LAL KOTHI, GAYA: THE ARCHITECTURAL MARVEL

 

Lal Kothi, White House Compound, Gaya (Source: Author)

The Maharaja of Tekari built two magnificent buildings namely White house and Red house in a common compound of around 100 acres with approximately 60 and 40 acres for white house and red house respectively. Later known as white house compound and red house compound. The compound comprises orchards, gardens, lawns, a pond and wooded area. There were out houses, horse stables, a garage to house the fleet of cars, servants, staff and guard quarters, chabutaras and swimming pool. The whole campus was properly landscaped.

 

Lal Kothi, White House Compound, Gaya (Source: Manish Sharma)

At some point of time Maharaja Gopal Sharan Narain Singh of Tekari resided here in the white house. It was believed that the red house was built by the Maharaja to house meetings and other conferences. The 37th conference of Indian National Congress was held here in the red house compound in 1922, where Motilal Nehru and Chitranjan Das formed the "Swaraj Dal".

 

Lal Kothi, White House Compound, Gaya (Source: Author)

Presently the white house has been demolished. The pond (Gangti Pokhar) has been surface leveled. The compound wall has been demolished.  The whole campus has been plotted as a residential zone and sold individually. New residential buildings have come up and are being developed. No trace of the old planning can be seen except the Red House, which also has been sold to Buddhiya Seth of Ranchi. Currently the Survey office of Government of Bihar is running in the red house on lease. The current owner has now asked to vacate the building so that the historic structure could be pulled down and the legacy of the Tekari Raj would be erased. The structure was beautifully designed with decorative parapets, high ceiling height, thick walls worked as thermal insulation. The structure is climatically designed and well ventilated. There is a portico with entrance in north and a small entrance in east as well.

In the end what we will see in future would be a high rise apartment housing in place of the magnificent LAL KOTHI.

 

Author: Abhishek Kumar, Dated 10th day of January 2022.

Copyright @ Abhishek Kumar

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