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72-445: Umaid Bhawan Palace ( Hindi : उम्मैद भवन पैलेस ), located in Jodhpur , Rajasthan , India , is one of the world's largest private residences. A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hotels . It is named after Maharaja Umaid Singh , grandfather of the present owner, Gaj Singh . The palace has 347 rooms and is the principal residence of the former Jodhpur royal family. A part of the palace

144-408: A Durbar Hall to meet the public, a vaulted banquet hall , private dining halls, a ballroom, a library, an indoor swimming pool and spa, a billiards room, four tennis courts, two marble squash courts, and long passages. The interior central dome sits above the sky blue inner dome. The inner vaulted dome is a major attraction in the palace which rises to 103 feet (31 m) in the interior part which

216-631: A privy council and chancery . The word durbar has come to be applied to great ceremonial gatherings called "the Delhi Durbar " in Delhi and elsewhere during the period of the British Raj , held as demonstrations of the loyalty to The Crown , which also proved vital in various wars in which the United Kingdom engaged. The practice was started with Lord Lytton 's Proclamation Durbar of 1877, celebrating

288-573: A core vocabulary of native Prakrit and Sanskrit-derived words. However, Hindi is written in the Devanagari script and contains more direct tatsama Sanskrit -derived words than Urdu, whereas Urdu is written in the Perso-Arabic script and uses more Arabic and Persian loanwords compared to Hindi. Because of this, as well as the fact that the two registers share an identical grammar, a consensus of linguists consider them to be two standardised forms of

360-598: A larger amount are still used in Urdu poetry written in the Devanagari script. Many words borrowed from Persian in turn were loanwords from Arabic (e.g. muśkil "difficult", havā "air", x(a)yāl "thought", kitāb "book"). Hindi also makes extensive use of loan translation ( calqueing ) and occasionally phono-semantic matching of English . Many Hindustani words were derived from Portuguese due to interaction with colonists and missionaries: Durbar Hall The most famous durbars belonged to powerful emperors and kings. In

432-529: A literary language in the 19th century. Earliest examples could be found as Prēm Sāgar by Lallu Lal , Batiyāl Pachīsī of Sadal Misra, and Rānī Kētakī Kī Kahānī of Insha Allah Khan which were published in Devanagari script during the early 19th century. John Gilchrist was principally known for his study of the Hindustani language , which was adopted as the lingua franca of northern India (including what

504-523: A medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment by assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule, and by drawing, wherever necessary or desirable, for its vocabulary, primarily on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages. It

576-476: A part of the palace into a hotel. The Palace is divided into three functional parts – the residence of the royal family, a luxury Taj Palace Hotel , and a Museum focusing on the 20th-century history of the Jodhpur Royal Family. The palace complex is set in an area of 26 acres (11 ha) of land including 15 acres (6.1 ha) of gardens. The palace consists of a throne chamber, a private meeting hall,

648-410: A part of the process of Sanskritisation , new words are coined using Sanskrit components to be used as replacements for supposedly foreign vocabulary. Usually these neologisms are calques of English words already adopted into spoken Hindi. Some terms such as dūrbhāṣ "telephone", literally "far-speech" and dūrdarśan "television", literally "far-sight" have even gained some currency in formal Hindi in

720-544: A second language. A Hindi proponent, Indian-born Paramananda Jha , was elected vice-president of Nepal. He took his oath of office in Hindi in July 2008. This created protests in the streets for 5 days; students burnt his effigies, and there was a general strike in 22 districts. Nepal Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that his oath in Hindi was invalid and he was kept "inactive" as vice-president. An "angry" Jha said, "I cannot be compelled to take

792-521: A simplified or pidginised variety such as Bazaar Hindustani or Haflong Hindi ). Outside India, several other languages are recognised officially as "Hindi" but do not refer to the Standard Hindi language described here and instead descend from other nearby languages, such as Awadhi and Bhojpuri . Such languages include Fiji Hindi , which has an official status in Fiji , and Caribbean Hindustani , which

