A young man
reclines against the black marble statue of a Roman goddess in the middle of an
expansive garden. Around him on wooden benches sit some art students making
sketches of people. Under the arches of creepers near the rose garden, young
lovers hold hands as a popular Bollywood number – “Tumse mil ke, aisa laga
tumse mil ke...” is played on the music system which has speakers in
various locations throughout the garden.
Roughly
translated, the song means:
“O my love,
on meeting you,
The dreams
of my heart have come true”
The young
man has been waiting for a long time. He fiddles with his phone as if wondering
whether to make that call or to wait a little longer. Every now and then he glances
at the entrance to the garden. Then his face breaks into a smile as he notices
a girl in a pink salwar kameez approach him. Her face and head is
completely covered by her scarf to avoid the polluted city air. It indicates
that she has been riding a bike. They greet each other but she doesn’t remove
her scarf. Perhaps it serves another purpose as well –to hide her face from
inquisitive relatives or friends who might report this rendezvous to her
family. As they joyously move to a secluded corner of the garden, another young
couple gaily walks by hand-in-hand. They probably have nothing to fear or hide
as the girl’s face is not covered. They stroll along the river Vishwamitri
which runs through this garden which is named Sayaji Baug after Baroda’s successful
past ruler – Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad.
King Sayaji
was born into a poor farmer’s family and was adopted by the childless Maratha queen
of Baroda as the heir to the throne. He had humble beginnings and ruled well.
He had a special blessing – everything he attempted to do was a great success.
He started colleges and this project blossomed into one of world’s best
universities. He planned and built a beautiful city – Baroda – which came to be
known as the culture capital of the western Indian state of Gujarat.
Now, a
hundred and fifty years later, people in Baroda still remember him as their
beloved ruler. Around the city, the many statues and busts of Maharaja Sayaji
are garlanded with fresh flowers daily. Anybody who visits Baroda comes back
having heard the name of Maharaja Sayajirao III. He ruled from 1875 to 1939 and
did much to modernise Baroda – establishing compulsory primary education, a
library system, a bank, a university, textile and tile factories – which helped
to create Baroda's image as a modern industrial hub.
Modern Baroda
is a great and fitting memorial to Maharaja Sayajirao. It was the dream of this
able administrator to make Baroda an educational, industrial and commercial
centre and he ensured that his dream would come true. For this reason, the city
is also referred to as Sayaji Nagari – Sayaji’s City.
Baroda, which
is officially named as Vadodara, probably owes its name to the abundance of Vad
(Banyan) trees in the city. There are many public gardens in Baroda. Although
this modern Indian city in western India has all the trappings of a city like
malls, cinemas, offices and residential areas, it has an old-worldly charm. There
are frangipani flowers in every garden. Langur monkeys, peacocks, squirrels,
mongooses, parrots, and pigeons merrily wander in many public gardens.
Maharaja Sayaji’s
descendents still reside in the Lakshmi Vilas Palace. A visit to the Laxmi
Vilas Palace gives one the impression of being in Italy. Maharaja Sayaji had
commissioned many carvings and figures by an Italian artist. The palace has an
ornate Durbar Hall and fountains with marble cherubs oozing out rays of water.
The Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum on the palace grounds has artefacts from around the
nation and the world.
As the
culture capital of Gujarat, the festival of Navratri is celebrated with song,
dance and lights during every October. For nine nights during this festival,
the local dance grounds come alive while people dance the raas and garba
to please the Goddess Durga. The people of Baroda have preserved this
traditional dance form and it attracts many tourists from India and abroad.
The city of Baroda truly represents the best that India has to offer – a blend of academics, industry, and culture.
(This post was also published in Outpost Muscat Newsletter March-April 2014.)
