The Khanqah-e-Rifaiya is a dargah situated in Dandia Bazaar area in the heart of the city. It is a more than 200 year old structure dedicated as a memorial to Hazrat Saiyed Fakhruddin alias Amirmiyan Rifai. The ancestors of the revered Baba belonged to Refaia silsila from Basra in Iraq. The dargah is very famous among the locals for the…
Do you know what Vijay Hazare, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Hardik Pandya, and Kunal Pandya have in common? The answer is Baroda. Over the years Baroda has given the country many of its great cricketers. Be it Vijay Hazare or the Pathan Brothers or the most recent Pandya Brothers, they all have one thing in common, they all come from…
Located across the main gate of Lukshmi Vilas Palace, is the BDHA (Baroda District Hockey Association). Just like every other sports association of Baroda, this also started with patronage from the royal family. The ground and the building housing the association was donated by the Gaekwads. BDHA is non-commercial association, affiliated to Gujarat State Hockey Association. It trains and promotes…
No good railway facility is complete without a lodging amenity for the travellers and the staff alike. This is why the Damajirao Dharamshala, located just opposite the Vadodara Railway Station, was commissioned by Maharaja Ganpatrao Gaekwad. The current structure was commissioned by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III around the 1870s. Damajirao Dharamshala used to be a busy place back in its heyday….
Perched on a high pedestal on a platform near the SSG Hospital, is the statue of Yuvraj Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad I. Titled, Lieutenant-Colonel Shrimant Yuvaraj Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad, Yuvaraj Sahib of Baroda, Fatehsinhrao I was the eldest son of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III. Born on 3 August 1883, he passed away on 14 September 1908 at a very young age of just…
Located in Ahmedabad, the Gaekwadi Haveli is the symbol of the expansion policies of the Peshwas and the Gaekwads. Built during the late 1730s, it was used as “Baithak” of Gaekwad during the Maratha rule. Fall of Ahmedabad and rise of the Gaekwads : After capturing the Baroda State in 1734 from the Badi Nawabs, Damajirao Gaekwad went on to…
Located in the Narayan Peth area of Pune, the Kesari Wada was the residence commissioned Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda. It was known as the Gaekwad Wada earlier, before becoming the center of activities for Lokmanya Tilak, the freedom fighter. The Britishers had always suspected the Maharaja of supporting the freedom movement secretly. The Maharaja did actually help the…
Baroda has long been associated with the Banyan tree but only a few people know that the city’s biggest Banyan tree is situated right in the heart of the city, inside the Lukshmi Vilas Palace compound. This 130 year old tree is known as the “Sayaji Vad” and was planted by the Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III himself. This huge tree…
Standing in the compound of the GSFC (Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited) is the 385+ year old Banyan tree. Known as ‘Great Old Banyan Tree’, it can be called the wisest tree of Baroda. The tree has witnessed most of Baroda’s major events like : – Visit of Portuguese Ambassador in 1638 – Vadodara being made the Capital of…
A new trend started in year 2016, of celebrating Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III’s birth anniversary by organization of a literature festival by students of MSU’s Faculty of Arts, which also continued in 2017. It is one of its kind and the first Literature Festival of & for city. “Sayaji Literature Festival” was organized on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of March…