The Maharaja Palace actually refers to a group of 5 different palace buildings, built and modified between 1780-1856 by the erstwhile Gaekwad family. Often referred to as Sarkar Wada, the first building which was constructed, was called the Leeli Haveli and it was never really meant to be a palace. Sayajirao II, Fatehsinhrao II, Ganpatrao and Khanderao lived here till Khanderao moved to Makarpura Palace. It is believed to have been given up for the famous Nazarbaug Palace.
The Wada :
Out of the group of 5 buildings, only about 2-3 buildings stand intact (intact in the sense, they are the only ones with all the floors they were built with). Most of the portions, built as 3 storeys tall, have lost their second floor entirely, first floor has turned to ruins, while the ground floor has been turned into shops. It is said that there were wooden pavillions on the terrace levels, which also disappeared along the years. Built with the main facades opening on the road, the back portions may have been built around courtyards, just like the Marathi wadas of Pune. Now almost unrecognizable, the back portions have crumbled over the years, and may lead one to believe that the palaces were just linear buildings.
Although many of the buildings are damaged, a near to real description of the buildings can be given by looking at old photographs of the structures. Built on high plinths, the structural system of the building consisted of wooden post and lintel system with timber joist floors. The first floor housed all the public areas such as the Darbar Hall, Divankhanu etc, while the second housed the private apartments of the royals. All these floors would have been connected via steep wooden staircases.
Majorly built out of wood, all the buildings of the group, had long continuous balconies on the road front. Most of these balconies were shaded by “patra” (galvanized iron sheets) leaning on elaborately decorated wooden brackets. A major portion these balconies were covered by wooden jalis , for the use of the ladies of the family as it was customary for them to observe “purdah” in those days.
It is said that, there were long halls inside the buildings, where the Darbar (court assemblies) would be held. One could directly access these darbar halls, through staircases opening on the main road. These halls used have mezzanine floors also covered with wooden jalis, so that the ladies could be the part of the court proceedings without being seen. These halls would be parallel to the long balconies, bringing in ample amount of daylight through the rows of doors opening in them.
As for the decoration, the buildings were embellished with eaves board, and elaborately carved architraves, wooden cut work panels and cusped arched panels. The interiors were decorated with glass chandeliers and the ceilings with what could have been ceiling papers.
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During the state processions the long balconies along with the “ootla” (plinths) of the ground floor would be tightly filled people wanting to get a glimpse of the royal processions. But now with the upper storeys in shambles, and only the ground floors of these royal residences functioning as shops, the days of glory of these palaces have been left far behind.
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