Just like it’s always said, “Behind every successful man, there is a woman,” this adage perfectly encapsulates the life of Maharani Chimnabai II. Born as Shrimant Gajrabai Devi to Shrimant Sardar Bajirao Amritrao Ghatge, Sarjerao, of Dewas, she became the second wife of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III. After her marriage, she was renamed Maharani Chimnabai II. Her visionary spirit matched…
Sita Devi was born on May 12, 1917, in Madras, to the Maharaja of Pithapuram, Sri Raja Rao Venkata Kumara Mahipati Surya Rau Bahadur Garu, and his wife Sri Rani Chinnamamba Devi of Mirzapuram. She first married M.R. Apparao Bahadur, the Zamindar of Vayyur, with whom she had a child, Rajah M. Viduth Kumar Apparao. Meeting with the Gaekwad and…
Maharaja Ranjitsinhrao Gaekwad served as the titular Maharaja of Baroda from 1988 to 2012. He succeeded his elder brother Fatehsinhrao II, who passed away without an heir. Ranjitsinhrao completed his education at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSU), where he earned a post-graduate degree in fine arts. His artistic journey took him to the Royal Academy of Arts in…
Born on 2 April 1930 in Baroda, Fatehsinghrao Prataprao Gaekwad was the son of Pratap Singh Gaekwad, the last ruling Maharaja of Baroda, and Maharani Shantadevi Sahib Gaekwad. He became the titular Maharaja of Baroda in 1951 after his father’s deposition by the Government of India. Political CareerFatehsinghrao’s political career was distinguished and multifaceted. He served as a Member of…
Born into a Maratha family from Kolhapur, Maharani Shantadevi was the first wife of Maharaja Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad. Her father was Sardar Hausrkar Mansinhrao Subbarao of Hasur. At the age of 13, Shantadevi was engaged to Pratapsinhrao. When she came to Baroda to meet Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, he was immediately impressed by her. The marriage was solemnized on January 4,…
Maharaja Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad (29 June 1908 – 19 July 1968) succeded to the throne in 1939 after the demise of his grandfather Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III. He ruled for a period of ten years, from 1939 to 1949, until the assimilation of Baroda State into the Indian Union. After that, he held the role of titular Maharaja until 1951, when…
The sprawling cities that we see growing around us nowadays, are actually the results of a long process of evolution, evolution of culture, people, landscape and dynasties. The Baroda that we see today, the cultural capital of Gujarat, is just one example of these processes. Every place passes through the hands of many kings and dynasties, but every so often…
Pilaji Rao Gaekwad, who died on May 14, 1732, was a distinguished Maratha general and the founder of the Gaekwad Dynasty of Baroda. He succeeded his uncle, Damajirao Gaekwad I, who was second in command to the Senapati for the Peshwa. Appointed by the Peshwa, the effective ruler of the Maratha Empire, to collect revenues from Gujarat, Pilaji Rao established…