An integral part of Royal Fables for many years, the gentle and talented Madhavi opened the doors of her historic home, Bada Rawla for a delegation of royals residing in Indore. Over sips of her splendid tea, chivda from Indore, jalebis and samosas she shared the history of her home and her heritage. A short introduction to her home as sourced in Sahapedia.
The oldest fort of Indore, Shri Sansthan Bada Rawla, is a historic structure dating back to the late seventeenth century. Popularly known as Bada Rawla, it belongs to the Mandloi Zamindar family, who were the indigenous landholders in the area before the arrival of the Marathas in Malwa. Rao Raja Nandlal Mandloi was the zamindār when the Marathas first entered Malwa and was instrumental in piloting them into the country through the Vindhyan passes.[1] Raja Balram, one of the earliest documented ancestors of the family, would often travel from his palace located in a nearby village, Kampel, to collect revenue from the region till he was advised to shift his capital from Kampel to Indore, and thus this fort came into existence. The term Rawla signifies the residence of Rao Raja, the title held by the chief of the Mandloi family for generations.
This historic structure is located in Juni Indore, one of the oldest localities of the city. The fort was constructed to face the river Khyātā (presently known as Khān). The palace is surrounded by hillocks, and is itself built on a hill shaped like the back of a tortoise (kurmprishthākār). Spread over an acre of land, the fort can be divided into 13 squares, sectioned off by buildings. These sections were made during different time periods and styles under the reign of different chiefs. A traditional style bāori (stepwell) and a deep well, situated within the fort premises, seem to be part of earliest structures of the fort. While most of the structure was completed by the late 1600s, significant additions to the building were made in the late 1700s, about a century later. The oldest of these sections is the Radha-Krishna temple which has a courtyard open-to-the-sky, allowing natural light and air to flow in, thus adding to the sense of harmony in the ambience. The inner perimeter of the temple supports walls with windows adorned with the traditional style of Shekhāwati mural paintings.
The main structure of the fort has three storeys, which comprise the Rang Mahal, a residential area for the family members, and a small portion to be used for official work. Similar to other forts and palaces of the time, the centremost part of Bada Rawla had a seraglio (or harem), called zenānā dyodi, denoting a separate space for female members of the royal family and their female attendants. Rang Mahal gives a true reflection of its erstwhile grandeur through its colourful and tiered Belgian chandeliers, wooden pillars with intricate carvings, and antique bookshelves. At present, the Rang Mahal is used as a library with over 30,000 books in its collection, many of which are now out-of-print.
Bada Rawala boasts of a long list of eminent guests who visited it in the long course of its history. During the term of Rao Raja Rao Chhatrakaran (1871 – 1948), Swami Vivekananda was welcomed in this fort. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and Pandit Deen Dayal Sharma also visited. Rao Raja Nihalkaran Chhatrakaran Zamindar (1923 – 1996), due to his nationalist approach and interest in intellectual pursuits, built an association with well-known personalities of the country, which further extended the guest list to include Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Morarji Desai, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Swami Satyamitranand Giri, Syedna Burhanuddin Saheb, St Mother Teresa, Loknayak Jai Prakash Narayan, and Shankaracharya Shree Jayendra Saraswati, among others.
The antiquities from the collection of the fort are displayed during an exhibition held annually on March 3rd to commemorate the date o f the foundation of Indore. The exhibition, along with the fort, remains closed to the public for the rest of the year. However, visits may be allowed on prior request made to the owner’s family.