From the archive record
Man Singh Palace is an imperial palace decorated with a frieze of yellow ducks! These - and mosaic tiling of elephants, tigers and crocodiles in blue, yellow and green - give it its alternative identity of Chit Mandir, or Painted Palace. Built by Tomar ruler Man Singh between 1486 and 1516, this fine example of early Hindu architecture consists of two open courts surrounded by apartments on two levels. Below ground lie another two storeys constructed for hot weather, connected by 'speaking tubes' built into the walls and used by the Mughals as prison cells. Here Aurangzeb imprisoned his brother, Murad, and slowly poisoned him with opium, which drove him mad before finishing him off. The dungeon with the cage in the floor looks like the scene of the grisly deed, but it was actually a bathin