Thanjavur
The Thanjavir Maratha Palace Complex is home to several museums, including the excellent Thanjavur Art Gallery, with its magnificent collection of Chola era bronzes. Part of the compound is still lived in by members of the Bhonsle family, who ruled Thanjavur as rajahs between 1674 and 1855. The complex is, I'm afraid to say, rather run down, with graffiti disfiguring many of the fine murals. Parts of it date back to the mid-16th century, when the Madurai Nayak dynasty ruled over Thanjavur; their successors, the Maratha, enlarged the original palace. This photograph is of the hugely impressive Durbar Hall, where the rajas used to hold court; it was commissioned by Raja Shahaji II in 1684. Every square inch of it is magnificently decorated.
Thanjavur
The Thanjavir Maratha Palace Complex is home to several museums, including the excellent Thanjavur Art Gallery, with its magnificent collection of Chola era bronzes. Part of the compound is still lived in by members of the Bhonsle family, who ruled Thanjavur as rajahs between 1674 and 1855. The complex is, I'm afraid to say, rather run down, with graffiti disfiguring many of the fine murals. Parts of it date back to the mid-16th century, when the Madurai Nayak dynasty ruled over Thanjavur; their successors, the Maratha, enlarged the original palace. This photograph is of the hugely impressive Durbar Hall, where the rajas used to hold court; it was commissioned by Raja Shahaji II in 1684. Every square inch of it is magnificently decorated.