00:00Hello AD, I'm Radhika Rajay Gaikwar and I welcome you home.
00:21The palace was started in 1879 and completed in 1890.
00:27Took 11 years in the making.
00:29A palace of this size, 11 years is actually quite short.
00:33The stone was sourced locally is Dhangadra sandstone.
00:37But a lot of the other elements came in from different parts of the country and also the world.
00:43We have stained glass from Europe.
00:46We have chandeliers from England and Belgium and mosaic from Italy.
00:51Sculptures from around Europe.
00:54It's an amazing mix of countries and cultures coming together in this space.
00:58I've lived in Lakshmi Las Palace for 23 years now.
01:02And even though the home is over 135 years old, it's always been a home.
01:08We have these informal spaces within this very, very ornate and sometimes overwhelming spaces.
01:16We are able to carve our little, little pockets of quietude and family time.
01:22I'm flooded by memories of my children playing here with the dogs.
01:26Me having a cup of coffee with my husband here on winter mornings.
01:30When I first came married and I remember in this very courtyard, I would sit down here on these stairs.
01:36And music would trickle down from the window of my father-in-law's music studio.
01:41And I would just sit here and listen to that.
01:44So, you know, all these spaces become home.
01:46The more you live in them and the more memories you accumulate.
01:49They no more remain just walls and carvings.
01:52We are now in the grandest and most important public space of the palace.
02:04It's called the Darbar Hall.
02:06This is where the Maharaja would host, greet and attend to his subjects.
02:12And most recently, the space where Narendra Modi, our Prime Minister and the Spanish Premier met for bilateral talks.
02:21So, it continues to remain relevant and important in state matters.
02:25This space just knocks the wind out of me every time I walk in here.
02:29From the mosaic flooring with its malachite, mother of pearl.
02:33To the mosaic with its gold leaf on the walls.
02:36It still glints when it catches light.
02:39The ceiling which is Islamic, it's in lacquer.
02:42The beautiful jharokas which are a mix of rose and sandalwood.
02:46The beautiful reliefs by Felici.
02:49This is really a space which is meant to talk about the collaborations that came to exist 135 years ago between India and other cultures.
02:58One of the spaces that really fascinates me is this.
03:02I love the adaptation of an Indian traditional motif into a Western European craft style.
03:08So, we have this rangoli.
03:11This particular design I have seen a lot in powdered rice.
03:14And women of the house would make this particular pattern.
03:18And it would be done so outside the doorway.
03:21This is very, very special that, you know, something as traditional and intimate as a rangoli is adapted in a mosaic form.
03:29Done by Italian craftspeople.
03:31Another example again are these spectacular stained glasses.
03:36We have Yashoda and Krishna, Bal Krishna in two of them.
03:41And then you have Ram and Sita.
03:43This is where the Maharaja would be seated.
03:45This is where the audience would be.
03:47We are receiving the blessings of the deities right here in this space.
03:52Another favourite of mine are these angels.
03:56As you can see, they are completely Indianized.
03:59They are in nine-yard sarees, very Maharashtrian.
04:02And they have these beautiful crowns and earrings.
04:06And they are blowing trumpets right at the entrance.
04:08We are now in the most sacred part of the palace.
04:21This is the coronation room where the Maharaja is coronated.
04:25And this is the Gandhi.
04:27It's actually really quite simple.
04:29The Maharaja is seated on this throne only once in his life.
04:33So right behind the Gandhi we have the Sita Bhumi Pravesh.
04:38Which is the departing of Sita from Ram.
04:42When she is being surrendered and retreating into the earth.
04:47And saying her final goodbye to the family.
04:50This is to indicate to the Maharaja who is seated here that duty always comes first.
04:56Across the hall we have the most important paintings of the Royal Gaikwar collection.
05:02And they are the Lakshmi and Saraswati by Raja Ravi Verma.
05:05These are the most recognized paintings of Indian mythology.
05:10And we have the originals here.
05:13And they are basically facing the throne.
05:16Blessing the legacy and the dynasty.
05:19This room evokes a lot of emotions for me.
05:22This was the seat of power of the Gaikwar dynasty.
05:25It is underplayed by the Gandhi which is very humble and simple.
05:30But the artworks that surround this Gandhi are indicative of how important this hall was.
05:43So we are in one of our private courtyards.
05:45This is a space that most of our rooms overlook.
05:48And this is one of our quieter private spaces.
05:51This particular fountain is one of my favorites.
05:54I love the tiles here.
05:55We have documentation that Royal Dalton had actually designed a fountain for this space.
06:01A day at Lakshmi Velas Palace actually is quite usual and unusual.
06:07It has the regular chores and chaos of waking up in the morning, getting kids ready for school, grabbing a cup of coffee.
06:14But it also gives you incredible moments to pause and soak in the historic monument, if I may use the word, that I live in.
06:25The palace was really ahead of its time for more than one reason.
06:30It was, of course, fitted with the latest amenities.
06:34It has one of the oldest lifts in Western India.
06:37It had concealed lighting.
06:39Over time, it had air conditioning before most institutions.
06:43It was also very modern for the vision that it had at that point of time.
06:48The palace was built for only the Maharaja and Maharani.
06:52And yet you see that there is an equal positioning of both.
06:55There is no defined cloistered space for the women of the house.
07:00So Parda was not followed here, which is quite unusual for its times.
07:05And even today, after 23 years of living in this house, it's still so much to discover in this home.
07:12And I recently discovered some carvings of monkeys and scorpions, snakes.
07:19They're only in a particular area.
07:21I've been walking past them all these years, but never noticed.
07:35We are now in our private drawing room.
07:37This is where we entertain our guests.
07:39It's done in friend style.
07:41It's got wooden panelling.
07:42It looks very much like it did when it was first created for the family.
07:46We've got a little bit of personal touch with the cushions.
07:49We've got beautiful artworks from around the world.
07:53My favorite being these chiseled shells from Italy.
07:57I like my time here.
07:59I play music.
08:00It's a lovely view outside.
08:02I get a view of the golf course and the expanse.
08:06And of course, the beauty inside.
08:08My girls are here with the dogs ever so often on the carpet.
08:12It's really a space where we chill and relax.
08:15I think this is a space where we've kind of all tried to contribute a little bit of ourselves.
08:21I've never been able to, you know, bring in a souvenir, say a tribal mast from Africa and plant it on the walls here.
08:28It would be travesty.
08:30It's very hard to strike that balance between maintaining traditional buildings in a Puritan way as well as bringing in modernity.
08:39The palace has such a strong personality and it should be able to take you back those 135 years for someone who steps in.
08:48But at the same time, we have to also be able to provide the basic comforts to ourselves and our family.
08:55Interestingly, this palace was made only for two people, for the Maharaja and Maharani.
09:00So we didn't have that many guest rooms.
09:03And as the family has grown, we did require them.
09:06So we've converted a boiler room into a guest room and it's now one of our coziest rooms.
09:12I think if the walls of Lakshmi Villas Palace were to speak, they would say that this has been a happy home for generations of Gaikwars.
09:28Lakshmi Villas will always be home for us.
09:31But as time flies, we also realize that we all need to adapt with the changes that the palace requires.
09:38Thank you AD for visiting my home. See you again soon!
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