焦特普尔乌麦巴旺宫殿酒店
Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur
www.tajhotels.com/en-in/taj/umaid-bhawan-palace-jodhpur/
莽莽黄砂居
远远望去，沙漠之都焦特普尔竟有几分希腊爱琴海的姿色浪漫，闲适。城区所有房子的墙壁涂成蓝色，像成千上万的蓝积木堆积在一起，宁静安详……据说蓝色是印度最高种姓“婆罗门”的专属色，就像中国古代“黄色”与皇族的关系一样。还有说涂上蓝色的房子可以驱虫避蚊……铺天盖地的蓝，任谁都倾慕有加。一片漫漶的海蓝中，乌麦巴旺宫“平沙莽莽黄入天”，自成气候。
这座被称为世界最大的私人住宅之一的宏大建筑，由爱德华时代著名建筑师亨利•沃恩•兰彻斯特设计，经15年建造，1943年完美诞生，堪称建筑丰碑。华丽内饰走欧美盛极一时的艺术装饰路线，出自波兰艺术家朱利叶斯•斯蒂芬•诺尔布林之手的异国壁画颇有锦上添花的意味。60年光阴流淌而过，公共区域Regal及ViceRegal套房却毫发未损，丝毫未见时间辙痕。如今，这座宫殿或许是世界上完好保留艺术装饰风的最大型建筑体之一。2005年1月，泰姬酒店集团接管这座宫殿，继续延承乌麦巴旺宫的皇室奢华，并将酒店文化带到焦特普尔。
The Sandstone Residence
From afar, the desert capital of Jodhpur looks pretty much like the romantic and quiet Greek Aegean Sea. All the city house walls were painted blue, like tens of thousands of blue blocks stacked together, peaceful and serene. It is said that blue is the color exclusively used by India‘s highest caste ”Brahman”, just like the color ”yellow” used by the ancient Chinese imperial family. People also said that color blue repels bugs and mosquitos. Such overwhelming blue is much adored. Amid the blue stands the Umaid Bhawan Palace, unique and proud.
Designed by the wellknown Edwardian architect Henry Vaughan Lanchester and completed in 1943 a er almost 50 years‘ construction, Maharaja Umaid Singh‘ s Umaid Bhawan Palace is a monumental structure. e sumptuous interiors were done in Art Deco that was then popular in Europe and America, and were superbly complemented by the exotic murals of the Polish artist Julius Stefan Norblin. Aft er 60 years, with the public areas and the Regal and ViceRegal Suites essentially untouched, the palace is today perhaps one of the largest andbestpreserved buildings of the Art Deco style.
