Trip to Statue of Unity on 28/09/2019

Like most visitors to Gujarat, I thought I should not miss the opportunity to see the Statue of Unity. I had heard that this statue of SardarVallabhbhai Patel on the river Narmada in Kevadiya colony is the world’s tallest one (182 metres), overshadowing other tallest statues in the world.

We started from Khokra Circle, Ahmedabad in Appu's Hyundai I-10 Car at 6 45 am on Saturday, 28th September 2019. The distance of 200 km from Ahmedabad was not a deterrent factor since the main route from Ahmedabad to Vadodara (Baroda) was through Express Highway where we could travel at 100 km per hour. The toll fee at the Toll Plaza was Rs.110 for one way. Ahmedabad- Vadodara was only 95 km and on the way about 50 km away we came across Anand the the home of  famous Amul factory . It was at 7.45 a.m then. It was perhaps a coincidence that it was SardarVallabhbhai Patel, a social leader then, who initiated in 1946 the formation of a cooperative establishment named Anand Milk Union Ltd (or AMUL in short) to help the farmers from the exploitation of milk middlemen and traders We would have loved to visit the factory but but then we will be late in reaching the statue venue and visitors were allowed only between 2 pm and 4 pm in Amul factory. We, therefore, continued our journey and reached Vadodara at 8.20 a.m. 

From Vadodara, we turned to the normal three-lane highway. The Express highway from Vadodara goes straight to Mumbai. At 8.45 a.m. we reached a four-way junction in Kapurai Chokidi from where it was 80 km to the site of the statue in Rajpipla about 3.5 km away from the nearest town Kevadiya. At about 10.15 am we reached the site, and since there were not much visitors at that time we could park the car park after paying a fee of Rs.150 at the car park near the venue. 

Normally, on holidays there will be heavy rush and vehicles will have to be parked some distance away from where the visitors will be transported in tourist buses to the site and return to the parking area free of charge. At the entrance, there are security checks of bags and body check with metal detectors. 

Since the complex does not have locker facility large/heavy bags were not allowed, and items like cigarettes, matchbox, lighters, other inflammable items, intoxicants or pets were not allowed inside the Complex. Food items were not allowed inside the complex, and banana and biscuits that we carried were removed from our bags. An escalator took us to the basement of the statue. 

The base structure is about 60-metre height and on which stood the Statue of Unity. Inside the 60m high structure, Patel museum is located.

See the 60 m high base structure in the picture.

The statue is divided into five zones of which only three are accessible to the public. From its base to the level of Patel's shins is the first zone which has three levels and includes an exhibition area, mezzanine and roof. Zone 1 contains a memorial garden and a museum. The second zone is the area to the shin (feet to knee), while the third extends up to the viewing gallery at 153 metres. Above the chest, there are two more zones which are meant for the maintenance staff only. The ticket to visit all the three zones is Rs 350. If only up to the museum, the charge is only Rs 120. We decided to skip the museum, and went up by the escalator to the feet area of the statue

There we could walk around and see the panoramic beauty of the lake formed by the water of Narmada river coming out of the Dam. 

The statue is located on an island like area in the lake called Sadhu Bet. Two mountains Vindhyachal and Satpura face the lake and the statue. The mountains, the artificial lake and the SardarSarovar Dam together present a beautiful sight from the Statue.

The concrete towers which form the statue's legs contain two elevators, each one can carry 26 people at a time. 

Using the elevator, we reached the third zone, i.e. at the chest of the statue, 200 people can be accommodated at a time in that zone. We were at the innermost part of the statue which is the RCC (Reinforced concrete) part and the RCC structure is covered with steel frame and outside the steel frame stands the brass frame of the statue. The 8 mm Bronze cladding which is the outermost forms his coat and dhoti. There are windows on these two steel and brass structures at Zone 3 chest level. From here, we could see the breath-taking view of the mountains, lake and the Narmada SardarSarovar dam together. 

Interestingly, no one at the base of the statue can see these windows and the visitors standing in the chest area of the stature since this area is about 153 metres high. From the base, only the bronze coat of Sardar Patel is visible. This is the beauty of the construction. After the visit to the chest area of the statue, we came down to zone 1 and entered the Sardar Patel Museum. 

Inside the Museum.

The Museum presents the life of SardarVallabhbhai Patel and his contributions to society. There is an audiovisual gallery providing a 15 minutes presentation on SardarVallabhbhai Patel and the tribal culture around the area where the statue is situated. The museum area also contains toilets, drinking water facilities and Children’s play area. 

After visiting the museum using the elevators we came back to the Security zone and went straight to the food court. By then we were all famished. We had paav-bhaji and coffee at the food court, and we returned to the car park for our onward journey to Poicha. 

There are two famous temples at Poicha and the tour operators of Ahmedabad are perhaps making money by coupling the visit to Statue of Unity with a visit to Poicha temples. Poicha is a place between Kevadiya town and Vadodara about 40 km away from the location of the Statue of Unity. The road to the temple was so bad with full of potholes that it took a lot of time to reach Poicha. 

Nilkanthdham Swaminarayan Temple in Poicha

The Nilkanthdham Swaminarayan temples and Kuber Bhandari Temple are on the banks of the river Narmada, and both are under the management of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Rajkot.

