Inside The Worlds Largest Private Home- Indias Lakshmi Vilas Palace - Architectural Digest

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