Dare of Issue : 5 August 2011
The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil releasing the Commemorative Postage Stamp on ‘Rashtrapati Bhavan’, in New Delhi on August 05, 2011. The Union Minister for Human Resource Development and Communications and Information Technology, Shri Kapil Sibal and Dr. Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat are also seen.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan or The Official Residence of the Head of the State is the official residence of the President of India, located at Raisina hill in New Delhi. Until 1950 it was known as "Viceroy's House" and served as the residence of the Viceroy and Governor-General of India.
The splendour of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is multi-dimensional. It is a vast mansion and its architecture is breathtaking. Its architect was Edwin Landseer Lutyens.
The decision to build a residence in New Delhi for the British Viceroy was taken after it was decided in the Delhi Durbar of 1911 that the capital of India would be shifted from Calcutta to Delhi in the same year.This vast mansion has got four floors and 340 rooms,with a floor area of 200, 000 square feet .The most prominent and distinguishing aspect of Rashtrapati Bhavan is its dome which is superimposed on its structure. It is visible from a distance and the most eye-catching round roof with a circular base in the heart of Delhi.
The striking feature of the architecture of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is the use of Indian temple bells in its pillars. It is well known that the temple bells constitute part and parcel of our composite culture, particularly that of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions. Blending these bells with the Hellenic style architecture is a fine example of the fusion of Indian and European designs. Such bells are conspicuous in their absence in the North Block, South Block and in Parliament House. It is interesting to note that the ideas to adopt such bells in the pillars of Rashtrapati Bhavan came from a Jain temple at Moodabidri in Karnataka.
The main entrance to Rashtrapati Bhavan is known as Gate 35, and is located on Prakash Vir Shastri Avenue, renamed from North Avenue during November 2002, as a memorial to the politician of the namesake who served here during his tenure as a Member of Parliament for the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The Mughal Gardens
The Mughal Gardens situated at the back of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, incorporates both Mughal and English landscaping styles. It displays numerous types of flowers and is open to public in February every year.
FDC Image source : Atul Jain, Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh)
