Rajkot: Durbargadh set to be converted into a museum

“Durbargadh is one of the oldest edifices of Rajkot state. As I assume the duty of Thakor Sahbeb, I have resolved to renovate and restore the Durbargadh and convert it into a museum which will display our vintage cars and buggies. The museum will have sections dedicated to paintings, textiles, arms and armories, Guru-Shishya paramapara (master-disciple tradition) and Mahatma Gandhi’s connection with the Rajkot royal family. The Ranivas (the queen’s room) will be converted into a period house detailing how women used to live in the old days. A detailed project report has been prepared and the museum will be ready in two-an-a-half years,” Jadeja told The Indian Express.

The Durbargadh is located near Hatkeshwar Temple in Soni Bazar while the Ranjit Vilas Palace is located on Palace Road. Jadeja is due to be ceremonially coronated as the 17th Thakor Saheb of erstwhile Rajkot state on January 30 at an elaborate ceremony called Raj Tilak Vidhi. His coronation comes a year after his father Manoharsinh Jadeja died on September 27, 2018.

Jadeja holds a degree in chemical engineering and is into agriculture, cattle breeding and real estate business. A member of the Gujarat executive of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he has also served as director of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL).

Durbargadh was the palace of the rulers of Rajkot state till the late 1880s. However, with an aim to provide employment to his subjects during the drought of 1847, the then ruler Bavajiraj got Ranjit Vilas Palace constructed in 1887. After its completion, the royal family moved into the new palace, while offices continued to function out of the Durbargadh. Jadeja says that some members of the royal family continued to live in Durbargadh till 1970s even as some parts of the building were leased for Gujarat government offices. However, the government moved out its offices from Durbargadh after the 2001 earthquake.