JHULA

In front of the Gopal Bhawan, a railed terrace resting on small arches, carries an arch of lustrous marble called Hindola (swing) installed on a pedestal of the same material. It is stated that this swing was removed from the Phulbari Palace at the weir near Bayana and set up in the present position sometime during the third quarter of the nineteenth century A.D. But this might have been brought as a trophy of war originally from Delhi by Surajmal or Jawahar Singh. The Hindola is, in fact, the arcuate frame of the actual swing, which was to be suspended through two central rings from the ceiling. Of this arch, the crowning components are tiny, solid domes on the sides and a fine spike at the apex. Its marble pedestal adorned with pietra dura, bears an inscribed slab in Persian dated A.H. 1041 (A.D. 1630-31) which refers to regnal year 4 without giving the name of the king. But, as the earlier date itself corresponds with the fourth  year of Shah Jahan’s rule, the authorship of this swing is assignable to him.