Monsoon Palace

Monsoon Palace
Monsoon Palace of Udaipur on the hill top
Show map of Rajasthan Show map of India Location within Rajasthan
General information
Architectural style	Rajput Architecture
Town or city	Udaipur
Country	India
Coordinates	24°35′38″N 73°38′20″E / 24.594°N 73.639°E / 24.594; 73.639
Construction started	1884
Completed	Nineteenth century
Client	Mewar Dynasty
Technical details
Structural system	Marble and masonry
Design and construction
Architect	Maharana Sajjan Singh

The Monsoon Palace, also known as the Sajjan Garh Palace, is a hilltop palatial residence in the city of Udaipur, Rajasthan in India, overlooking the Fateh Sagar Lake. It is named Sajjangarh after Maharana Sajjan Singh (1874–1884) of the Mewar Dynasty, who built it in 1884. The palace offers a panoramic view of the city's lakes, palaces and surrounding countryside. It was built chiefly to watch the monsoon clouds; hence, appropriately, it is popularly known as Monsoon Palace. It is said that the Maharana built it at the top of the hill to get a view of his ancestral home, Chittaurgarh. Previously owned by the Mewar royal family, it is now under the control of the Forest Department of the Government of Rajasthan and has recently been opened to the public. The palace provides a beautiful view of the sunset.

Its builder, Maharana Sajjan Singh, originally planned to make it a five-storey astronomical centre. The plan was cancelled with Maharana Sajjan Singh's premature death. It was then turned into a monsoon palace and hunting lodge.

High in the Aravalli Hills, just outside Udaipur, the Palace is illuminated in the evenings, giving a golden orange glow (see image in the infobox). The palace was used in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy as the residence of Kamal Khan, an exiled Afghan prince.

The history of the palace reflects the history of the Mewar kingdom. Sajjan Singh, Maharana (b. July 18, 1859 d. December 23, 1884), the initial builder of the Monsoon Palace was the seventy–second ruler of the Mewar Dynasty (1874–1884) and ruled from Udaipur for a short period of 10 years until his untimely death. The Mewar dynasty traces its history to Guhil who founded the Mewar State in 568 AD.

Sajjan Singh came to the throne when he was 15 years old. However, his uncle Sohan Singh challenged his right to the crown and even plotted through astrologers, who said the timing for the coronation was not appropriate. Fortunately for him the then British agent, who was in favour of Sajjan Singh, intervened and persuaded the astrologers to give a favourable date for the crowning. The eventual Coronation of Sajjan Singh took place two years after this. As the trouble-maker uncle was still persisting with his obstructions towards the newly crowned Maharana, his property was confiscated and he was eventually imprisoned.