Hawa Mahal Jaipur: The Story of the Palace of Winds and Its 953 Windows

Walk down the Sireh Deori Bazaar in the walled city of Jaipur and the Hawa Mahal rises above the shopfronts on your right: five storeys of pink sandstone, pierced by 953 small windows, turning a deep rose in the late afternoon light. It is probably the most photographed building in Rajasthan, and few Indian monuments apart from the Taj Mahal are recognised as quickly from a single picture.

Here is the surprise for most first-time visitors. The Hawa Mahal is not really a palace at all. It is a screen: a tall, carved wall with narrow rooms and ramps behind it, built so that the women of the royal household could watch the street without being seen.

Who built the Hawa Mahal, and when?

The Hawa Mahal was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh of the Kachhwaha dynasty. Pratap Singh was the grandson of Sawai Jai Singh II, who had founded Jaipur in 1727 as a planned city laid out in a grid of blocks, following the principles of the vastu shastras. By the time Pratap Singh came to the throne, the city already had its palace, its observatory and its bazaars. The Hawa Mahal was his addition.

The design is credited to his architect, Lal Chand Ustad. Pratap Singh was a devoted follower of Krishna, and the usual explanation for the building’s unusual outline is that he wanted it to resemble a crown, the mukut that Krishna wears in devotional paintings. Look at the facade from straight in front and you will see it: the building narrows as it rises, ending in a pointed top rather than the flat roofline of an ordinary palace.

Why the Hawa Mahal was built

In late eighteenth century Rajasthan, the women of the royal family lived in the zenana, the women’s quarters of the palace, and observed purdah. They could not be seen by men outside the family. They could, however, look out, and the city outside had a great deal to look at: processions, festivals such as Teej and Gangaur, royal weddings, and the ordinary noise of the bazaar.

The Hawa Mahal was built as an extension of the City Palace zenana to give them that view. Each of its small latticed windows, or jharokhas, was a seat. The stone screens are cut finely enough that someone sitting inside can see the street clearly, while someone on the street looking up sees only carved stone. Dozens of women could watch a procession at the same time, each from her own window.

How the building works

From the road, the Hawa Mahal looks like a massive block. In fact the famous front wall is thin, often described as only about a foot thick, and behind it there is very little: small rooms, corridors, and ramps and stairs connecting the floors. There is no durbar hall or throne room. The building is almost entirely facade, with just enough space behind it for people to sit and watch.

You do not enter from the bazaar side. The entrance is at the back, on the side facing the City Palace complex, which is how the royal women would have reached it without stepping into the street. The road side was only ever meant for looking out.

Why is it called the Palace of Winds?

Hawa means wind or breeze, so Hawa Mahal is usually translated as the Palace of Winds. The name comes from the way air moves through the 953 openings. Jaipur summers regularly cross 45 degrees Celsius, and keeping a stone building bearable before electric fans was a real problem.

The lattice screens help in two ways. They let air pass through the whole front of the building, so a breeze from the street side keeps moving through the narrow rooms. They also break up direct sunlight, so the inside stays dim and softer even at midday. Guides often say the interior is several degrees cooler than the street; the effect is easy to feel on a breezy day, although the exact figures quoted vary and are rarely tied to a published measurement.

Hawa Mahal architecture: Rajput and Mughal together

By the late 1700s, Rajput builders had been working alongside Mughal styles for two centuries, and the Hawa Mahal mixes the two comfortably. From the Rajput side come the small domed chhatris on the roof, the curved bangaldar cornices borrowed from Bengali hut roofs, and the dense stone lattice of the jharokhas.

The Mughal influence shows in the cusped arches and the careful symmetry of the facade. The result is what architectural historians often simply call the Jaipur style, which you will also see in the City Palace and in the havelis of the old city.

Inside the Hawa Mahal: the five floors

Many visitors photograph the facade from the road and leave. Going in is worth it. The rear entrance opens into a courtyard, and from there ramps and stairs climb through the five levels, each of which has its own name.

The first level is the Sharad Mandir, associated with autumn celebrations. Above it is the Ratan Mandir, decorated with coloured glass. The third level, the Vichitra Mandir, is where Pratap Singh is said to have worshipped Krishna. The Prakash Mandir has open terraces, and the topmost level is the Hawa Mandir. The upper floors are only one room deep, so the climb gets narrower and the ceilings lower as you go up.

From the top windows you look straight down on the bazaar and across to the Jantar Mantar and the City Palace. Sitting at one of those small openings, with the traffic below unaware of you, is the quickest way to understand what the building was for.

The Hawa Mahal and the Pink City

Jaipur’s pink colour is later than the Hawa Mahal. In 1876, Maharaja Ram Singh II had the buildings of the old city painted pink to welcome the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). Pink, or more accurately terracotta, is associated with hospitality in Rajasthan and the old city has been repainted in the same colour ever since.

The Hawa Mahal did not need the paint as much as its neighbours, since it is built of red and pink sandstone. That is partly why it became the picture people use when they mean Jaipur.

Visiting the Hawa Mahal

The Hawa Mahal is open daily, usually from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. Entry has been around 50 rupees for Indian visitors and 200 rupees for foreign visitors, but prices change, so check the Rajasthan Tourism website before you go.

Come early. The facade faces east, so the morning sun lights it directly, and the street is quieter before the shops open fully. In the middle of the day the flat light hides much of the carving. November to February is the most comfortable season; in May and June the heat makes the climb hard work.

The Hawa Mahal sits inside the same walled city as the City Palace and the Jantar Mantar, and all three can be covered on foot in a single morning. For the classic photograph of the whole facade, cross the road: the upper floors of the buildings directly opposite give you the full five storeys without the traffic in front.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Hawa Mahal a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

Not on its own. It lies inside the walled city of Jaipur, which UNESCO inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2019, so it is covered as part of the city.