Diwan-i-Khas, Agra

Agra Fort has a gigantic hall for private audience known as Diwan-i-Khas. On my visit to Agra Fort I entered this hall after viewing Diwan-i-Am. This hall was used by the emperor for holding cultural events and meetings of important guests such as kings, ambassadors and nobles in private. The hall is exquisitely decorated with carvings and flat wooden flat ceiling which used to be covered with gold and silver leaves. This hall is open at on three sides and we entered it through one of the arched openings which were supported on double columns. The hall represents the royal accesses and thus the interior hall has Persian inscriptions inlaid in black stone. The chambers here are profoundly decorated with refined inlay work in floral patterns. The work done on the hall is selected very meticulously keeping in view the status of the royalty.

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The Khaas Mahal was called so because it was the sleeping chamber of the emperor Shah Jahan and had an excellent ventilation for cooling the rooms in summer.

Below, you can see one of the few patches remaining on the walls of Khaas Mahal. The still-fresh golden colour you can see is actually gold laden paint used for the wall designs.

a hall with colonnaded arches, a place where the emperor gave daily audiences and another was the exclusive pavillion where the emperor met his most trusted nobles.
see above the legendary Peacocok Throne pattern on the ceiling, a symbol from one of Shah Jahan's jewelled thrones. so beautiful and charming :)

This was the hall of private audience. This hall was also added by Shah Jahan. This hall is divided into two rooms connected by three arches and it was here that the famous peacock throne was kept before being shifted to Delhi by Aurangzeb and finally carried away to Iran.