Located in narrow lanes of Bajwada, & established in 1908, this infamous akhada was formed by Ambu Purani & Chhotu Purani, the two freedom fighters, to encourage & train young citizens of baroda for resisting British rule. The akhada has been training fitness freaks in mud kushti, malkhambh, langdi, wrestling, judo & such other games. It is still few of…
Vadodara-Baroda
ગુજરાતમાં મરાઠાઓએ આક્રમણ કરી બાબી સુલતાનો પાસેથી વડોદરા કબજે કર્યું અને ગાયકવાડી શાસનની સ્થાપના થઈ એ પછી ગણપતરાવ ગાયકવાડના સમયે વડોદરા કેવું હતું. એનું વર્ણન કરતો ગરબો કોઈ અજ્ઞાત કવિએ ઈ. સ. ૧૮૪૭ – ૧૮૫૬ પછી રચ્યો હતો. એ સમયના વડોદરાની માહિતી પ્રાપ્ત થાય છે. ગરબામાં આવતાં નામોની આગળ નંબર મૂકવામાં આવ્યાં છે એમની સમજુતી ગરબાની નીચે આપી છે… ધન્ય…
Located in the midst of concrete jungle of along the Piramitar Rd, is the Chhoti Bibi’s Hazira, popularly known as ‘Chhotiya no Haziro’. Built during the reign of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad II, the Hazira belongs to a Dancing lady of his Darbar. It is said that Chhoti Bibi herself commissioned the tomb during her life. She had built it so…
Vadodara city is full of traffic islands installed with a lot of sculptures. Most of these were made by the local artists and sponsored by the industries of Baroda. Vad Circle: Located on the road from Nizampura to Channi area, the sculpture in this circle was shaped by Nagji Patel and commissioned by IPCL. The sculpture is sculpted from sandstone….
In the mid 19th century Baroda saw the transition of traditional doctors such as “vaidyas” and “hakims” to European medicine and doctors. Accordingly, bungalows started coming up for the use of these doctors. One such bungalow was the Head Nurse’s bungalow built, in 1916, behind the Yavteshwar Mahadev Temple. As the name suggests the bungalow was used by the head…
Located near the Genda circle, the Model Farm was one of the initiatives started by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III. Started in 1892, it had agricultural education and farmer training as its focus. The farm also worked on experimenting and production of good seeds. An Agricultural Institute was established at Baroda in 1936 called as Sheth Dosabhai Maganlal Agricultural Institute after…
For centuries, India has been setting examples of communal harmony and religious tolerance in the world. And even today this tradition is followed by the people of the country in their communities in their own small ways. Every year during Muharram, the Taziyas of Baroda bring to light one such tradition. A Hindu Pandit and a Tazia : As a…
The Baroda city that is seen today is the result of years of transformation, with the major transformation being carried out during the late 19th and the early 20th century. With the advent of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III‘s visionary ideas the city started transforming itself into a pool of cultural hubs. These dramatic changes in the administration inevitably laid the…
Just like any other festival, the Ganesh Chaturthi is also celebrated in all pomp and colors in Baroda. Along with the royal Ganpati, idols of Ganpati are installed by almost every small “mandal”(community groups) of the city. Be it the royal Ganpati or a huge one installed in a temporary arrangement, or a small installed in someone’s house, each one of…
Set amidst lush green fields, Wadhwana a century old tank, was constructed by the erstwhile visionary ruler – Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1909-1910. The tank maintains an impressive ecosystem habitat and provides winter grounds for migratory birds. The tank has a massive catchment area of 860 sq km , which provides irrigation to almost 25 surrounding villages. Earlier deriving…