Maharani Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India ...

Chimnabai I (18647 May 1885) was a queen and the first wife of

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born as Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal G ...

of the princely state of

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

(now in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Several memorials were built by Sayajirao following her early death.

Biography

Chimnabai was born Lakshmibai in a

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

family to her parents Shrimant

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

Haibat Rao Sahib Chavan

Mohite Mohite is a copper tin sulfide mineral with the chemical formula Cu2SnS3. It is colored greenish gray and leaves a gray streak (mineralogy), streak. It is Opacity (optics), opaque and has metallic Lustre (mineralogy), luster. Its crystal system i ...

and Nagamma Bai Sahib Mohite in 1864. Her father was Amirrao of

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore,#Pletcher, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian c ...

and known as Daji Sahib. Her mother was a daughter of Sri Abaji Rao Ghatge, Serjirao, of Tanjore. Lakshmibai, along with her two sisters, were adopted by princess Vijaya Mohana (1845–1885) who was the daughter of

Sivaji Sontineni Sivaji (born 30 June 1971), is an Indian actor and voice actor who works in Telugu cinema. He had won the Nandi Award for Best Male Dubbing Artist for '' Dil''. His notable performances include ''Missamma'' (2003), '' Adirindayya Chan ...

, the last Maharaja of Tanjore. There is not much details about her life. She was educated at the Tanjore Fort. She had training in Sadir Attam dance and she played

veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( IAST: vīṇā), is any of various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.

. As a dowry, a Sadir Attam dance troupe was sent with her to Baroda which introduced the dance form there. She changed her name to Chimnabai I when she married Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda State on 6 January 1880. They had two daughters and a son. Both of their daughters; Bajubai (1881–1883) and Putlabai (1882–1885); died at an early age. The foundation stone of the present royal residence of the

Gaekwad Gaekwad (also spelt Gaikwar and Gaikwad; ) is a surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The surname is found among the Maratha, Kunbi, Koli, Mali & Mahar Jatis/ Tribes. Etymology The Marathi historian D.S. Parasnis and his co-autho ...

family was laid by Sayajirao and Chimnabai. The palace is named

Lakshmi Vilas Palace The Lakshmi Vilas Palace ( Gujarati: લક્ષ્મી વિલાસ મહેલ) in Vadodara, Gujarat, India, was constructed in 1890 by the Gaekwad family, a prominent Maratha family, who ruled the Baroda State. Major Charles Mant wa ...

after her birth name Lakshmi. She died on 7 May 1885 of pregnancy related complications. After the birth of Fatehsingh Rao (b.1883), she died due to pregnancy related complications. According to ''Hirschfeld J.'', she died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

Memorials

Sayajirao Gaekwad III built the clock tower at

Raopura Raopura is an area of Vadodara city, Gujarat, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by p ...

area of

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

and named it as

Chimnabai Clock Tower The Chimnabai Clock Tower, also known as the Raopura Tower, is a clock tower situated in the Raopura area of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. It was completed in 1896 and named in memory of Maharani Chimnabai I, Chimnabai I (1864–1885), a Maharani, qu ...

(1896) in her memory. A vegetable market near Sursagar Lake was built and named 'The Maharani Chimnabai Market', which was later used as a town hall. The building was then converted in an imperial court named Maharani Chimnabai Nyay Mandir. A white marble statue of the queen is placed in the main room of the Nyay Mandir. As Chimnabai had died due to pregnancy-related complications, a hospital was built in 1885 in Baroda by Sayajirao for the well-being and safe delivery of other women of the state. The hospital was named Dufferin Hospital as it was inaugurated by

Lord Dufferin Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, (21 June 182612 February 1902), was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society. In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Queen Victoria, ...

, the then governor of the Bombay Presidency. At present, the hospital is known as Sir Sayajirao General Hospital. A lake was constructed by Sayajirao in Kadarpur village near

Kheralu Kheralu is a small town and a taluka in Mehsana district in Gujarat. History A bodhisattva sculpture from 3rd-4th century CE was discovered in Kheralu. Kheralu was home for a community of Humbada Jains in the 15th-16th century CE. Geography K ...

in memory of Chimnabai I and named Chimnabai Lake. The construction was started in 1898 and completed in 1905. It has a water storage capacity of 632 million cubic feet. The girl students who have excelled in medical education at the Baroda Medical College are honoured with the prize named after Chimnabai I. A white marble statue of Chimnabai I is placed in the Baroda Museum & Picture Gallery.

References

Sources

* {{Vadodara topics 1864 births 1885 deaths Baroda State Indian female royalty 19th-century Indian women 19th-century Indian people Veena players People from Tamil Nadu People from Vadodara Tuberculosis deaths in India 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis