Nadiad ni haveli


Nadiad ni haveli, also called Bhausaheb Desai ni Haveli, is a haveli in Nadiad, Gujarat, India.

History

The haveli was built in 1783 by Prabhudas, grandfather of Rao Bhahudur Viharidas Desai who is popularly known as Bhausaheb Desai. He had inherited desaigiri from his ancestors who were tax collectors under the Mughal Empire. The arrangement continued under the British Raj even as his two sons, Haridas and Bechardas, took over as Diwansahebs to Junagadh state. The haveli was divided between Bhauaheb's five sons, each receiving about 50 rooms, in 1902. It is now owned by their descendants.
Tatya Tope had taken shelter there during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Swami Vivekananda had stayed and delivered lectures on spiritualism in 1892. Mahatma Gandhi had addressed people in 1917 during Kheda Satyagraha. Indian physician Zandu Bhatt had died there.

Architecture

The haveli has 249 rooms covering area of about 96,840 square feet. It has wooden carvings, several courtyards and many balconies covered with bronze sheets. It has a rain water harvesting system and an in-house badminton court also.
It is said that it has the second highest number of rooms in India, only after Rasthrapati Bhavan.