17/07/2011
Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official residence of the President of India, located in New Delhi, India. Until 1950 it was known as "Viceroy's House" and served as the residence of the Governor-General of India. It is at the heart of an area known as Lutyens' Delhi. In front of Rashtrapati Bhavan is the "Jaipur Column", topped by the Star of India.
During the Delhi Durbar year of 1911, it was decided that the capital of India would be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi. This was announced on December 12 by King George V. As the plan for New Delhi took shape, the Governor-General's residence was given an enormous scale and prominent position. The British architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens, a key member of the city-planning process, was also given the prime architectural opportunity of into. The palace developed very similarly to the original sketches which Lutyens sent Baker from Shimla on June 14, 1912. Lutyens' design is grandly classical overall, with colors and details inspired by Indian architecture.
Trivia:
# The President of India does not occupy the suites, now called Ashoka room, occupied by the Viceroys. Instead they occupy one of the guest bedrooms. The second (and last) Governor General of the Dominion of India (and the only Indian to hold the office), C Rajagopalachari, considered the master bedroom too ostentatious for his humble tastes. All Presidents thereafter have followed the tradition.
# Rashtrapati Bhavan is the biggest residence of any Head of the State in the world.
# The Rose Garden in Rashtrapati Bhavan displays numerous types of roses and is open to public in February every year.
# No steel was used to construct Rashtrapati Bhavan.
# The palace has 340 Rooms.
