Deeg, Jaipur - Rajasthan.

	Deeg, Jaipur
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DEEG (also spelt Dig), 30km northwest of Bharatpur, is a grim little market town midway between Agra and the Aravallis which, as the second capital of the local ruling Rajputs, was the scene of bloody encounters with the Moghul overlords in the mid-1700s. The only reason you might want to come here these days is to see the town's much-photographed palace en route between the Bharatpur bird sanctuary and Sariska tiger reserve near Alwar, 50km west. Fusing Moghul and Hindu elements, it's an undeniably beautiful building, but doesn't really warrant a special day-trip.

Construction of the royal retreat began in 1730, when the Jat ruler Badan Singh established Deeg as the second capital of Bharatpur state. There's a commanding view from the high fortified walls of his citadel, and you can still see some of the original cannons. The delicate design of the palaces or bhawans (daily 8am-noon & 1-7pm), with arches, pillars and domes reflected in surrounding water tanks, and the leafy gardens interspersed with two thousand fountains, is typical of the Jats. Most were built by the king Surajmal in 1756, and even the oldest, Purana Mahal , still bears traces of wall paintings.

The largest, Gopal Bhawan , near the entrance to the complex, was Surajmal's summer residence. Its spacious, plushly furnished hall is gracefully proportioned, with

majestic archways, sculpted pillars and intricate balconies overlooking the tank, or Gopal Sagar . A pavilion stands on either side of the bhawan ; the deliberate resemblance of the whole ensemble to a pleasure barge is best appreciated from the west.

In the east of the complex, overlooking Rup Sagar, Kesav Bhawan is an open-sided square pavilion, designed to re-create the freshness of the monsoon. In Surajmal's time, fountains played within it, producing a shimmering rainbow in the sunshine, while cooling water showered from the roof to the accompaniment of artificial rolls of thunder. The reservoir for the fountains took a week to fill and only a matter of hours to empty, and nowadays they are only switched on during local festivals.

Deeg fell into decline along with the Jat rulership at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and remains very small, though it is served by bus (every 15min; 1hr 30min) and train (daily; 2hr) from Alwar. Permission to stay at the Dak Bungalow (up to Rs100) must be obtained in advance from the overseer in the Public Works Department office, Kama Darwaja. Otherwise, the only place to stay in the area is RTDC's featureless Motel Deeg (tel 05641/21000; Rs300-400), on the main road to Mathura near the bus stand.