the Congress was in power at the Center in Delhi several years ago. A visitor could see his the desk and photographs of him in a large room in the palace.

.Silver toy train, Jai Vilas palace, Gwalior, India. ailes.ch/dataPDF

The palace rooms have numerous curios including cut-glass furniture, stuffed tigers and a ladies-only swimming pool with its own boat. An interesting feature of the royal dinning room is it has a model silver train that would chug along the palatial dinning table, carrying after-dinner brandy and cigars to entertain the guests. The silver train was used as a table trolley for serving food to the guests as well

Silver toy train, Jai Vilas palace, Gwalior, India. pinrest com

Madho Rao Scindia was the 5th Maharaja of Gwalior and ruled from 1886 to 1926. He was a great gadget lover and was the first Indian ruler to own a car. He, giving due attention to emerging technology development, introduced the Light Railway system in his home state called Gwalior Light Railway with 28 stations. His love for trains was a known fact and he could run the main locomotive. He was so enamored with trains in 1906 he ordered a

Gwalior, MP city map mapsofindia.com/

silver train set with Bassett Lowke, a British model toy Company that functions even today(?). It was meant for the banqueting hall to serve liquor, etc to the guests. The train included Silver engine carriages made of silver and crystal decanters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_Vilas_Mahal
https://www.livehistoryindia.com/herstory/2017/08/05/amrit-kaur-indias-first-female-cabinet-minister

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