| Publication |
2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
As one enters the sprawling Suraksha Bhawan, the heart of the Border Security Force (BSF) Academy in Madhya Pradesh, an interesting story emerges about the architecture of the building. After World War I, Maharaja Jiwaji Rao Scindia, the ruler of Gwalior state, was invited as an observer to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in France. During his visit to France, he happened to see a building shaped like an anchored ship with multi-layered decks. Extremely fascinated by the architecture of the building, he decided to construct a similar one in his kingdom, and use it for retreats and other recreational purposes. As soon as he returned to India, the search for land began and finally Tekanpur, a small village located 30 km from Gwalior, was zeroed in for this ambitious construction. To realise his dream, Scindia commissioned a Spanish architect to design the retreat. By joining two mountains, a massive embankment (a 1875 metres long and 17.7 metres high dam) was created for this purpose. On this embankment, Scindia's vision of a perfect recreational getaway came into existence in the Thirties.
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