Tucked behind a quiet compound wall in a busy corner of the city stands the Raopura Shala Number Ek. Said to be built in the 1884/85 the building is a perfect example of the kind of architecture that was prevalent in the city at the time of its making. It is also said that this is the very place at which Ustad Khan Saheb Maula Baksh started the Music College of Baroda (the first of its kind in India). The building was also used as the Anglo Vernacular School during the British Times and later came to be used as a Gujarati Govt. School. It was marked as vernacular school on the map of the 1884 survey.
As far as the architecture goes, the building is a great example of the Neoclassical style of architecture. It features simple semicircular arches, Doric columns along with classical cornices and balustrade-d parapets.
It is denoted as vernacular school and could be the first formal school built in the city. While this school was in Gujarati medium, those that came up near Sursagar Lake were called Anglo vernacular school implying that they were bilingual.
The school building had come up even before the Raopura Tower. During the reign of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, education institutes served as grand urban edifices in the cityscape.
It is said that the hospital would come up in the existing building that will house very large rooms. The hospital will be sponsored by the Baroda Medical College Alumni Association (BMCAA). The building is a heritage building and will be spruced up as a part of the project.
Partial Source: Chandrashekhar Patil & TOI
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