While walking in some parts of the old city one may come across some strange but royal looking poles with an arrow on the top. These poles are actually the vent shafts of an elaborate under-ground drainage system. As a part of his visionary schemes, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III commissioned a well-planned Drainage System in 1894. Thus a well planned…
Vadodara-Baroda
The post office currently standing in the Raopura area was built in the early 1930s and has a long history of correspondence between the Britishers and the Gaekwads. The earliest known postal service available in Baroda before 1863 was through the Camp PO, located inside the Cantonment area. Till 1863 there was no other post office. The city only had…
Located in one of the narrow by lanes called Ghadiali Pol, of the Mandvi area, is the Haveli (mansion) of Hari-Bhakti. It is said that Haveli was built by Hari & Bhakti during 19th Century. Who were Hari and Bhakti ? According to one of their family members, Hari and Bhakti were two brothers from the Mandodhar Village near Baroda,…
Situated in the heart of the city, Polo Ground is a huge open ground used by the people of the city during festivals. There used to be a big lake called Bhesana or Bhesaniya Talao (Lake) where the ground is now situated. Between 1910-1912 this lake was filled up with soil to make way for the Polo Ground, under the…
Situated in one of the corners of the old city, Bhaddar also known as Bhadra Kacheri is located in the area near Pani Gate, Vadodara. Now just a ghost of a building, this was the first known residence of the Gaekwads. Some trace the existence of this building, to the end of the 17th century, while others trace it further back…
Situated right across the Record Tower Building the Old Kothi is an administrative buiding commissioned by Maharaja Saiyajirao Gaekwad III. Aimed at public facilities, it was constructed as an office building in year 1876 and was designed by Major Charles Mant. It housed the secretariat, record office, military and police offices along with a library. The Building : The building…
Heading from Raopura, there is a Big Red Building which sometimes put you in thought that What it is. Its the Kothi Building which is only Building in city built in Scottish Style. Earlier here Baroda State ran its secretariat. This building or so called monument to late Maharaja’s closeness with Britain’s Queen Victoria, was most important building in era…
Said to be built in 1863, the Dilaram Bungalow was the residence of Diwan Manibhai Mehta. Currently housing the Ram-Krishna Mission Memorial, the bungalow was gifted to the Mission on account of it’s past association with Swami Vivekananda. For a while the bungalow was given to Government Officers & Forest Officers to stay and it was only in 2005, that…
The ‘Gaekwar’s Baroda State Railway (GBSR)’ was the first narrow-gauge railway line in India. Owned by the princely state of Baroda, it was the first railway built & operated by a native Prince. Railway in Baroda: The first rail tracks were laid during the reign of Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwar, & the 20-mile railway line from Dabhoi to Miyagam was opened…
Housed as a part of the clubhouse in the railway colony at Pratapnagar, the Pratapnagar Railway Museum lies at the end of the Railway Heritage Park. It was inaugurated on 27th January 1997. Attractions: The Heritage Gallery at the museum houses antiques from the days of the Gaekwar’s Baroda State Railway (GBSR); signaling boxes, portable generators and even cutlery, all…