Lukshmi Vilas Palace

Situated amid expansive gardens, mango orchards, and sprawling fields, the Lukshmi Vilas Palace is one of the most luxurious residences ever built. Commissioned by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1880, it is said to be four times the size of the Buckingham Palace.

Completed around 1890, the majestic palace has been the residence of the Gaekwads, the rulers of the Princely State of Baroda, for more than a 100 years now. Within its vast compound, the Palace complex consists of several other institutes, such as the Baroda Golf Club, Motibaug Cricket Grounds and The Maharaja Fatehsinhrao Museum. So expansive are the palace grounds that they once housed a small zoo, and a little railway line to ferry the royal children around them !!!!

Predecessor and Other palaces :

Before the Lukshmi Vilas, the royals have been said to be living in either one of the Sarkarwada or the Nazarbaug Palace. The Sarkarwada was a large, Maratha style wooden mansion, while the Nazarbaug Palace was a pristine white, four-storeyed structure with many terraces and kiosks.

After this, the Lukshmi Vilas was constructed, for which Major Charles Mant was recruited as an architect. Two other palaces, later constructed in Baroda were the Makarpura Palace, built on the southern outskirts of Baroda which now houses a defense installation and Pratap Vilas Palace, which houses the prestigious Railway Staff College of India.

The ill-fated Architect :

The chief architect of the project Major Charles Mant was one of the most famous architects of his time. Having designed other palaces such as that of Darbhanga, Bihar, and Kolhapur, the Lukshmi Vilas was his most ambitious project. Although a passionate architect, he was said to have fits of depression and paranoia, which finally led to his demise halfway through the project.

His death is suspected to have been a suicide act, which was committed because of fear. There are two versions as to what was the cause of the fear or humiliation that pushed him such limits. The first one says that he was troubled that his calculations were wrong and that the palace will fall any time. The other one says that the palace came to be built as the mirror image of the design because of a reversed North symbol on the drawings. This caused the main entrance of the palace to be on the backside. Either way, the architect passed away mid-project and then Robert Fellows Chisolm was recruited in his place.

The Palace :

Completed for GBP 180,000, the palace was equipped with the most modern facilities such as elevators, an internal telephone exchange, and an electrical supply. The palace was designed to be the most extravagant structure, with materials coming from the far regions of the Baroda State. Even the workers employed in the construction were only the finest and in some cases even called in from abroad.

The exterior of the palace displays golden stone from the quarries of Songadh, which gives it, it’s characteristic golden glow when seen during dusks and dawns. Fashioned in the Indo-Saracenic style, the facades of the palace are dotted with features such as small domed “chattris” with finials, cusped arched openings, and jharokha windows. Along with these elements, the exterior is embellished with elaborately carved stone motifs, brackets, and bands of carvings and paintings. It also boasts a tall tower that was intended to be a clock tower that never materialized. Instead, it was mounted with a small red light to indicate the people if the king is in residence.

While this was about the exteriors, the interiors are planned around two courtyards, planted with trees and water fountains that instantly reminds one of the tropical climates of India. With the trees and the water fountain providing the cool afternoons, the royal element is added via marble sculptures and cast iron lamp posts. Other than these the interiors have been decorated with lavish stucco work, murals, imported crystal chandeliers, stained glass windows, Venetian floor mosaics, fine pieces of furniture and of course sculptures by the famed Italian artist Felici.

Just like any other palace, this palace also features grand staircases with elaborate marble railings and spacious long corridors. These corridors surround the palace and provide ample daylight and ventilation. Connected via these grand staircases, and long shaded corridors are the 170 big and small rooms, some with themes such as the Silver room or the Gulabi (pink) room. Out of these, the most striking is perhaps the Darbar Hall without seeing which, one cannot gauge the true depth of the grandeur of the palace.

The Darbar Hall: Covering an area of almost 5000 square feet, this grand hall is where the most beautiful music and dance concerts and most lavish dinners were organized. Painted in a light ivory shade, the hall is brought to life by the contrasting golden embellishments above the arches and the deep brown wooden balconies looking down from the first floor. While the floor
of the double heighted hall is fitted with elaborate Venetian floor mosaic, the ceiling shows geometric patterns in shades of green and red. All this is further enhanced by the colorful Belgium stained glass windows. This whole arrangement sums up when the hall is lit up with the huge crystal chandeliers reflecting the shades the ceilings and painting the room in a royal aura.

