Bhavnagar’s Garba Heritage

City Anchor

These buildings: a remarkable meeting of security, public welfare and artistry

Bhavnagar's architecture: living symbols of its rulers' welfare policies

Lecture by Dr Lakshman Vadher at the Rotary Club

Bhavnagar | 6 September

The Rotary Club of Bhavnagar organised a special lecture on "Bhavnagar's Architectural Heritage" at the Rotary Hall at Ghogha Circle. In it, Prof. Dr Lakshman Vadher of Shamaldas College shed light on Bhavnagar's historic town architecture and its planning for the public good. He said that the buildings raised by Bhavnagar's rulers are not merely grand piles of stone but living monuments to their generosity towards their subjects and their concern for their welfare. The rulers put the public good and the people's safety before their own luxury. Whether it was the coastal works on Piram Bet island, built in the time of Mokhdaji Gohil, or the structures on the hills of Sihor, all were built to keep the people safe.

With the public good at heart, Bhavnagar was given remarkable buildings such as Alfred High School, Majirajba Girls' School, the Jashonath Mahadev temple, Takhteshwar Mahadev, Gangaderi, Sir Takhtsinhji Hospital, Shamaldas College, Barton Library, Shri Gaurishankar Lake (Bortalav), the Nandkunvarba Orphanage for Girls and the lock gate at the port. Together these buildings show a matchless blend of Indian, Islamic and European styles. In shaping this historic architecture, Diwans (chief ministers of the princely state) such as Gaurishankar Oza, Shamaldas Mehta, Vitthaldas Mehta, Vijayshankar Oza, Sir Prabhashankar Pattani and Anantrai Pattani played a decisive part in turning the rulers' vision into reality.

Private buildings in the city, such as Shailendrakumar Vidhutrai Desai's "Hari Bhuvan", Amrutrai Desai's house and the T.B. Jain Girls' School, also preserve the proud character of the traditional art of building. Bhavnagar State was known throughout the country for its architecture.

Credit for planning Krishnanagar goes to V. C. Mehta

The credit for Bhavnagar's modern town plan, Krishnanagar, goes to the architecture expert Virendrarai Chandrashankar Mehta. Besides Bhavnagar, he also helped plan cities such as Rajkot, Morbi, Gondal and Wankaner. His book "Gruhavidhan" made him famous as the "Nagar Shilpi", the builder of towns. Bhavnagar's architectural heritage was further enriched by the work of Sir John Griffith and Professor Simson. In addition, Upendra Bhatt, a disciple of Sir Visvesvaraya, made a major contribution to the engineering of the city's underground drainage, its water filtration and lock gate, and the Victoria dam.