No matter how blasé one is, there isn’t any denying the joys of staying in a palace. The Sawantwadi Palace Boutique Art Hotel is simply a 40-minute drive from Goa’s gleaming new Manohar International Airport.
Sanjay, the driving force, pointed on the palace as we approached, giving me a Malory Towers second with gracious English arches segueing seamlessly with warm-red laterite stone, creating an impression of sturdy magnificence nestled within the foothills of the Sindhudurg Range. The palace was constructed by Khem Sawant III between 1755 and 1803.
Shraddha Lakham Sawant Bhonsle at work
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Special Arrangement
Before assembly our hosts, Lakham Khem Sawant Bhonsle and his spouse, Shraddha, we’re greeted by Sushi, the golden retriever. Shraddha and Lakham each skilled on the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), the place they first met.
“He was my first friend at CIA,” Shraddha, 34, confides with a heat grin. While she specialises in Japanese and Korean delicacies, Lakham, additionally 34, is a skilled baker and pastry chef who veers to the candy side.
It was throughout their marriage ceremony celebrations in 2019 that the concept of reworking Taisaheb Wada, the palace wing devoted to the robust girls of the household, into a boutique resort first took root. Since then, it has been a labour of love for the royal couple to carry their imaginative and prescient of a six-room, exquisitely appointed resort to life.
Sawantwadi Palace Boutique Art Hotel
| Photo Credit:
Mohith Rai Srivastav
After a scrumptious lunch — an artfully organized brass thali that includes native delicacies like white chawli usal, Maharashtrian varan kaju kurma, potato bhaji, solkadhi, uncooked banana fry, and the fluffiest ghavne — we set off for a tour of the museum and darbar corridor. The photographs and artifacts supply a glimpse into life within the earlier than occasions, together with Sati Stones and Warrior stones. “We also have a Second Century Buddha statue in our collection,” Shraddha says.
A throne made within the Forties for Rajesaheb Shivram Sawant Bhonsle’s coronation takes delight of place in Darbar Hall. Behind the throne, is a bust of Queen Victoria, which was given to all of the Princely states that got here below the British Raj on her seventy fifth birthday. The giant pots within the Darbar Hall, Shraddha says, got here from the Baroda Gaikwad household with the princesses who married into the household.
Beyond the meals, which is predictably distinctive, courtesy of Shraddha and Lakham, the resort can also be a sanctuary for ganjifa art and lacquerware. Ganjifa, as Wikipedia helpfully explains, is a card sport dropped at India by the Mughals. The actual artistry lies within the intricate work on the playing cards, which was tailored within the Indian context.
The resort too carries the Ganjifa theme into its design.
Shraddha says her curiosity within the art type blossomed after her marriage. “My in-laws have been patrons since the 16th Century, and my grandparents-in-law, Rajmata Satvashiladevi Bhonsle and Rajesaheb Shivram Sawant Bhonsle, revived it in 1971.”
First view of Sawantwadi Palace Boutique Art Hotel
| Photo Credit:
Mohith Rai Srivastav
Though Satvashiladevi handed away in 2018 shortly after Shraddha’s engagement with Lakham, she found the late Rajmata’s ganjifa room. “During the pandemic, when there wasn’t much to do, being the Bombay girl I am, I took on sorting the room as a project.” Cleaning and cataloguing the objects grew to become an eye-opener, she says, whereas including, “Just going through the articles, the files, the exhibition notes, and seeing the collection of ganjifa cards, something clicked. I was intrigued.”
At the resort, company can strive their hand at ganjifa card portray workshops (I did, with middling success!) and take part in card-playing classes. The resort store presents ganjifa card units priced between ₹10,000 and ₹14,000, in addition to art-inspired buttons, coasters, trays, and jewelry — good for individuals who favor amassing to taking part in.
Shraddha’s mother-in-law, Shubhada, who graduated from the JJ School of Arts, found ganjifa art solely after her marriage. “I didn’t know anything about the art form,” she confides over an beautiful excessive tea of focaccia parmesan sandwiches, double chocolate cookies, and various dainties. “My in-laws dealt with collectors abroad. I was fascinated by the history of the cards — they were so attractive, and one could learn so much mythology through them.”
The sport, Shubhada explains, is extra than simply leisure. Besides testing reminiscence, it helped protect conventional information. “It’s not gambling. In fact, saying the name of God while playing is believed to remit sins!” Ganjifa playing cards from throughout India — Mysore, Nirmal, Rajasthan and Odisha — mirror distinct creative types. Sawantwadi Ganjifa, Shraddha notes, stands aside. “The art form and the game were introduced in Sawantwadi by people from Telangana and Andhra who migrated here to study under King Khem Sawant III.”
A room on the Sawantwadi Palace Boutique Art Hotel with the King card
| Photo Credit:
Mohith Rai Srivastav
The tales depicted on the playing cards range, in accordance with area and perception system. “In Sawantwadi, we follow Vishnu, so our Ganjifa cards are based on the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu,” Shraddha explains. The Sawantwadi units are recognized for his or her vibrant colors — lemon yellow, mehndi inexperienced, and sindhuri (a vivid orange). “The deities’ movements are subtle. They wear pearls around their necks and nauvari saris.” In distinction, Odisha’s Ganjifa playing cards depict deities with extra expansive gestures. “Their eyes are larger, outlined with kajal, unlike the dainty-eyed deities of Sawantwadi. Odisha uses darker tones — brown, maroon, black, while Jaipur’s Ganjifa features baby pink, blue, and gold.” The quantity of playing cards additionally varies. “The Dashavatar Ganjifa is a 120-card game. The Dhanalakshmi set, based on the avatars of Goddess Lakshmi, has 108 cards. The Rashi Ganjifa, based on zodiac signs, includes 144 cards,” she explains.
Each of the resort’s six rooms is impressed by avatars of Vishnu — Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narsimha, Vamana, and Parashuram. “Everything in the Matsya room, for instance, from the doorknobs to the bathroom mirrors and study tables, reflects the avatar’s theme and are all done in-house,” Shraddha says. “The Matsya room has a light-blue wall with a five-foot painting of the Matsya king card.” I stayed within the Vamana room, the place even the important thing ring and coasters have been Vamana-themed, and a gorgeous portray of the Vamana king card adorned the wall.
Securing a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Sawantwadi Ganjifa was a main milestone. “We applied at the end of 2021 and were granted the GI tag in January 2023. It gives our artisans an official stamp of authenticity and access to various benefits.”
We collaborated with artisans creating ganjifa-themed jewelry and a designer engaged on bridal put on impressed by the art. “We’re also tying up with small shops in Goa and Mumbai, conducting workshops in colleges interested in art, and collaborating with institutions including NIFT and B.S. Bandekar College of Fine Art in Sawantwadi. We encourage students to intern with us, explore the art form, and apply it in new ways.”
The subsequent large purpose? Expanding the museum to showcase their rising assortment. “We’ve acquired the largest collection of ganjifa and playing cards from across India,” Shraddha says.
The resort additionally presents curated experiences equivalent to a picnic at Amboli Ghats, visits to Shiroda or Vengurla seashores, a stroll by Sawantwadi village and a puppet efficiency at Pinguli village.
To reserve a room, mail information@sawantwadipalace.com or name +91 7498488318
The author was on the Sawantwadi Palace Boutique Art Hotel on the invitation of the resort
