2/5 Mr. Victorious Jaffar W. 9 months ago on Google
The
Mohatta
Palace
(مہتا
پیلس)
is
a
museum
located
in
Karachi,
Sindh,
Pakistan.
Designed
by
Muhammad
komail
Hussain,
the
palace
was
built
in
1927
in
the
posh
seaside
locale
of
Clifton
as
the
summer
home
of
Shivratan
Mohatta,
a
Hindu
Marwari
businessman
from
what
is
now
the
modern-day
Indian
state
of
Rajasthan.
The
palace
was
built
in
the
tradition
of
stone
palaces
of
Rajasthan,
using
pink
Jodhpur
stone
in
combination
with
the
local
yellow
stone
from
nearby
Gizri.
Mohatta
could
enjoy
this
building
for
only
about
two
decades
before
the
partition
of
India,
after
which
he
left
Karachi
for
the
new
state
of
India.
Background
Shivratan
Chandraratan
Mohatta
was
a
Hindu
Marwari
businessman,
who
traced
his
roots
in
Bikaner,
Rajasthan,
his
recorded
ancestry
began
with
Motilal
Mohata
(spelled
Mohatta
in
English),
who
migrated
in
1842
from
Bikaner
to
Hyderabad
(in
Telangana,
India)
to
become
a
clerk
in
a
shop.
His
four
children
migrated
to
Calcutta
and
became
leading
merchants
of
imported
cloth.
One
of
them,
Govardhan
Mohta,
moved
to
Karachi
in
1883.
His
older
son,
Ramgopal,
became
a
scholar
and
author.
Karachi's
Hindu
Gymkhana
building,
officially
known
as
the
Seth
Ramgopal
Goverdhandas
Mohatta
Hindu
Gymkhana
was
named
after
this
son.
Govardhan
Mohta's
younger
son
Shivrattan
became
an
industrialist
in
Karachi,
and
made
his
fortune
from
the
manufacturing
of
palm
olive
soap.
Features
Frontside
of
Mohatta
Palace
The
palace
has
an
area
of
18,500
sq
ft
(1,720
m2)
and
its
facade
is
trimmed
with
windows,
stone
brackets,
spandrels,
domes,
balustrades
with
floral
motifs
and
exquisite
railings.
There
are
nine
domes,
with
a
centre
dome
in
the
middle;
while
the
windows
in
the
front
portion
opening
out
into
the
garden
are
of
blue
colour
and
those
in
the
rear
area
are
arched
windows
with
stained
glass.
The
palace
has
large
stately
rooms
designed
for
entertainment
on
the
ground
floor
and
more
private
facilities
on
the
first
floor,
where
there
is
a
terrace
provided
with
a
shade
from
intense
sunlight.
The
palace
is
solely
made
up
of
teak
wood
with
a
polished
staircase,
long
corridors
and
doors
opening
within
doors.
The
"barsati”
(terrace)
of
the
Mohatta
Palace
had
a
beautiful
family
temple
dedicated
to
the
Hindu
God,
lord
Shiva.
The
amalgam
gave
the
palace
a
distinctive
presence
in
an
elegant
neighbourhood,
characterised
by
Indo-Saracenic
architecture
which
was
located
not
far
from
the
sea.
Mohatta
Palace
was
a
luxurious
home
built
in
the
late
1920s,
consisting
of
18,500
sq
ft
(1,720
m2).
The
elegant
palace
is
built
on
different
levels
and
was
a
summer
house
for
the
Mohatta
family
for
two
decades
before
they
left
for
India
in
1947.
There
are
three
levels,
basement,
ground
floor,
first
floor
till
you
reach
the
roof.
The
basement
that
lies
on
the
north
side
of
the
building
is
quite
small
and
comprises
a
staircase
going
downwards
towards
a
hot
water
pool
chamber
which
has
a
connected
changing
room.
They
say
it
had
a
hot
and
cold
water
system
attached,
which
would
supply
the
water
to
the
pool.
Near
the
pool
chamber
are
small
ventilators,
two
on
each
side
which
may
have
been
used
as
a
source
of
sunlight
and
letting
out
steam.
Upon
stepping
inside
the
building
is
a
corridor
that
connects
to
each
room
situated
on
the
ground
floor.
The
ground
floor
contains
large
stately
rooms
designed
for
entertainment,
two
towards
the
right
side
of
the
entrance
(north),
two
towards
the
left
(south)
and
one
at
the
back.
The
movement
inside
the
building
is
through
the
great
entrance
into
a
spacious
corridor
that
runs
around
a
huge
hall
with
ornate
ceilings
and
a
staircase
on
the
South
side.
There
is
a
large
square
hall
with
seven
openings
leading
into
a
corridor.
The
hall
acts
as
a
datum
and
around
it
the
corridors
are
connected
to
the
rooms
where
different
activities
are
held.
On
the
south
between
the
two
rooms
is
a
solid
teak
wood,
polished
staircase
connecting
ground
floor
and
first
floor.
On
each
corner
of
the
palace
are
octagonal
towers,
in
which
only
two
near
the
front
entrance
have
spiral
staircases
that
go
up
to
the
roof.
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