Nov
20
2009
Nov
19
2009
Rest day in Vadodara
For some reason, Madhu and I were a little exhausted with yesterday’s walking around. So we couldn’t imagine doing too much today. We had intended to head out to Champaner in the morning but decided not to as we just didn’t have the energy for it. Instead we woke up late and lazed a bit. We soon realized that we weren’t tired enough to spend all day within the hotel room, so we headed out to see the rest of Baroda’s sites, which weren’t really on our list of must-see places…
Nov
19
2009
Photo Post : Tambekar Wada (Vadodara, Gujarat)
Tambekar Wada, a 4-storey haveli was the residence of the Diwan of Vadodara. This is famous for its wall paintings from the 19th century Maratha tradition depicting scenes from the Mahabharata, Lord Krishna’s life and the Anglo-Maratha war.
Nov
18
2009
Baroda – our first Gujarat stop
Our OCI application was finally filed yesterday. It didn’t require a lot of work – just 2 copies each of the OCI application form, US passport and the old, cancelled Indian passport, plus a Demand Draft of Rs.14,230 each. The only annoying part was that the application had to be mailed to the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO) using Indian Postal Service only – no private courier was allowed. The India Post office near Thane railway station was in a dilapidated building that must have been at least a hundred years old. There was a notice near the entrance warning customers to be careful – apparently, the cement ceiling above the shutter doors was crumbling and pieces of it have been falling on people! Well, anyway, we stood in line for the Speed Post service and, after nearly an hour, were able to mail the documents. Two good things about Speed Post service – it’s super-cheap (just Rs.34 for a packet of documents weighing about a kilo) and has a tracking number to track the delivery.
Nov
18
2009
Photo Post : Laxmi Vilas Palace (Vadodara, Gujarat)
The Lakshmi Vilas Palace, an extravagant building of the Indo-Saracenic school, was built by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1890 at a cost of GBP 180K. Major Charles Mant was the architect.
