Jaipur, Nov 1: Prince Charles, heir to British throne, was today enthralled to see the old architectural wonder of Dhundhar region of Rajasthan in its pristine restored form where he visited a three century old mansion in amber, the seat of royalty till the Pink City was constructed. Charles, who arrived here last night to a royal welcome by former Jaipur Maharaja Bhawani Singh and his family in city palace, drove to the old capital city, seven kilometers from here, to see 'Chanwar palkhiwalon ki haveli', abandoned by its owners after the seat of power shifted to Jaipur in 17th century. Prince, on his third visit to Jaipur since 1980, also visited 'Panna mian ka kund', a historic step well being restored by state government under a project being financed by Asian Development Bank and then walked up to the haveli standing unusually tall amidst narrow cobbled stone lane dotted on either side of old and dilapidated structures. The Prince remained in the amber haveli for about two hours and enjoyed traditional folk cultural programme specially arranged for him on the rooftop of the haveli. He also danced with local artistes on folk tunes. Earlier, after his overnight stay at "Rang Mahal" Charles visited the palace school and met students aged between three and five being taught through traditional gurukul system.
Bureau Report