Delve In The Arty Life

Gujarat

Highly regarded in the art world as a great centre for learning, Vadodara in Gujarat is also an architectural paradise. Barring the concrete and glass of the newer areas, much of the city features buildings that are centuries-old grand structures. These architectural masterpieces house everything, from courts, offices, museums to shopping complexes and sabzi mandis. The MS University, whose fine arts department had first put Vadodara on the art map, is housed in a beautiful building built in the Indo-Saracenic architectural style. The grandest of all is the Laxmi Vilas Palace, where descendants of the Gaekwad royal family still live, with parts of it having been turned into a museum for the public. Fascinatingly, this home that was meant for just two people features over a hundred rooms and is the largest private residence in the world—almost four times the size of Buckingham Palace.