Your dream to dine with your loved ones at a palace will soon come true as Jamadei Mahal, popularly known as Rani Bakhri (Queen’s Palace) is being converted into a restaurant and soon it will be readied to welcome guests. This three-stories palace gloriously displaying marvels of Rajasthani architecture is located close to Pataneswari Temple in Sambalpur.
To give a royal feel, special care is being employed. The restaurant will have all the signs of a palace, be it in furniture or decoration. The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has already started working on it. The menu will have Western Odisha’s signature mouthwatering delicacies in a royal ambience, to give a feel of being in Western Odisha.
This historic building has 15 well-maintained and well-furnished rooms in total seven on the ground floor. There is also a balcony. In front space of the palace, there is a mini open-air auditorium with a gallery for visitors to enjoy cultural programmes.
The palace has been restored and renovated by the OTDC at a cost of Rs1 crore. Built by fifth Chouhan king of Sambalpur Baliyar Singh, the Palace had been lying in a neglected state for a long period. There were cracks on the walls and the surrounding was full of wanton growth of bushes and there was hardly any sign of paints on walls as they had long faded away.
Instead of using cement, the palace was given a coat of a mixture prepared by mixing lime, gum of bel fruit, fenugreek, molasses and black gram together.
According to district tourist officer Hemant Pradhan, Rani Bakhri has been an attraction for tourist. Since there are Samalei Temple and other temples adjacent to it, it gets tourists all the year-round. The restaurant will be developed in accordance with the taste of these tourists.