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864-569: A standardised form of Hindustani separate from Urdu took form. In 1881, Bihar accepted Hindi as its sole official language, replacing Urdu, and thus became the first state of India to adopt Hindi. However, in 2014, Urdu was accorded second official language status in the state. After independence, the Government of India instituted the following conventions: On 14 September 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted Hindi written in

936-504: A very large symbolic flag given to Maharaja Jaswant Singh by Queen Victoria in 1877, lighthouse shapes. The classic cars of the Maharajas are also on display in the garden in front of the museum. 26°16′51″N 73°02′49″E  /  26.28083°N 73.04694°E  / 26.28083; 73.04694 Hindi language Modern Standard Hindi ( आधुनिक मानक हिन्दी , Ādhunik Mānak Hindī ), commonly referred to as Hindi ,

1008-577: Is a museum. The groundbreaking for the foundations of the building was carried out on 18 November 1929 by Maharaja Umaid Singh and the construction work was completed in 1943. The history of building the Umaid Bhawan Palace is linked to a curse by a saint who had said that a period of drought would follow the good rule of the Rathore Dynasty . Thus, after the end of the about 50-year reign of Pratap Singh, Jodhpur faced severe drought and famine in

1080-642: Is a standard register of the Hindustani language; additionally, Indian media are widely viewed in Pakistan. A sizeable population in Afghanistan , especially in Kabul , can also speak and understand Hindi-Urdu due to the popularity and influence of Bollywood films, songs and actors in the region. Hindi is also spoken by a large population of Madheshis (people having roots in north-India but having migrated to Nepal over hundreds of years) of Nepal . Apart from this, Hindi

1152-460: Is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India . Apart from the script and formal vocabulary, standard Hindi is mutually intelligible with standard Urdu , another recognised register of Hindustani, as both Hindi and Urdu share a core vocabulary base derived from Prakrit (a descendant of Sanskrit). Hindi is also spoken, to a lesser extent, in other parts of India (usually in

1224-574: Is also said the Maharaja and his architect Lanchester had considered the features of Buddhist and Hindu edifices such as the Temple Mountain-Palaces of Burma and Cambodia , and in particular the Angkor Wat in preparing the layout and design of the palace. The interior of the palace is in art deco design. The interior decoration is credited to J.S. Norblin, a refugee from Poland , who created

1296-409: Is an official language of Gujarat , along with Gujarati . It acts as an additional official language of West Bengal in blocks and sub-divisions with more than 10% of the population speaking Hindi. Similarly, Hindi is accorded the status of official language in the following Union Territories : Delhi , Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu . Although there

1368-542: Is based on the language that was spoken in the Ganges-Yamuna Doab ( Delhi , Meerut and Saharanpur ) called Khariboli ; the vernacular of Delhi and the surrounding region came to replace earlier prestige languages such as Awadhi and Braj . Standard Hindi was developed by supplanting foreign loanwords from the Hindustani language and replacing them with Sanskrit words, though Standard Hindi does continue to possess several Persian loanwords. Modern Hindi became

1440-623: Is borrowed from Sanskrit as tatsam borrowings, especially in technical and academic fields. The formal Hindi standard, from which much of the Persian, Arabic and English vocabulary has been replaced by neologisms compounding tatsam words, is called Śuddh Hindi (pure Hindi), and is viewed as a more prestigious dialect over other more colloquial forms of Hindi. Excessive use of tatsam words sometimes creates problems for native speakers. They may have Sanskrit consonant clusters which do not exist in Hindustani, causing difficulties in pronunciation. As

1512-577: Is capped by an outer dome of 43 feet (13 m) height. The entry to the palace has decorations of the Coat of arms of the Rathore Royal family. The entry leads to the lobby which has polished black granite flooring. The lounge area has pink sandstone and marble floors. Maharaja Gaj Singh, known as "bapji", stays in a part of the palace. The principal architecture of the palace is an amalgam of Indo-Saracenic , Classical Revival and Western Art Deco styles. It

