Khanderao Market is a sprawling market complex erected by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III on the occasion of the silver jubilee celebrations of his reign in 1906. It was presented as a gift to municipality and was named after the previous ruler and his late adoptive father Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad II (1856–1870). The complex houses the fruit and vegetable market (wholesale and retail), a flower market along with the offices of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC).
The Market :
Framed behind a huge landscaped area with a marble statue of Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad II, the complex is actually like a precinct with the built structures enclosing a huge court in the center. The marble statue of Khanderao was sculpted by V.R. Karmarkar and was unveiled on 23, December 1935 by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III.
Built in the Indo-Saracenic style, the building was the last project of the famed architect Robert Chisholm before returning to England. The main facade of the building has been embellished with “Nagara style shikhars”, small “chattris”, “toranas” and an imposing gateway. Just like the other gateways in the city, this gate also has a central portion topped with a “Bengali” sloping roof, flanked with towering elements, in this case the “shikhars”. The gateway is also adorned with a huge clock in the center flanked by “jharokha” windows on either side. The building also proudly displays the royal symbol of the Gaekwads family.
While the built structures house the offices, the heart of the market lies in the huge court in the center. The spirit of an actual Indian, “desi”, and noisy vegetable market is housed in the court, with the shops arranged on platforms around a central fountain. The vegetable market has been divided into two parts, a part for the wholesale sellers and a part for the retail sellers.
Although the building is not in a very bad state, the stone used, has blackened over the years and there are places where trees growing from the structure.
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The market even after, more than a hundred years of being built, displays full glory of an Indian market place. You get to see all the elements of a bustling market, such as the bargaining lady with a kid who is begging her not to buy the bitter “karela or palak”(bitter gourd or spinach) and occasionally some stray cows or a few dogs loitering around the market for a feast.
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