Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official home of the President of India. It may refer to only the mansion (the 340-room main building) that has the President's official residence and offices; it may also refer to the entire 130 hectare (320 acre) President Estate that includes huge gardens (Mughal Gardens), residences of bodyguards and staff, other offices, stables and open spaces. The Rashtrapati Bhavan is a large and vast mansion with four floors and has 340 rooms. It is built on a floor area of 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2). It faces east. A straight east-west road, Rajpath (called King's Way or Kingsway by the British), starts from the huge square, Vijay Chowk, in front of Rashtrapati Bhavan and ends at India Gate on the western end of the road. North Avenue and South Avenue are two approach roads north and south of the estate in perfect symmetry. The east-west road (Rajpath) out of the Rashtrapati Bhawan is flanked by the two huge Central Secretariat buildings (North and South Blocks) that house various ministries of the Government of India. The Parliament House is located at eastern end of North Block.
The plan of the building is designed around a massive square with multiple courtyards and open inner areas within. The plan called for two wings; one for the Viceroy and residents and another for guests. The residence wing is a separate four-storey house in itself, with its own court areas within. This wing was so large that the first Indian governor-general, Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, opted to live the smaller guest wing, a tradition that has since been followed by subsequent presidents. The original residence wing is now used primarily for state receptions and as a guest wing for visiting heads of state.
The centre of the main wing of the building, underneath the main dome, is the Durbar Hall, which was known as the Throne Room during British rule when it had thrones for the Viceroy and Vicereine (his wife). The interior of this room and almost all the rooms of the palace are bare, relying on stonework and shapes to show austerity rather than intricate decoration. In the hall, the columns are made in Delhi order which combines vertical lines with the motif of a bell. The vertical lines from the column were also used in the frieze around the room, which could not have been done with one of the traditional Greek orders of columns. The hall has a 2-ton chandelier which hangs from a 33-metre height. The two state drawing rooms, the state supper room and the state library are each on the four corners of the hall.
There are also other rooms such as many loggias (galleries with open air on one side) which face out into the courtyards, a large dining hall with an extremely long table, sitting rooms, billiards rooms, and a large ball room, and staircases. Water features are also through the palace, such as near the Viceroy's stairs, which has eight marble lion statues spilling water into six basins. These lions were symbolic of the heraldry of Great Britain. There is also an open area in one room to the sky, which lets in much of the natural light.
Museum has etchings of Thomas Daniel and William Daniel and autographed photographs of several Heads of States. Also on display are a number of gift items received by the President during visits abroad or during India and from visiting Heads of State at New Delhi including a dry sunflower which adorned the mortal remains of Mahatma Gandhi on January 31, 1948, 1 K.M. long thread of superfine Khadi spun by a weaver in Nadia Dist. (West Bengal), the 640 Kg. silver chair used by King Emperor at the Delhi Durbar in 1911-12.
Source: Wikipedia & presidentofindia.nic.in
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