At The Chail Palace

The Chail Palace (converted into a hotel several years ago) was about 600 metres away from our hotel. The evening we landed in Chail, we walked there. The fellow operating the entry ticket counter had locked his booth and gone home. So, we went straight in unobstructed. A short trek up a steep path led us to the palace itself. We landed at the backdoor and clicked a few pictures in the fading light of the misty evening, as we had done a few times on the way there. 

The backdoor of the majestic building with outer walls constructed from rectangular blocks of grey-coloured stone was soon closed, and we learnt from a staffer that we could access the restaurant, which would open at 8:00 p.m. through the front door on the opposite side. However, my father did not want us to wait until then, as it was getting darker every moment. So, we went back to our hotel, down the path Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who constructed the palace, must once have taken. It was a tranquil and beautiful evening.

I returned alone the next afternoon as my father was a bit tired after the trek to the Chail Gurdwara Sahib and what formerly was the highest cricket ground in the world (now a playground for the students of the local Rashtriya Military School). I purchased the ticket worth Rs. 200 this time and decided to make it worth every paisa by taking many more pictures of the beautiful palace building and its interiors. 

I found the Maharajas' old furniture and some paintings hung on the walls fascinating, and I took pictures. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, an avid traveller who visited Europe via the sea route several times, supposedly purchased the paintings from there. A piano lay unused in the lobby, and I wondered which of the Maharajas was a good piano player while photographing it.

The Maharajas' old bar was still in use, and I took a quick photo before the barman noticed me. However, the doors to the billiards room and the lounge were closed, and I could not gain entry.

The doors to the Maharani suite on the ground floor were locked, and I could not sneak a peek.

Once outside, I photographed the beautiful fountain that featured figurines of two children and a couple of swans.

A few steps across a lawn took me to the cafe, where I ordered a sandwich I later shared with a female stray dog, who zeroed in on me out of everyone eating there.

On my way back to the main gate, I noticed an abandoned lawn tennis court that the Maharajas must have used and an old building with a collapsed roof, which I later learnt had once housed a mushroom factory owned by the Maharajas. 

I found the old lamp posts along the road leading from the palace to its gate wonderful and photographed one, although I did not photograph any of the monkeys playing along the way because I was unsure if they might want to snatch my camera phone.

A mist had begun to descend the surroundings soon before I exited the gate.