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Sunheri Mahal on the outskirts of Aurangabad City

Tuesday, May 27, 2014


As I was standing next to the Aurangabad Caves I got a beautiful view of the city below. The view is simply amazing. Barren lands and houses in Aurangabad city sandwitched between the hills ranges.

I got a beautiful view of Bibi Ka Maqbara and Sunheri Mahal from here. Though these places were far away they looked so big even from a distance. Just makes me imagine how gigantic it will be when I am close to it.

Sunheri Mahal as the name states was shining in the sun. It was painted yellow in color and shone in the sun. I could see it from atop Aurangabad Caves. It had a garden like thing before its building. Like a “aangan” in Marathi.
Sunheri Mahal from Aurangabad Caves
From a distance it was appearing that huge; imagine how big it will be when I am in its premises.

Within 15 minutes by rickshaw we were at the entrance of Sunheri Mahal.

There was on old structure standing there, which stood as the entrance to Sunheri Mahal. It’s a good thing that it is being redone. I am happy to see that we are taking care of your history.

As you enter it, you will see a small narrow rectangular water fountain which had identical flora growing next to it and in front of us stood Sunheri Mahal.

The yellow painted structure stands out in the mud colored hills behind it.
Sunheri Mahal
Sunheri Mahal is a golden palace situated in the outskirts of Aurangabad city at Paharsinghpura. It is inside the campus of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.

The Palace was built by a Bundelkhand Chief who had accompanied Aurangzeb to the Deccan.

Sunheri Mahal was built between 1651 and 1653 at a cost of Rs.50,000 and in 1934 it was sold to the Nizam of Hyderabad for Rs.26,400.

The entrance of the Palace is decorated with beautifully done arches.

The Palace is now a Museum. It was set up in 1979 and displays sculptures, paintings, ornaments, pottery and weapons. The museum is open from 1030 hours to 1700 hours each day except for Monday.
Aurangabad Caves from Sunheri Mahal
No photography is allowed in the premises of the museum. As I entered the museum I saw black colored cannons standing there with cannon balls next to it.

The walls were adorned with beautiful paintings made on wood and glass. Never seenpaintings like this before but they were truly good. There were sculptures in Stone, Bronze and Brass of Hindu Gods kept for display in the premises. These were beautifully carved out.

Swords, Cannons, Guns and GunCannon were kept for display. Out of which what caught my attention is GunCannon. It had the trigger of a gun and had a long funnel and I guess miniature cannon balls need to be loaded in it to fire.

The Darbar gallery was beautifully painted. It is said that the interiors of this place were once painted Gold. But due to repair work done on this it is now repainted. But some parts of the previous paintings can still be seen.

Musical instruments used then are also up for display. Now with the coming of DJ music who plays these instruments. I guess they are played only if some performance is given.

Beautifully designed and decorated treasure chests are on display all over the place.

A throne for Ganpati made of wood and polished dark brown is also on display within the Palace premises.

The museum is on the ground floor and the office is on the first floor.

It’s good that they have now started maintaining the premises. After all a 400 year old Palace has survived that long and should be worked on to survive for centuries to come.

I enjoyed my visit here in the history museum.

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