KNOW YOUR CITY: Vadodaras Darbar Hall set to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Snchez tomorrow | Ahmedabad News

The room also features Murano flooring, which was completed by 12 Murano workers over a six-month period. The room also has five Venetian chandeliers just below a line of ceiling lights. Manda Hingurao, curator of the Maharaja Fatehsingh Museum, says: “The line of ceiling lights are not currently working, but they were intended to illuminate the ceiling and the chandeliers below illuminated the space. Underneath is the unique Murano floor and the seating arrangement has been designed so that people face and see each other. The hall also had a map indicating who would be seated in which position… The sandalwood arches and wooden balconies project into the Darbar Hall and were intended for the ladies of the family to view the proceedings.

Below the ceilings are the room's best attractions, four 14-foot-tall stained glass panels depicting Indian mythology. (Express photo)

It was in 2015 that the royal family unveiled one of five restored Venetian chandeliers, restored by renowned French chandelier restorer Régis Mathieu.

Hingurao says, “Stained glass windows depicting Indian mythology are extremely rare. The four panels feature depictions of Yashoda milking the cow, Ram-Krishna, Lord Vishnu and Ram-Sita… Apart from this, over a dozen Belgian stained glass windows also adorn the windows and are engraved with the SRG emblem to signify the initials of Maharaja Sayajirao III Gaekwads. .

Although Darbar Hall, blending Western, Eastern and Indian elements, was designed by architect major Charles Mant, it was completed by Robert Chisholm as Mant committed suicide for fear that his plans had gone wrong. Hingurao says: Mant, at that time, was simultaneously working on the design of three palaces in India, including (formerly) Baroda, Darbhanga and Kolhapur. He thought his plans had gone wrong and ended his life. Chisholm took over and completed the palace and Darbar Hall.

Hingurao adds that during his reign, Maharaja Sayajirao III held community gatherings for his subjects in the hall, in addition to holding meetings with various leaders who came to meet the Maharaja. Hingurao says Maharaja Sayajirao III strongly believed that all religions are equal and therefore organized community meals, especially during Basant Panchami, Rang Panchami, Eid and Diwali… There was also an event where people were invited to dress in their traditional costumes. Maharaja Sayajirao III also hosted dinners for professors of Baroda College as well as dignitaries. These used to be very large lunches. The tradition was discontinued after Maharaja Sayajirao III, but it was revived by Maharaja Ranjitsinh Gaekwad, who initiated music programs as part of his contribution to music and art.

The most memorable performances at the Darbar Hall were those of Ustad Faiyaz Khan Saheb, the elder of Agra gayaki, who was invited to be the court musician by Maharaja Sayajirao III in 1912. In 1914, Maharaja Sayajirao had also organized the Akhil Bharatiya Sangeet Sabha. , inviting maestros like Ustad Inayat Ali Khan. Almost all artists including the legendary Gangubai Hangal, Kishori Amonkar, Bhimsen Joshi performed during the days of Maharaja Ranjitsinh at the Darbar Hall… We all remember an anecdote when Parveen Sultana was performing and the electricity was cut, not a single person flinched. The show continued, as enchanting as it could be. People continue to consider it a privilege to come to Vadodara and perform at Darbar Hall. This is also because it was Baroda State that founded the Faculty of Performing Arts with Maula Bakhsh as its director, Hingurao explains.

Although Darbar Hall, blending Western, Eastern and Indian elements, was designed by architect major Charles Mant, it was completed by Robert Chisholm as Mant committed suicide out of fear that his plans had gone awry. (Express photo)

Known for having the best acoustics, the hall even hosted all-night concerts called Sampurna Ratri, where aficionados came from all over the state to listen to the masters.

The Darbar Hall has a special demarcation for dancers and performers, the tradition having begun in 1880 when Maharani Chimnabai I, the queen and first wife of Maharaja Sayajirao III, brought a troupe of dancers from Tanjore as part of her dowry. Although Maharani Chimnabai-I died at a very young age in 1885, the state of Baroda gained its heritage of Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam dance style from Chimnabai-I. Hingurao says: The nritakis (dancers) brought by Chimnabai-I also taught the Bharatanatyam dance form in this part of India…

Hingurao says that although dignitaries such as former Indian Prime Ministers late Indira Gandhi, late Rajiv Gandhi as well as Prince Charles visited the Lukshmi Villas Palace and Darbar Hall during their tenure, Prime Minister Modi's visit and of Prime Minister Sanchez will be the very first. meeting of two heads of state in a formal setting in the hall. Hingurao says: The hall was the Darbar of the king and it was used by Maharaja Sayajirao III until 1939 and also by Maharaja Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad until his accession… But this would be the first meeting of two heads of state.

Maharaja Sayajirao III also organized a special Darbar (gathering) for Mark Twain in 1902, while other distinguished visitors included Lord Chelmsford, Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, Lord Irwin as well as His Highness General Gangasinhji of Bikaner, His Highness Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar of Mysore and His Highness Hanumantsinhji of Jodhpur. During the reign of Maharaja Pratapsinhrao Gaekwad, the Marquess of Linlithgow, Lord Wavell, Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia of Gwalior, Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaja of Kolhapur and Chhatrapati Maharaja Sahajiraje of Kolhapur had also visited the Darbar Hall.

The Darbar Hall is next to the Hathi Hall, the place where the Maharajas used to ride the elephant on a special occasion. The hall features elephant sculptures on the arches. The palace also includes the Pratap Shastragar, which showcases the coveted collection of royal armor including the Navdurga sword, the Panchkula sword as well as the swords of Guru Gobindsinhji and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in its collection. Weapons such as spears and chakras are also on display here. The palace corridors also feature sculptures of cows and the sun god Surya, the ancestral symbol of the Gaekwad family.