 

Nilkanthdham Temple.

Nilkanthdham temple is one of the beautiful construction on the banks of the sacred river Narmada. It is dedicated to Lord Swamy Narayan. 

However, we could visit only Nilkanthdham Temple because we reached Poicha only by 4 45 pm and had spent about an hour in the temple. According to Swaminarayan Gurukul, they aim to balance between spirituality and modernity. Nilkanthdham has many sectors like the exhibition zone, the park zone, Kids Play zone, Food court and many other zones whose names we could not get. 

The weather was cloudy, and we decided to skip Swaminarayan temple and proceed to Vadodara. We wanted to leave before darkness spreads in. 

The temple in the night is said to be spectacular especially the light show. The prashad (Food Pudding) is also considered very delicious.

Anju had a strong desire to go to the Swaminarayan temple on the other side of the river Narmada but dropped it since she knew we are old and one of us is a patient. 

It was already late and to reach Swaminarayan temple in this cloudy weather we had to cross River Narmada by boat. Moreover, before the night falls we have to reach Vadodara where we have booked rooms for the night stay. 

Vadodara was almost 60 km away and if we started late, we would have to drive through anunlit and unfamiliar road where trees on both sides project a jungle appearance and for any reason, if the car breaks down somewhere in the middle no help would be available. So we bid adieu to Nilkanthdham temple and proceeded to Vadodara before 6 p.m. 

Surprisingly, the road from Poicha was good and we reached Vadodara by 7.15 pm. At 7 30 PM, we checked into the hotel. By then we were all dead tired and we hit the bed immediately after partaking dinner.

The next day morning after taking the complimentary breakfast provided by the hotel, we checked out and began the next item on ouritinerary: Lakshmi Vilas Palace.

Lakshmi Vilas Palace

The Lakshmi Vilas Palace is truly the pride of Vadodara. The Gaekwad, a prominent Maratha family, who ruled the Baroda State, built this magnificent Palace in 1890. This Palace is one of the most majestic structures in India and was the residence of Maharaja SayajiraoGaekwad III. 

The Palace was styled on the Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture. Major Charles Mant was credited to be the main architect of the palace..Built at a cost of Rs.27,00,000 at that time it boasted the most modern amenities such as elevators and the interior is reminiscent of a large European country house. 

It remains the largest private dwelling built till date and is four times the size of Buckingham Palace. The Palace compound is of over 500 acres of land and houses several buildings, particularly banquets and convention halls, MotiBagh Palace, Motibaug cricket ground and the Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum building. In the 1930s Maharaja Pratapsinh added a golf course for use by his European guests. In the 1990s, Pratapsinh’s grandson Samarjitsinh, a former Ranji trophy cricket player, renovated the course and opened it to the public. 

There are three gateways in different parts of the palace. Though there are about 170 rooms, visitors are allowed in a limited area only. The entry fee for visiting the Palace is Rs.225. Visiting time is 10 am to 4 30 pm, except on Mondays and public holidays. Photography is strictly prohibited inside the palace. An audio guide with the earplug is given to all the visitors at the entrance. It is convenient that by fitting it to our ears, we could listen to the history of the palace, about the artwork, carving, painting etc. as we walk inside the palace. 

The Durbar hall is most spectacular. Its double-height hall is fitted with Venetian mosaic floor, Belgium stained glass windows and walls with intricate mosaic decorations.Huge Belgian glass crystal chandeliers light up the halls. This durbar hall shows the depth of the grandeur of the Palace. The Royal Armoury is open to visitors and it is difficult to count the number of swords and knives kept there which included prestigious Nav Durga sword used by the king. Like any other Palace, grand staircases with very elaborate marble railings and long corridors enhance the splendour of the interior. 

The museum presents interesting and proud moment for the visitors from Kerala since on the walls adorn a large collection of paintings by Raja Ravi Varma. One hall was exclusively kept to exhibit Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings. It was a wonderful feast for anyone who loves paintings since such paintings of Raja Ravi Varma cannot be seenin Kerala. If photography was permitted, we would have taken photos of all the paintings and that would have been an awesome collection. On the wall, it was clearly written that these paintings are by Raja Ravi Varma who hailed from Travancore. It was said that the King invitedRaja Ravi Varma to the Palace where he stayed for 3 years doing all these paintings. The collection of paintings included some wonderful portraits of most members of the royal family in addition to paintings based on Hindu mythology.

After completing the visit to the museum, we came out and saw some cricket teams from nearby areas practising in the cricket ground. 

There are many big old trees including a 100-year-old banyan tree called "Sayajivad". We were fortunate to see a peacock dancing around. Palace has a tall tower mounted with a red light, which used to inform the people that the king is in.

Coming out of the Palace, the feeling one would have is that Lakshmi Vilas Palace is the epitome of luxury and a reminder of the great wealth the King had who was once credited as the 8th richest man in the world. 

Most of us felt as though we were shaken up from an exciting dream world as we sat down for our lunch of a super Gujarati Thali. Silently, we bid goodbye to Vadodara as the car began its return journey to Ahmedabad.