Gulab Baug

After the construction of Lukshmi Villas Palace, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III built many bungalows for state executives. One of the bungalow is Gulab Baug (Bagh), situated opposite of Sayaji Baug. This bungalow was made for Baroda State’s Main Civil Surgeon’s residence. After many years when the surgeons’s residence was shifted to the Dhanvantari Bungalow this was used as a residence for the Pro Vice Chancellors of the M.S. University.

The Building :

The building is named “Gulab Baug” after the only kind of flowers grown in it’s garden i.e. roses/gulab. It displays exposed brick work on every facade along with a small porte cochere (a covered entrance large enough for vehicles to pass through) at the entrance, in pristine white color. Other than these, the other most prominent elements of the building are the wooden elements such as doors, windows and two wooden balconies protruding out from the sides of the building. These semi-covered balconies stand on stone based wooden posts and have wooden railings along with wooden jalis covering the upper part.

Just like any other bungalows of the time this too, was primarily built using wood, and was built according to the needs of its occupant. The entire ground floor was dedicated for public use and housed a small dispensary, store room and a drawing room. While the upper floor housed the private quarters of the surgeon, and had 4 big rooms along with 3 bathrooms. A separate staircase was provided outside the house connecting the ground and the upper floor for the service of the upper floor. Apart from this a separate kitchen unit was there attached to the ground floor.

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Presently, the bungalow is used by the Maharaja Ranjitsinh Gaekwad Institute of Design (MRID) to run classes.