Sharad Baug Palace

Kachchh (Kutch)

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This graceful 1867 Italianate palace, set among shade trees full of crows and bats, was the abode of the last maharao of Kachchh, Madansingh, until his death in 1991. It lost most of its 3rd floor in the 2001 earthquake, and the remaining lower floors are closed. However, the adjacent former dining hall now houses the palace’s eclectic museum collection, including plenty of taxidermied specimens. The maharao's coffin lies in pride of place in the centre of the building.

Photography is forbidden.

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