Rashtrapati Bhavan is another one of Edwin Lutyen’s designs – one of the largest Raj buildings he designed. It was originally built as the British Viceroy’s Palace. It was renamed Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1950 after India’s independence and is now the official residence of the President of India.

The building itself took over 17 years to complete (it was completed in 1929) and at one time there were 29,000 people working on the site. Three million cubic feet of stone and 700 million bricks went into the construction. Rashtrapati Bhavan is 1 km. around the foundation – with a floor area of 200,000 square feet – 340 rooms on four floors.

The building has red sandstone (similar to so many of the Mughal buildings), classical columns, and Indian filigree work. But the most distinguished feature is its huge Mughal-style dome, called Chhatri, which is visible from quite a distance. Under the dome is the main hall, Durbar Hall. The hall measures almost 23m in diameter and is where the President hosts official functions.

Although the apartments inside are strictly private, according to the sign outside the beautiful iron gates, you can request permission from the Deputy Minister Secretary to the President to visit Rashtrapati Bhavan (fax your request to the number below). Whether or not that’s true, you can visit the colorful gardens for two weeks in February/March, depending upon the arrival of spring. We were not fortunate to be there at that time but it is said that the gardens are spectacular.

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