A forgotten palace, with peeling partitions and cobwebbed ceilings, as soon as stood at the far finish of a quaint village in Odisha. Locals known as it Rani Palace. Today, it stands with its authentic sheen intact, as a boutique hotel, by the Chilika Lake in Rambha, a city in Ganjam district.
Rambha’s streets come alive in the evenings with retailers promoting contemporary catch off the Chilika. It is house to a number of households who depend upon the river for a residing. Rambha Palace, a walkable distance from the lake, lets one expertise life by a lagoon in a setup match for the kings.
The palace was restored over a interval of six years
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Special association
We arrive at its gates on a humid afternoon from Bhubaneshwar, that’s round 120 kilometres away. The palace was restored over a interval of six years by Chana Daswatte, a protégé of the in style Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa. Walking previous the lobby, the partitions of which have pictures of the palace from its earlier life, we immediately really feel the antiquity of the constructing.
Everything, proper from the billiards desk, crystal chandeliers, terrazzo tiles, lime plaster partitions, sabai grass carpets, and ikkat-inspired interiors, feels proper out of a museum show, but, retains a sure newness. This is the results of the restoration group’s guideline — to retain the soul of the authentic 18th Century construction.
The restoration group drew inspiration from the Rani’s envisioned values, her love for her folks, her affinity for native expertise
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Special association
Himangini Singh, co-founder, Hunch Ventures and associate, Rambha Palace, who has taken the property on lease from the royal household, says that the village and the palace at all times take her again to her childhood when she would go to the Chilika with her mother and father. When she first noticed it in its decayed state, she says, “It felt like it was quietly asking for a second chance.”
They got down to restore it utilizing supplies and strategies that had been utilized in the authentic structure. Himangini, who performed an necessary function in its restoration, provides, “Throughout the journey, we often asked ourselves: If Rambha’s Rani were restoring this palace today, what choices would she make? How would she have lived? What aesthetics would she have embraced? This imagined narrative became our compass. We drew inspiration from her envisioned values, her love for her people, her affinity for local talent, her refined yet grounded sensibility.”
European roots
After a late afternoon lunch of a typical Odia thali — their in-house restaurant serves native in addition to Continental and Chinese meals — head chef Gaurav Juyal walks us by the sprawling lawns with ornate fountain centrepieces. The palace, he explains, was constructed by Thomas Snodgrass, who was the Collector of Ganjam from 1791-92. “It was built by European architects and engineers,” he explains, including that it was finally purchased by king Rama Krushna Mardaraj of Khallikote and later, by king Harihar Mardaraj, who performed a essential function in the Odia Movement till his loss of life in 1909.
The palace was constructed by Thomas Snodgrass, who was the Collector of Ganjam from 1791-92
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Special association
An necessary monument in the historical past of Ganjam, it was right here, explains Gaurav, that the basis stone of the Utkal Union Conference (UUC) was laid. The palace performed host to hundreds of delegates from the numerous Odia Speaking Tracts, and the UUC finally result in the unification of Odisha. The major construction is flanked by a printing room and ice mill room on one aspect, each of which have additionally been renovated. Himangini says that the solely modification they did was for the roof. “Originally divided into six smaller sections, it has now been unified into a single, stronger roof,” she says, including that the revival was a “careful, deliberate process.”
The property, unfold throughout six acres, has 15 rooms for visitors. It was opened to the public on April 1, 2024. While the queen was not capable of witness the palace after its restoration, Himangini says her household visited it, strolling by the halls and lawns. “It was an emotional moment,” she says, including that their response was “one of the most meaningful validations of everything we had hoped to achieve.”
The ornate fountain centrepiece
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Special association
Markets and rain hats
An necessary a part of the itinerary for visitors at the palace, is a go to to the village. Rambha is house to a number of artisanal fishermen. On the freeway by the village, is an historic dry-fish market that’s run totally by girls. Prawns are a mainstay at most of the retailers right here.
Rambha can also be house to bamboo artisans from whom one should buy baskets and the beautiful talari
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Special association
At Renuka Bahera’s stall as an illustration, there are over 5 dried prawn varieties, that she sells for ₹200 to ₹400 a kilogram, relying on the dimension. How can we not go to their fish markets? Here, one can see gigantic, freshly caught prawns which can be nonetheless alive and wriggling — a uncommon sight, as any common at seafood markets would agree. Ragunath Behera, a intermediary between fishermen and sellers, explains that almost all of what’s caught at Chilika is taken to a fish depot at close by Balugaun city, the largest in the area. “This is then purchased by sellers who have shops at the markets here,” he explains.
The dry-fish market on the freeway
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Special association
Rambha can also be house to bamboo artisans from whom one should buy baskets and the beautiful talari, hats worn by staff in the fields. These hats, used for defense towards the solar and rain, are large — so large that they don’t match into even the largest suitcase. We purchase one nonetheless and lug it round the airport on our journey again, drawing curious glances. But there could be no higher memento from Odisha.
Room tariffs begin from ₹30,000. There are particular fares for summer time and monsoon months starting from ₹19,000 onwards. Rambha could be reached by highway or prepare from Bhubaneshwar. The author was at Odisha on invitation from Rambha Palace
Published – June 06, 2025 10:49 pm IST