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1584-455: Is commonly used to specifically refer the modern literary Hindi language, as opposed to colloquial and regional varieties that are also referred to as Hindi in a wider sense . Like other Indo-Aryan languages, Hindi is a direct descendant of an early form of Vedic Sanskrit , through Shauraseni Prakrit and Śauraseni Apabhraṃśa (from Sanskrit apabhraṃśa "corrupt"), which emerged in the 7th century CE. The sound changes that characterised

1656-567: Is mirror to a hand with bangles, What is Persian to a literate. The emergence of Modern Standard Hindi in the 19th century went along with the Sanskritisation of its vocabulary, leading to a marginalisation of Persian vocabulary in Hindi, which continued after Partition when the Indian government co-opted the policy of Sanskritisation. However, many Persian words (e.g. bas "enough", khud "self") have remained entrenched in Standard Hindi, and

1728-597: Is no specification of a national language in the constitution, it is a widely held belief that Hindi is the national language of India. This is often a source of friction and contentious debate. In 2010, the Gujarat High Court clarified that Hindi is not the national language of India because the constitution does not mention it as such. Outside Asia , the Awadhi language (an Eastern Hindi dialect) with influence from Bhojpuri , Bihari languages , Fijian and English

1800-513: Is now present-day Pakistan ) by British colonists and indigenous people. He compiled and authored An English-Hindustani Dictionary , A Grammar of the Hindoostanee Language , The Oriental Linguist , and many more. His lexicon of Hindustani was published in the Perso-Arabic script , Nāgarī script , and in Roman transliteration .In the late 19th century, a movement to further develop Hindi as

1872-656: Is spoken by the large Indian diaspora which hails from, or has its origin from the "Hindi Belt" of India. A substantially large North Indian diaspora lives in countries like the United States of America , the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates , Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, South Africa, Fiji and Mauritius , where it is natively spoken at home and among their own Hindustani-speaking communities. Outside India, Hindi speakers are 8 million in Nepal ; 863,077 in

1944-459: Is spoken in Suriname , Trinidad and Tobago , and Guyana . Hindi is the fourth most-spoken first language in the world, after Mandarin, Spanish and English. If counted together with the mutually intelligible Urdu, it is the third most-spoken language in the world, after Mandarin and English. According to reports of Ethnologue (2022, 25th edition) Hindi is the third most-spoken language in

2016-477: Is spoken in Fiji. It is an official language in Fiji as per the 1997 Constitution of Fiji, where it referred to it as "Hindustani"; however, in the 2013 Constitution of Fiji , it is simply called " Fiji Hindi " as the official language. It is spoken by 380,000 people in Fiji. Hindi is spoken as a first language by about 77,569 people in Nepal according to the 2011 Nepal census , and further by 1,225,950 people as

2088-565: Is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in Devanagari script . It is the official language of India alongside English and the lingua franca of North India . Hindi is considered a Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language , which itself is based primarily on the Khariboli dialect of Delhi and neighbouring areas. It is an official language in nine states and three union territories and an additional official language in three other states. Hindi

2160-854: Is the dominant form of Hindi online. In an analysis of YouTube comments, Palakodety et al., identified that 52% of comments were in Romanised Hindi, 46% in English, and 1% in Devanagari Hindi. Traditionally, Hindi words are divided into five principal categories according to their etymology: Hindi has naturally inherited a large portion of its vocabulary from Shauraseni Prakrit , in the form of tadbhava words. This process usually involves compensatory lengthening of vowels preceding consonant clusters in Prakrit, e.g. Sanskrit tīkṣṇa > Prakrit tikkha > Hindi tīkhā . Much of Standard Hindi's vocabulary

