Rai Praveen Mahal

Orchha is a lovely town of the state Madhya Pradesh. This small town is pretty popular for its exquisite and attentive archaeological memorials and the Rai Praveen Mahal is one best among them. The word 'Orchha' means hidden place. This is literally for the location of the town. It is luxuriantly covered with serene flora and beautiful nature.

Maharaja Rudra Pratap Singh founded Orchha in 1501 on the banks of Betwa River. This is one of the reasons behind the serene beauty of this town.

Visitor Information:

Solo visitors, especially women are not advised to enter the palace structure without other tourists or government authorized guards are there. It is just for your safety!

Traveler Tips:

Rai Praveen played a crucial role in the history of this place. If you want to know more about her watch the light and sound show organized in Orchha every year.

History:

You must be thinking who Rai Parveen was! Various historical sources state that she was a strong, multi-talented and one of the most beautiful women of her era. She was a dancer, singer and efficient poetess. If you visit Rai Parveen Mahal, Orchha today, you can see a few of her belongings are still kept there.

She was the beloved courtesan of Raja Indramani. Her enchanting beauty and powerful poetic skills soon started becoming famous and crossed the boundaries of Mughal Samrat Akbar's palace. He got smitten by her charm and summoned her to be present at his court. Raja Indramani was frightened by Akbar's power and thus could not defy his proposal.

Rai Praveen came to Akbar darbar and there she recited a couplet –

'Vinit Rai Praveen ki, suniye sah sujan. Juthi patar bhakat hain, bari, bayas, swan.' The meaning of these lines is as follows –

'O' good and intelligent, please listen to the prayer of Rai Praveen. Only a lower caste individual, barber and scavengers eat from a plate partaken by someone else.'

Akbar was intelligent enough to understand the inner meaning of her couplet but at the same time he was impressed also with her bravery and intelligence, so he rewarded her and sent her back to Orchha with full dignity.

Architecture:

Raja Indramani constructed the structure and the courtyard of the Rai Praveen palace in 1618. It shows a reflection of the Mughal architecture. It is surrounded by a lush green garden. The double-storied structure of the palace is decorated with superbly engraved paintings of Rai Praveen in which she can be observed in different dance poses and other special moods. The building was constructed in such a perfect manner that all its halls and chambers are filled with appropriate light and air all through the day thus offers a soothing experience for the residents.

Today, the garden area of the palace consists of weed and dry shrubs. But the interior of the palace walls still maintains the true sense of the wall linings as those were before ages. As the historic lady was a popular and skilled dancer of her era, the palace includes various dance halls that were used for organizing her dance shows.

Also, there are many underground apartments, a few lawns and some small-sized temples inside the palace premises. The garden of the Rai Praveen palace is called as Anand Mahal Bag.

Best Time to Visit:

The best time to visit this Orchha palace is either during January – April or September – December. You can enter the palace for sightseeing between 9 AM and 5 PM.

How to Reach?

It is quite easy to reach Orchha from Delhi. The visitors from Delhi or NCR often plan to combine their visit to the Taj Mahal and Khajuraho temples with the Rai Praveen Mahal, Orchha.

The nearby railway station of the palace is Jhansi. You can also board a flight to reach Orchha by airways. The nearby airport is Gwalior.

So, plan your visit accordingly. Have a happy journey!