The fantasy of Deeg foutains
Heritage

Two thousand fountains connected with underground earthen pipelines were laid in a well-planned manner not only in the garden but even inside the drawing rooms and living rooms of the maharajas and maharanis of Bharatpur. To add to the fantasy of the fountains, a special system was created wherein when the fountains functioned, they would throw out water in different colours creating a rainbow,
opines Milap Chand Dandia

KEOLADEO National Park at Bharatpur is a world heritage site. But hardly 35 km away from the home of winged guests is yet another heritage unique in the entire world.

Some 250 years ago the legendary Maharaja of Bharatpur, Surya Mall, decided to create a summer capital for his kingdom and selected Deeg for the same. The palace for the summer capital was so conceived that the occupants could have a feel of Sawan Bhadon (monsoon) even in scorching heat.

A vast piece of land surrounded by Roop Sagar and Gopal Sagar lakes on two sides was selected for the monumental work. Intermingling the rich style of Mughal garden and Jal Mahals the architects created an awe-inspiring romantic palace.

Two thousand fountains connected with underground earthen pipelines were laid in a well-planned manner not only in the garden but even inside the drawing rooms and living rooms of the maharajas and maharanis of Bharatpur.

To add to the fantasy of the fountains a special system was created wherein when the fountains functioned, they would throw out water in different colours creating a rainbow. The entire fountain network is centrally controlled. The system is so meticulously drawn and implemented that which fountain will play which colour is entirely upon the wish of the central controller.

For the system to work a massive two-metre-deep reservoir measuring about 41 metres by 32 metres was built on a platform about 25 feet above the ground level. Pipelines were then laid out from the tank to the fountains. The openings of the pipelines in the tank were fixed with wirenets to stop entry of anything else into the pipeline except water as a safeguard against choking.

The reservoir has a capacity of six lakh gallons. Water for the reservoir is drawn from the four specially built wells near the tank. As Gopal Prasad Sharma, monument protector at the Deeg Palace, says: "It used to take two months to fill the reservoir to capacity in earlier days. But now the old system of filling the tank with leather buckets drawn by bullocks has been replaced by motorised pumps. Still it takes 24 hours to fill the tank. The tank gets emptied in two hours when all the fountains are played simultaneously".

All the outlets in the reservoir are plugged with wooden corks before filling. Divers jump into the reservoir with cotton bags filled with colour. Unplugging the wooden cork the diver swiftly puts the colour bag in the outlet. Bags with different colours are put in different outlets. Thus when the water passes in the pipeline through the cotton bags it gets coloured.

Each outlet is given a number and which hole will take water to which fountain is inscribed on the platform around the tank. Within minutes water in different shades, viz. red, green, blue, yellow, majanta, etc starts springing out from different fountains. Thousands of fountains with different shades of water is a thing to be seen to be believed.

Fountains at Deeg these days function on rare occasions. When the fountains were displayed during Brij Mahotsava, thousands of visitors had gathered in the Deeg palace to see the rare spectacle in utter disbelief. Curiously enough even before the coloured water started coming out the spectators watched with bated breath the sunshine turning colourless water of the fountains into numerous rainbows.

As a Spanish tourist said after seeing the fountains: "The fountains are amazing. "I have been to the USA, Europe and other places, but have not seen such a thing anywhere in the world".