Hawa Mahal

This guide to Hawa Mahal in Jaipur traces why Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh commissioned this sandstone facade in 1799 for the royal women of his court, kept from public life under the custom of purdah. You'll hear how architect Lal Chand Ustad shaped it after the crown of the god Krishna, and why its carved windows were designed to let those women watch the street below without ever being seen. A cooling trick built into the stone also kept the rooms bearable through Rajasthani summers.