2232-566: Is written in the Devanagari script, an abugida . Devanagari consists of 11 vowels and 33 consonants and is written from left to right. Unlike Sanskrit, Devanagari is not entirely phonetic for Hindi, especially failing to mark schwa deletion in spoken Standard Hindi. The Government of India uses Hunterian transliteration as its official system of writing Hindi in the Latin script. Various other systems also exist, such as IAST , ITRANS and ISO 15919 . Romanised Hindi , also called Hinglish ,

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2304-717: The Federation of Malaya was formed in 1948, the Durbar transformed into the Conference of Rulers , with the inclusion of the other states of Malaya. The membership was further enlarged with the addition of new states in the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Since the Malayan Declaration of Independence in 1957, the Malay rulers in the Conference of Rulers function as the electoral college for

2376-575: The Hindi Belt ), as well as an official language of the Government of India, along with English. In Northeast India a pidgin known as Haflong Hindi has developed as a lingua franca for the people living in Haflong , Assam who speak other languages natively. In Arunachal Pradesh , Hindi emerged as a lingua franca among locals who speak over 50 dialects natively. Hindi is quite easy to understand for many Pakistanis , who speak Urdu, which, like Hindi,

2448-795: The Mysore Palace had a number of such halls, especially the Peacock Hall, having colour tinted glasses imported from Belgium, which were used for marriage ceremonies. The Durbar Hall in the Khilawat Mubarak, in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, was the Durbar Hall of the Nizams of Hyderabad. Beneath the main dome of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is the Grand Durbar Hall. As the building now serves as

2520-814: The United States of America ; 450,170 in Mauritius; 380,000 in Fiji; 250,292 in South Africa; 150,000 in Suriname; 100,000 in Uganda ; 45,800 in the United Kingdom; 20,000 in New Zealand ; 20,000 in Germany ; 26,000 in Trinidad and Tobago; 3,000 in Singapore . Linguistically , Hindi and Urdu are two registers of the same language and are mutually intelligible. Both Hindi and Urdu share

2592-457: The frescoes in the throne room on the east wing. An architectural historian commented that "it is the finest example of Indo-deco. The forms are crisp and precise". The hotel wing of the palace is run by the Taj Group of Hotels and is called the 'Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace Jodhpur. Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra married Nick Jonas here in 2018. The museum has exhibits of stuffed leopards,

2664-419: The 1920s for a period of three consecutive years. The farmers of the area, faced with this hardship, sought the help of the then Maharaja , Umaid Singh, who was the 37th Rathore ruler of Marwar at Jodhpur, to provide them with some employment so that they could survive the harsh conditions. The Maharaja, in order to help the farmers, decided to build a lavish palace. He commissioned Henry Vaughan Lanchester as

2736-612: The 50th birthday of Beohar Rajendra Simha on 14 September 1949, the efforts came to fruition following the adoption of Hindi as the official language. Now, it is celebrated as Hindi Day . Part XVII of the Indian Constitution deals with the official language of the Indian Union. Under Article 343, the official languages of the Union have been prescribed, which includes Hindi in Devanagari script and English: (1) The official language of

2808-623: The Devanagari script as the official language of the Republic of India replacing the previous usage of Hindustani in the Perso-Arabic script in the British Indian Empire . To this end, several stalwarts rallied and lobbied pan-India in favour of Hindi, most notably Beohar Rajendra Simha along with Hazari Prasad Dwivedi , Kaka Kalelkar , Maithili Sharan Gupt and Seth Govind Das who even debated in Parliament on this issue. As such, on

2880-402: The Hindi heartland. Persian borrowings reached a heyday in the 17th century, pervading all aspects of life. Even grammatical constructs, namely the izafat , were assimilated into Hindi. The status of Persian language then and thus its influence, is also visible in Hindi proverbs : हाथ कंगन को आरसी क्या, पढ़े लिखे को फ़ारसी क्या। Hāth kaṅgan ko ārsī kyā, Paṛhe likhe ko Fārsī kyā. What

