Once Jaipur city’s defence fortress– The Nahargarh Fort, has now been restored and beautified with iconic Jaipur Wax Museum. In fact, this is world’s first wax museum set at a heritage site.
A museum is a place where one should lose one’s head. On the same note, Jaipur wax museum with 32 lifelike wax exhibits, is enthralling its visitors. Wax museum in Jaipur segregates its attractions based on different themes and displays it in the arsenal and warrior’s rest area sections of the Nahargarh Fort.
Einstien ki PaathShala
As soon as you enter the museum, a full height statue of Albert Einstein stands there. Einstein’s statue looks an exact replica of the great scientist and you feel like talking to it. The first section of the museum also features a three-wheeled and ten feet long bullet bike called ‘Gati Gamini’ which is symbolic of Rajasthan Tourism.
Hall of Icons
Museum tour begins at the ‘Hall of Icons’ where visitors can experience the walkway of Rajpath which starts from India Gate and ends at President House. Every effort has been put to make this Rajpath real with the use of Zebra crossing and lamp posts and divider lines. Along with the set up of Rajpath, visitors can see the clippings from the newspapers of 1947 declaring India as a free nation. Another attraction is that this walkway has been bedecked by the lifelike statues of Mahatma Gandhi at Dandi protest, Rabindranth Bose in his kala Bhawan, Bhagat Singh and Sachin Tendulkar at one side and their pictures and quotes by the other side. The walkway is like a trip down to the memory lane. Further it leads visitors to the President house where the statue of our Missile Man APJ Abdul Kalaam Azad greets you. Each exhibit is mesmerizing with a detailed backdrop of intricately designed sets and display of nuances in a relatable manner.
Poetess & Astronaut:- Kalpana Chawla
Next in line, stands a big Rocket with ever smiling statue of Kalpana Chawla who was the first Indian woman astronaut from India. Very few know that she was a poetess herself and some of her best poems have also been mounted on the wall near her wax statue. Clad in an orange space suit she welcomes visitors where they can read her biography called, ‘The Edge of Time’. This hall is further adorned by the statues of Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Chan, Micheal Jackson, Messi, Saina Nehwal and MC Marykom.
Nobel Prize winners
Special attraction has been made by a separate display of two Nobel Prize winner viz. Mother Terasa and 14th Dalai Lama. What welcomes you is the strip of Tibetan Buddhism prayer flags and chanting of Buddhist’s prayers along with the wallpapers of Monasteries and Himalayas.
Royal Darbar
A museum in Jaipur can’t be imagined without the touch of royalty. The ground floor of the Vishraamghar (warrior’s rest area) within the Nahargarh Fort has been re-designed to resemble a royal courtroom from the 18th century. Aptly named The Royal Darbar, this grand courtroom displays wax and silicon statues of lineage of Rajasthan’s royal families. Visitors are also welcome to enjoy other features like traditional paintings, antique artifacts, a royal buggy and interactive statues. Lifelike statues of Maharani Gayatri Devi, Sawai Jai Singh, Sawai Ramsingh amaze with their brilliant affluence.
The Royal Darbar also holds a special exhibit called ‘The Journey of the Jaipur Gemstone.’ Follow the evolution of these precious heirlooms showcased in a display of real gems at the JWM.
Kids section
Kids can meet their favorite characters like Spiderman, Ironman, Doraemon and Nobita. With a flashy and striking display of statues, this section attracts to experience a slice of your favorite icons’ life and make memories with their wax and silicon sculptures displayed in the most relevant and relatable settings.
Palace of Mirrors
Grab your chance to be ‘The One Minute Maharaja’ – this is your shot at experiencing a life of royalty in full costume and real lifelike settings. The grandest exhibit of museum has been artfully installed at the top floor of the Vishramghar. This area has been redesigned into a magnificent mirror work splendour – The Sheesh Mahal which has Thikri mirror work, a craft that dates back many centuries. This mirror work has been put together by over 100 skilled craftsmen working day and night and displays nothing less than 2.5million glass pieces to create spectacular optical illusions. With gem artwork, stunning crystal chandeliers and other precious trinkets this ‘Palace of Mirrors’ is a sight to behold!
The brain and main of the museum is Anoop Srivastava, owner of Entertainment 7 Ventures Pvt. Ltd. who laid the intellectual foundation for this project with the Pink City Film Festival in 2006. Encouraged by the response and armed with the dream of creating a one-of-its-kind museum, Srivastava teamed with the sculptor Susanta Ray. A skilled team of technicians, designers etc. restored the fort and the interiors were adapted to create an attraction that would add yet another crown jewel to Jaipur tourism.
Quick Facts:
Location- Nahargarh Fort
Distance- about 14 km from Railway station & 20 km from Airport
Hangout-The Open Air restaurant at Nahargarh Fort
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