Hawa Mahal is one of the most popular tourist destinations of pink city of Jaipur, Rajasthan and is one of the seven wonders of India. Hawa Mahal is also considered as one of the most famous ancient monuments of Rajasthan. It was built in 1799 by the poet-king Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh. It’s believed that the Hawa Mahal is shaped like Lord Krishna’s crown, as Sawai Pratap Singh was an ardent Krishna devotee. It was an architect named Lal Chand Usta, who designed Hawa Mahal. It was made especially for the ladies of the royal household for the purpose of watching everyday happenings while staying veiled behind the jharokhas or windows. Purdah system followed by the Rajputs is said to be one of the main causes of the construction of Hawa Mahal.
The palace was built using red and pink sandstone and has a beehive like structure. It is located at Johari Bazaar Road, Badi Choupad in Jaipur. It opens on every day of week from 9:00 am - 4:30 pm. The Hawa Mahal is considered as a great example of Mughal and Rajput architectural styles. As the name suggests ‘Hawa’ means ‘Wind’ and has about 953 windows called “jharokhas“ decorated with intricate latticework through which the breeze flows and keeps the palace cool. Hawa Mahal has 5 storey’s and it is still standing upright because it is curved and leaning at an angle of 87 degrees. There is no front entrance to the palace. There's a small museum within the complex of Hawa Mahal, which houses famous items like miniature paintings and ceremonial armor. Also, there is a secret tunnel from this queens can easily come from the city palace to the hawa mahal and not seen by anyone.
The brilliantly conceived design, style and construction of the palace made it the favorite resort of Maharaja Jai Singh and became famous as his masterpiece. The palace opens into a large courtyard which has double storyed building on three sides. By moving forward there is another courtyard and in the middle of that there is a reservoir of white marble which looks amazing. In the palace there is no stairs for going to upper floors and can be reached only by ramps. The top level of the palace narrowed from middle and every floor is narrowed in there ratio. This gives it the shape of pyramid. In both side there is domelike chatriya and from there visitors are able to see the entire city and amazing view of Jaipur. It is one of the tallest buildings without a foundation.
The Mahal is maintained by the Archaeological Department of the Government of Rajasthan and also houses an archaeological museum in the courtyard. Hawa Mahal is a wonder with its magnificent architecture and the skills that contributed for its construction. Its best view is from outside and is symbolic in many ways.