2952-563: The Hindu/Indian people') was often used in the past, for example by Amir Khusrau in his poetry. The terms Hindi and Hindu trace back to Old Persian which derived these names from the Sanskrit name Sindhu ( सिन्धु ), referring to the Indus River . The Greek cognates of the same terms are Indus (for the river) and India (for the land of the river). The term Modern Standard Hindi

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3024-530: The Official Languages Act of 1963, which provided for the continued use of English indefinitely for all official purposes, although the constitutional directive for the Union Government to encourage the spread of Hindi was retained and has strongly influenced its policies. Article 344 (2b) stipulates that the official language commission shall be constituted every ten years to recommend steps for

3096-542: The President may, during the said period, by order authorise the use of the Hindi language in addition to the English language and of the Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the international form of Indian numerals for any of the official purposes of the Union. Article 351 of the Indian constitution states: It shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language, to develop it so that it may serve as

3168-460: The Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals. (2) Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), for a period of fifteen years from the commencement of this Constitution, the English language shall continue to be used for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately before such commencement: Provided that

3240-560: The architect to prepare the plans for the palace; Lanchester was a contemporary of Edwin Lutyens , who had planned the buildings of the New Delhi government complex . Lanchester patterned the Umaid Palace on the lines of the New Delhi building complex by adopting the theme of domes and columns. The palace was designed as a blend of western technology and Indian architectural features. The palace

3312-504: The cardinal points, topped with pink domes. The tallest tower, 44 m (145 ft) tall, is at the centre of the palace and is topped with a gold plated dome. In Malaysian history , the durbar was the council comprising the four rulers of the Federated Malay States under British protectorate . First held in 1897, it was a platform for the rulers to discuss issues pertaining state policies with British officials. When

3384-465: The durbar culminated in the magnificent spectacle that was the Delhi Durbar , which was held in December 1911 to officially crown the newly enthroned George V and his wife Queen Mary as Emperor and Empress of India. The King and Queen attended the Durbar in person and wore their Coronation robes, an unprecedented event in both Indian and Imperial history held with unprecedented pomp and glamour. They were

3456-506: The executive council of a native state. Its membership was dual: the court's grandees, such as the vizier and major jagirdars (feudal landholders), shone at the ceremonies but the real political and administrative affairs of state rather rested with an inner circle around the prince, often known as divan . There was some overlap between the two groups. This was originally another word for audience room and council, but in India, it also applies to

3528-531: The last 125 years, there are no academic studies of any of them – of their use in South Africa, their evolution and current decline. Hindi is adopted as the third official court language in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi . As a result of this status, the Indian workforce in UAE can file their complaints to the labour courts in the country in their own mother-tongue. Hindi is the lingua franca of northern India (which contains

3600-506: The main purpose of helping the citizens of Jodhpur to face the famine situation. The estimated cost of building the palace was Rs 11 million. When it opened in 1943 it was considered one of the largest royal residences in the world. The site chosen for the palace was on a hill known as Chittar hill in the outer limits of Jodhpur, after which the palace is also known, where no water supply was available nearby and hardly any vegetation grew as hill slopes were rocky. The building material required

3672-668: The most important buildings to have survived the passage of time is the Durbar Hall. The symbolic seat of power, it housed the "Gaddi-e-Mubarak", the hereditary throne of the Asaf Jahi dynasty . First constructed in 1750 by the Nizam, Salabat Jung , the Khilwat complex has been added to by successive nizams . Sikandar Jah shifted his residence to the Khilawat complex from the Purani Haveli in 1803 and

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3744-418: The north of India, cities like Baroda , Gwalior , Udaipur , Jaipur , Jodhpur , Jaisalmer , Agra , and the city of Lahore in Pakistan have palaces and forts that adorn such halls. The Mughal emperor Akbar had two halls—one for his ministers, and the other for the general public. Usually, durbar halls are lavishly decorated with the best possible materials available at the time. In the south of India,