The Pratap Shastragar: No royals are complete without weapons, thus the “Shastragar”. In an area of the palace open to the visitors, is the Pratap Shastragar, the royal armory. Here, behind the huge glass cases are housed the age-old weapons once used by the royals members and the soldiers of the Baroda State Army alike. This collection was curated by none other than the Rajratna Prof. Manikrao, who reformed the Jummadada Vyayam Mandir. The collection of the armory contains many famous weapons such as the Nav-Durga sword, the Abbasi Alemani sword used in the war of Karbala, the Panchkula talvar of Guru Gobindsinhji, the sword of Shivaji Maharaj, Aurangzeb’s sword, a sword encrusted with diamonds and pearls belonging to Sayajirao III and even some World War I revolvers!!!

The Gardens: The grounds around the palace were landscaped by William Goldring, a specialist from Kew Gardens. The most famed of these is the Sunken Garden right outside the palace. The gardens are dotted with marble and bronze sculptures of humans and ornamental marble urns.

The Gates: Out of the many gateways providing access to the different areas of the palace, the main and the only grand entrance to the palace lies at the end of the Rajmahal Road. The gateway exclusively reserved only for the king/royal family is just as grand as the palace itself. Just like the other gateways seen in the buildings of the Gaekwadi Era, this gateway also shows a central portion with a Bengali roof flanked with two towers and two smaller gateways topped with domes. The structure is clad in the same stone used in the palace and is decorated with carvings of animals such as elephants and floral designs.

A miniature railway line and a Zoo: The palace used to have it’s very own miniature railway line and a zoo. The Maharaja constructed a miniature railway line, which circled the mango orchard within the palace compound, to take his children from the school to the main Lukshmi Vilas Palace. The train engine was recently refurbished by Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad, who was the Maharaja during the time and can be seen at the entrance to the Museum. Of the zoo,
the only remnant is the pond where several crocodiles remained.

The environs :

The Fatehsinhrao Museum: The Museum building was constructed as a school for the Maharaja’s children. Today a large number of works of art belonging to the Royal family have been displayed in the museum. The most remarkable of these is the fabulous collection of the Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma, who was specially commissioned by the then Maharaja of Baroda. The collection includes portraits of the Royal family in addition to the paintings based on Hindu mythology for which Raja Ravi Varma was famous. The museum is famous amongst the citizens for organizing annual Fort Building Competition and the Ganpati Idol Making Competition for adults and children alike.

The Motibaug Palace & Cricket Association: The Motibaug Palace is actually a small villa which predates the palace itself. Built during the reign of Maharaja Ganpatrao Gaekwad, it earlier used to house the architects and the engineers of the State. It currently houses the main club of the Gaekwad Baroda Golf Club. Adjacent to the Motibaug Palace and the Museum is the Moti Bagh Cricket Ground, the offices of the Baroda Cricket Association, and a very rare indoor teak floored tennis court and badminton court (where the All India Badminton Championships were previously held).

The Golf Club: In the 1930s Maharaja Pratapsinhrao created a golf course for use by his European guests. In the 1990s Pratapsinhrao’s grandson Samarjitsinh, a former Ranji trophy cricket player, renovated the course and opened it to the public. The course was expanded in 2004 into a beautiful course managed by the Gaekwad Baroda Golf Club and now boasts over 900 members.

The LVP Banquets: A few years ago the LVP Banquets was set up with a small building consisting of a few big and small halls. Along with these halls, a part of the palace, the sunken gardens are provided on rent by the Banquets for organizing functions and weddings.

A huge tree and an ecosystem: Along the years the grounds surrounding the palace have developed an ecosystem of its own. Packs of langoors & peacocks can be spotted around the palace compound. Apart from this, the compound houses a huge Banyan tree called the “Sayaji Vad” that is more than a 100 years old and boasts an ecosystem of itself.

Other Buildings: Earlier there were many small palaces in the palace compound built by the previous rulers like the Vishram Baug, Mastu Baug, and the Chiman Baug. The compound also houses the Tomb of Alum Saiyyad, built by Muzzafar II who ruled the city before the Gaekwads. There is also a stepwell called the Navlakhi Vaav in the compound.

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In all the palace is the epitome of luxury and is a reflection of the riches of a king who, once was the eighth richest man in the world. Decorated with the artifacts from some of the best artists in the world, the palace is one of the best examples of the Indo-Saracenic style, the amalgamation of the Hindu, Mughal, Rajasthani and Western style of architecture. And last but not the least, it is a representation of the glory of a Princely State of India. Imagine the splendor of India which had around 800 such Princely States at one point of time !!!

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Visitor’s Information :
Some part of the palace is open for visitors. Tickets can be bought at the Security Desk of the palace entrance south of the main gate. The ticket charges include a free audio tour in Hindi or English. Visitor timings are from 10 am until 4:30 pm. The palace is open on all days except Mondays & public holidays and photography is strictly prohibited.