Birbal Ka Chhatta

This spacious building, built by Ray-i-Rayan Mukand Dass, the Diwan of Narnaul, during the reign of emperor Shah Jahan (1628-58 A.D.) is dexterously planned and embellished, though its exterior is unostentatious and drab. It is a five-storied structure with several halls, rooms and pavilions. The extensive open terrace on the south, elliptical pavillions on different levels, halls on pillars and running verandah around a central court, once adorned with a marble fountain, impart spaciousness and light to it. The profuse use of marble for veneering, pillars and brackets, provided with artificial cataracts and drains, make it a cosy retreat during the tropical summers. In the south-eastern corner on the terrace, there is a dilapidated well, from which the water was raised into reservoirs, at various levels. An exquisite and isolated gateway-complex, well provided with projecting balconies and marble veneering stand a few metres to the west of the palace. This is said to have been the main entrance to the complex. According to a legend, the building is supposed to be equipped with four underground tunnels leading to Jaipur, Mahendragarh, Delhi and Dhosi. It said that Akbar and Birbal visited this town and that is why this structure Chhatta Rai Mukand Das is also popularly known as Chhatta of Birbal. At a small distance from the Chhatta lies the Sarai Rai Mukand Das. The building bears an epigraph, which states that during the reign of Shah Jahan, Rai-Rayan Mukand Das, a servant of Nawab Asif Khan, built the lofty building under the super vision of Mehta Puran Mal Hari Dass.