3816-410: The oath now in Nepali. I might rather take it in English." Hindi is a protected language in South Africa . According to the Constitution of South Africa , the Pan South African Language Board must promote and ensure respect for Hindi along with other languages. According to a doctoral dissertation by Rajend Mesthrie in 1985, although Hindi and other Indian languages have existed in South Africa for

3888-460: The official language of the imperial court during the reign of Shah Jahan . It is recorded that Emperor Aurangzeb spoke in Hindvi . The Hindustani vernacular became an expression of Indian national unity during the Indian Independence movement , and continues to be spoken as the common language of the people of the northern Indian subcontinent, which is reflected in the Hindustani vocabulary of Bollywood films and songs. Standard Hindi

3960-420: The only British monarchs to visit India during the period of British rule. No durbar was held for later British monarchs who were Emperors of India. Edward VIII reigned only a brief time before abdicating. On the accession of his brother George VI , it was decided to hold no durbar in Delhi , due to several reasons: the cost would have been a burden to the government of India, rising Indian nationalism made

4032-402: The palace did not fully function following tragic events in the royal family. Umaid Singh who stayed in the place for only four years died in 1947. Hanwant Singh who succeeded him also died at a young age; he had just won in the 1952 General Elections and was returning home after this win when his plane crashed and he died. Gaj Singh II who succeeded his father then decided in 1971 to convert

4104-426: The place of the English borrowings (ṭeli)fon and ṭīvī . Hindi also features significant Persian influence, standardised from spoken Hindustani . Early borrowings, beginning in the mid-12th century, were specific to Islam (e.g. Muhammad , Islām ) and so Persian was simply an intermediary for Arabic. Later, under the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire , Persian became the primary administrative language in

4176-555: The presidential palace, many state functions are currently carried out there, presided upon by the President of India . The name of Durbar Hall was changed to Gantantra Mandap by Government of India w.e.f. 25.07.2014. In the former sense, the native rulers of the Indian subcontinent such as the Marathas and Rajputs , other Hindu or Muslim monarchies, like the Mughals and emirs of Afghanistan , and even Western colonial rulers received visitors in audience, conferred honours, and conducted business in durbar. A durbar could also be

4248-429: The proclamation of Queen Victoria as the first Empress of India . Durbars continued to be held in later years, with increased ceremony and grandeur than their predecessors. In 1903, for instance, the Coronation Durbar was held in Delhi to celebrate the accession of Edward VII to the British throne and title of Emperor of India. This ceremony was presided over by the Viceroy of India , Lord Curzon . The practice of

4320-522: The progressive use of Hindi language and impose restrictions on the use of the English language by the union government. In practice, the official language commissions are constantly endeavouring to promote Hindi but not imposing restrictions on English in official use by the union government. At the state level, Hindi is the official language of the following Indian states: Bihar , Chhattisgarh , Haryana , Himachal Pradesh , Jharkhand , Madhya Pradesh , Rajasthan , Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand . Hindi

4392-440: The same language, Hindustani or Hindi-Urdu. Hindi is the most commonly used scheduled language in India and is one of the two official languages of the union , the other being English. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan and is one of 22 scheduled languages of India , also having official status in Uttar Pradesh , Jammu and Kashmir , Delhi , Telangana , Andhra Pradesh and Bihar . Hindi

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4464-471: The transition from Middle Indo-Aryan to Hindi are: During the period of Delhi Sultanate in medieval India , which covered most of today's north India, eastern Pakistan, southern Nepal and Bangladesh and which resulted in the contact of Hindu and Muslim cultures , the Sanskrit and Prakrit base of Old Hindi became enriched with loanwords from Persian , evolving into the present form of Hindustani. Hindi achieved prominence in India after it became

