Gujarat's Cultural Crown — Laxmi Vilas Palace, Navratri's spiritual heartland, and Baroda's extraordinary art tradition
Vadodara, historically Baroda, is Gujarat's cultural capital and home to Laxmi Vilas Palace — the Gaekwad maharajas' residence, four times the size of Buckingham Palace and one of the largest private homes ever built. The M.S. University of Baroda's Faculty of Fine Arts is among India's most prestigious, shaping generations of Indian artists. Vadodara is widely considered the birthplace of modern classical Navratri celebrations — the city's nine-night garba and dandiya raas festival is the most spectacular in all of Gujarat. The street food culture of the old city runs on sev usal, nylon kham…
Originally Vadapadraka, then Chandravati, Baroda became a significant city under the Gaekwad dynasty of Maratha chiefs who established control in 1721. Under Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III (reigned 1875–1939), Baroda became one of India's most progressive princely states — Sayajirao introduced compulsory primary education, established free public libraries, abolished untouchability in state institutions, and directly sponsored B.R. Ambedkar's foundational education in England and the United States. The Gaekwad state merged with independent India in 1947, but the cultural infrastructure Sayaji…