The mystifying construction of Man Singh Palace's Zenana in Amber fort, Amer, Rajasthan! 

Constructed with Red sandstone and Marble, this ancient architecture of the Amber fort is truly mesmerizing and makes a person feel the perplexity in the whole construction, especially, when you get into the Man Singh Palace of this fort. Truly, this King is totally popular in his reign, conquers, achievements, art, and architecture of the ancient capital town of Rajasthan.

Belonged to the 16th century, this King has conquered the throne from one of his ancestors who killed the "Meenas". The clan of Meenas was the first to rule the kingdom of Amer but killed by the Kachwaha Rajputs brutally and the whole kingdom came into the hands of Rajputs. Since, then, the clan of Rajputs has started ruling this place until the King has decided to shift his capital from Amer to Jaipur.

Raja Man Singh, is popular for his knowledge of ruling, politics, art, and architecture. He is one of the most celebrated rulers of Rajasthan and indeed India. The actual rulers of Amer and Jaipur are the successors of Raja Man Singh. He had 12 wives and too many mistresses. Yes, kind of too many. Hence, he had planned to construct a whole Zenana which was confined to the royal women; queens and mistresses.

Zenana is a residential complex that is only restricted for women to live, according to the Hindu and Muslim cultures. As Amber fort is a pure amalgamation of Rajput and Mughal culture, this particular construction of Zenana in Man Singh's palace of the Amber fort is famous for its complex structure.

Considered as the fourth courtyard of the Amber Fort, this is the oldest courtyard construction under the reign of Man Singh I, the first Rajput to rule the kingdom of Amer. This courtyard is mostly restricted to the King and the queens, the mistresses, the queen mothers, the female royal escorts of queens and every female related to the royal blood used to live in this particular courtyard.

This courtyard exists at the end of the fort, as this Zenana's exit leads to the town of Amer indeed. After you visit the Hall of Public Audience, Hall of private audience or Sheesh Mahal, Jai Mandir, Jas Mandir, Sukh Niwas, Chahar Bagh, you can find this palace. Well, you will get confused while visiting this Palace. So, always follow the signs which are mentioned on the marble milestones on the paths of this Palace.

As there were many queens and mistresses, the King has decided to create a complex structure which makes no one understand which queen the king is going to visit. This is one kind of security policy and also privacy policy too. He used to stay alert all the time and he didn't want to give a chance to attackers to attack him while he enjoys his private time with one of his queens. Hence, he ordered for this kind of construction.

All the rooms of Zenana are attached to a single corridor and every room has its balcony and window holes through which the royal women can see the activities happen in the Kingdom and especially in Man Singh's Palace. The wooden doors, the marble floors, the yellow-painted red sandstone walls, the intricate Rajasthani art, and craftwork on the pillars, showcase the architecture of every single room of the Zenana.

A person surely gets confused when he/she goes from one room to another as every single room looks similar to the same size and same shape with the same structure too. Hence, no one could find where the king was and with whom he was spending his time with. It was such an amazing concept created in those centuries, clearly portrays the clever mindsets of the kings who ruled Rajasthan.

Apart from the Zenana, you can find a pavilion in the center of this particular courtyard. This pavilion can be seen from any of the rooms of Zenana as all the rooms are constructed on top where a person can reach through the staircases attached to the corridors of the Zenana from the main palace. This pillared pavilion is specially constructed for King Man Singh to have private conversations with the queens. Previously, this is used to be curtained wholly for privacy purposes. But, now you can see the whole pavilion from anywhere in the Zenana.

It's like the King used to be surrounded by all his beautiful women and also could have clear surveillance of them as the construction suggests the concept, of care and protection with love and affection. The Man Singh Palace of Amber Fort is the oldest one when compared to the new City Palace of Jaipur after he decided to move his capital town from Amer to Jaipur.

After moving, the renovations have stopped as there was no use of this huge fort. Hence, since then, this fort remained as the same fort, which was completed, its structure in the 16th-century end. So, if you visit the Amber Fort, you feel the vintage vibes and if you visit this particular courtyard of King Man Singh, you will feel the ancient art and architecture, which still looks fresh and alive till now.

Don't freak out if you get confused while visiting this Palace, just enjoy the fact, wherever you go, you can meet at the end of the corridors which are spread on both sides of the entrance of this courtyard. So, appreciate this complex construction, where all the Royal women used to reside and enjoy the palatial vibes.