Nilambag Palace rose like a surreal vision amid lush lawns edged by flowering hedges. It was Diwali and the softly floodlit palace’s Rajula stone glowed like a beacon, beckoning guests indoors.

We availed of the invitation, for the 19th century royal abode with its multiple arched pillars was an oasis in the midst of the heaving commercial city of Bhavnagar. Designed by a German architect, the palace has a classic bone structure. Home to the royal Gohil dynasty of Bhavnagar, the last maharaja, Krishna Kumar Sinhji was the first ruler to merge his kingdom with newly independent India. In 1984, the palace was converted into a 20-room heritage hotel.

We entered the lobby via a carved teak wood archway that sported period wood furniture while the lifelike portraits of the royals looked down at us sternly. Past a central courtyard, shielded by gauzy gold curtains, a polished, old-world wood lift creaked upward to the rooms. The Heritage Classic rooms—rooms of the princes—come with high-moulded ceilings, four-poster beds and private balconies; while the understated deluxe rooms were the rooms of princesses. All have the luxury of space and bathrooms the size of a small Mumbai apartment. The premium Maharani Suite looked like the maharani had just stepped out for a stroll in the gardens of her palace.

Stuffed stag and leopard heads; intricately carved patara or jewellery boxes (a traditional craft); vintage walking sticks; porcelain crockery specially designed for the family by Mappin & Webb, a British enterprise; and paintings of the birds of Saurashtra and India adorn the walls.

A not-to-be-missed experience was dining in the Durbar Hall, strung with Czechoslovakian chandeliers that imparted a luminous sheen to the Burma teak banquet tables and chairs. What’s more, it is whispered that one of the rooms in the palace occasionally has an otherworldly visitor!

www.gujarattourism.com
www.nilambagpalace.com

Text & Photos: Gustasp and Jeroo Irani
Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
January 2018

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