Nadiad ni haveli, also called Bhausaheb Desai ni Haveli, is a

haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the Indian subcontinent, usually one with historical and architectural significance, and located in a town or city. The word ''haveli'' is derived from Arabic ''hawali'', mean ...

(traditional mansion) in

Nadiad Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat, India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. The city is managed by the Nadiad Municipality. It is known for the Santram Mandir, the Mai Mandir,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, India.

History

The haveli was built in 1783 by Prabhudas, grandfather of

Rao Bahadur __NOTOC__ Rao may refer to: Geography * Rao, West Sumatra, one of the districts of West Sumatra, Indonesia * Råö, a locality in Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden Transport * Dr. Leite Lopes–Ribeirão Preto State Airport , IAT ...

Viharidas Desai who is popularly known as Bhausaheb Desai. He had inherited ''desaigiri'' (landlordship) from his ancestors who were tax collectors under the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

. The arrangement continued under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

even as his two sons, Haridas and Bechardas, took over as Diwansahebs to

Junagadh state Junagarh or Junagadh ( ur, ) was a princely state in Gujarat ruled by the Muslim Babi dynasty in British India, until its integration into the Union of India in 1948. History Muhammad Sher Khan Babai was the founder of the Babi Pashtun d ...

. The haveli was divided between Bhauaheb's five sons, each receiving about 50 rooms, in 1902. It is now owned by their descendants.

Tatya Tope Tantia Tope (also spelled Tatya Tope, : ̪aːt̪ʲa ʈoːpe 6 January 1814 – 18 April 1859) was a general in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and one of its notable leaders. Despite lacking formal military training, Tantia Tope is widely consi ...

had taken shelter there during the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

had stayed and delivered lectures on spiritualism in 1892.

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

had addressed people in 1918 in what is believed to be the start of the

Kheda Satyagraha The Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 was a satyagraha movement in the Kheda district of Gujarat in India organised by Mahatma Gandhi during the period of the British Raj. It was a major revolt in the Indian independence movement. It was the third Satyag ...

. Indian physician Zandu Bhatt had died there.

Architecture

The haveli has 249 rooms covering area of about 96,840 square feet. It has wooden carvings, several courtyards and many balconies covered with bronze sheets. It has a rain water harvesting system and an in-house badminton court also. The construction type observed is timber framing with brick infill. The organisation of the house is typical to any traditional house in the Central-Gujarat region with dehli leading to the chowk (courtyard), parsal (intermediate passage space) leading to the medi (inner rooms). The house has been built exactly on the north-south axis and the entrance of the house faces the north direction. The house has several Interior Architecture Elements which represent motifs of Hindu Gods and religious animals like elephants, peacocks and floral patterns on columns and bracket. Though most of the Interior Architecture Elements are simplistic in their expression, the major influences found in the building are colonial. Several pieces of furniture observed in the house were made by replicating imported furniture brought by the family members during their travels. As the owners were avid readers and writers and lover of books, it has been observed that several types of tables were consciously placed in every room of the house and are both imported and custom made. The furniture style observed in the house is eclectic with styles ranging from Hindu, Colonial and Georgian. The materials used in interiors range from wood, ceramic tiles, cut glass and brass hardware. The craft techniques observed are wood carving, wood turning, etched glass, riveting and metal casting. It is said that it has the second highest number of rooms in India, only after Rasthrapati Bhavan.

References

Havelis in India Buildings and structures in Gujarat Tourist attractions in Kheda district 1783 establishments in India {{India-struct-stub