4536-477: The walls. The hall has an exquisite ceiling and is surrounded by viewing galleries from where the ladies of the palace could view the proceedings while remaining veiled. Lord Minto , the Viceroy of India, laid the foundation stone for the Durbar Hall in 1909. Located in the old city of Hyderabad in close proximity to the Charminar , the Khilawat complex, originally spread over 60 acres (240,000 m ), had numerous palaces and structures in its vast sprawl. One of

4608-562: The wedding of Jayalakshammani, the eldest daughter of Chamaraja Wodeyar in 1896. Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and his mother Maharani Kempananjammanni Devi commissioned the English architect Henry Irwin to build a new palace. Designed by Irwin, the style is that of Indo-Saracenic architecture , with elements from Islamic , Rajput , and Gothic architecture styles. It is a three-story, gray granite, structure, about 75 m (245 ft) long and about 48 m (156 ft) wide. There are square towers, five stories tall, at each of

4680-447: The welcome that the royal couple would have received likely to be muted at best, and a prolonged absence of the King from the United Kingdom would have been undesirable in the tense period before World War II. The Durbar Hall at the Fateh Prakash Palace in Udaipur , Rajasthan , is one of the most lavish Durbar Halls in India and one of the grandest chambers in Udaipur. It is decorated with paintings of Maharanas and various weapons adorn

4752-607: The world including first and second language speakers. Hindi is the fastest growing language of India , followed by Kashmiri , Meitei , Gujarati and Bengali according to the 2011 census of India . The term Hindī originally was used to refer to inhabitants of the Indo-Gangetic Plain . It was borrowed from Classical Persian هندی Hindī ( Iranian Persian pronunciation: Hendi ), meaning ' of or belonging to Hind (India) ' (hence, ' Indian ' ). Another name Hindavī ( हिन्दवी ) or Hinduī ( हिन्दुई ) (from Persian هندوی  'of or belonging to

4824-428: Was built at a slow pace as its initial objective was to provide employment to the famine-stricken farmers in the area. The foundation stone was laid in 1929. About 2,000 to 3,000 people were employed in its construction. Occupation of the palace by the Maharaja came after its completion in 1943, and close to the period of Indian Independence . There was some criticism for embarking on an expensive project but it had served

4896-439: Was built with "dun-coloured" (golden – yellow) sandstone with two wings. Makrana marble has also been used, and Burmese teak wood has been used for the interior woodwork. When completed the palace had 347 rooms, several courtyards, and a large banquet hall which could accommodate 300 people. The architectural style is considered representing the then in vogue Beaux Arts style , also known as Indo-Deco style. However, for many years

4968-399: Was envisioned that Hindi would become the sole working language of the Union Government by 1965 (per directives in Article 344 (2) and Article 351), with state governments being free to function in the language of their own choice. However, widespread resistance to the imposition of Hindi on non-native speakers, especially in South India (such as those in Tamil Nadu ) led to the passage of

5040-430: Was not close by as sandstone quarries were at quite a distance. Since the Maharaja had the foresight to bring his project to fruition, he built a railway line to the quarry site to transport the building material. Donkeys were inducted to haul soil to the site. The sandstone transported by rail was dressed at the site into large blocks with interlocking joints so that they could be laid without the use of mortar. The palace

5112-457: Was responsible for the first major constructions. The plan of the Durbar Hall is in traditional Moghul style. Subsequent remodelling, at a time when European architecture was gaining acceptance, resulted in a unique and harmonious mix of diverse architectural styles. European architectural influences, although dominant, blend smoothly with the vernacular, to create one of the best examples of Indo-European architectural synthesis. The resulting style

5184-804: Was to become a distinctive feature of many later buildings in Hyderabad as it provided for a change without compromising the spatial needs of eastern lifestyle and social requirements. The Durbar Hall at the Amba Vilas Palace in Mysore , Karnataka , is the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore . The last palace, now known as the Old Palace or the Wooden Palace, burned to ashes during

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