Indrajit-Padmini Mahal, also known as Vadia Palace

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The most beautiful palace in Rajpipla, often referred to as the 'Taj of Gujarat'.

The finest palace of Rajpipla is the Indrajit-Padmini Mahal, better known as Vadia Palace as the village of Vadia was once located here and shifted across the road to build the palace in the 1930s. The palace was set in a 151-acre estate, with well laid out formal gardens, and mango and lime orchards. The building, including the outhouses, covered almost an acre - 4320 square yards - and cost around Rupees 40 lakhs (Rupees 4 million). It was financed by Maharaja Vijaysinhji's winnings in the Epsom Derby 1934, which was won by his horse Windsor Lad, still the only Indian owner to win the coveted title. The pristine white building was designed by the renowned architect Burjor S.J. Aga of M/s Shapoorjee N. Chandabhoy & Co. in a predominantly Indo-Saracenic style, with a few western features. Inside, however, it retains much of the European character one would expect from a palace erected during the 1930s and 1940s. The building contractor was Navroji S. Shethna. Much of the flooring of the palace is in exquisite Italian marble of different colours arranged in various geometric patterns, such that no two rooms or galleries are floored alike. At the piazza in the rear is a marble fountain with intricate patterns matching the flooring. Over 1000 wooden doors and windows are made from the finest Burma teak. The palace was centrally airconditioned, with ducts still visible on the walls. It has eleven bedrooms, nine of which are distributed in the two storeys of the palace, a subterranean chamber and a suite on the terrace, all with attached baths. The ballroom has Burma teak flooring. There are beautiful frescoes on the walls by well-known Italian painter Valli. The sitting room has paintings of dancing girls, the bar room muralled with drunk monkeys, the drawing room has events from Lord Krishna's life, the prayer room is embellished with a series of wall and ceiling frescoes of Hindu dieties, and the reception hall leading in from the protico is painted with floral and faunal subjects. The quality of Indian devotional paintings and other local themes is flawless. The artist Vali also painted the frescoes at another royal home of Rajpipla, the Natvar Niwas. The drawing room of Vadia Palace was illuminated with lights concealed in marble globes, which were also filled with exotic perfumes. A water circulation system revolved the marble globes such that the scent of the perfumes spread in the hall. An elevator, which was installed later, took the royal family and their guests up to the first floor and terrace. The kitchen is in an outhouse, partially submerged, so that it did not obstruct the view from the galleries or eclipse the intricate rear facade of the palace. An insulated underground passage, 30 yards long, took food in trolleys to the pantry in the main building. The palace is presently the Gujarat Forest Rangers College, and efforts are under way by the original owner Indra Vikram Singh (grandson of Maharaja Vijaysinhji, and elder son of Maharaj Kumar Indrajeet Singhji) to restore and preserve this beautiful heritage, and put it to use in a manner befitting it.