The Kathiwada Royal Family dates back 700 years. They  originally came from Junagadh, the Raja Khengars family from Gujarat. Having been defeated by Alladin Khilji at their magnificent Daulatabad fort they moved across the border to Madhya Pradesh.



Kathiwada principality with 181 sq Kilometers of dense forest is a delightful valley surrounded by the oldest mountains of India. The Aravalli ranges literally meaning "line of peaks" run aproximately 800 km in western India.

 

The charming Ratanmall Hill Plateau  acts as the natural boundary between Kathiwada( Madhya Pradesh) and Baria ( Gujarat) .The 40min trek from Kathiwada  via a waterfall and old forest in to the RatanMal sanctuary offers the wild life enthusiast the thrill of encountering the Sloth Bears. 

 

The sanctuary also has a large population of leopards. The  Kathiwada deciduous forest is full with local trees including Timru,Sal, Sadad , Semal , Bamboo and Mahua.

 

Most of the forest was planted by  Rana Onkarsinhji of Kathiwada himself. Since their permanent settlement, generations of Kathiwada Royal family grew up playing polo with their Royal neighbours, the Baria family. The c.1895  Kathiwada Raaj Mahal, with original art deco furniture from the 60s is owned by Raajmata Sangita Devi and Rana Shri Digvijaysinhji is nestled amidst 120 acres of privately owned land comprising mango orchards, banana plantations, coconut groves and organically cultivated paddy fields.

 

 

With the care for the environment the late Yuvraj Bharat Sinhji took to horticulture in his later years after pursuing sports in his formative years. It is his industrious wife  Sangita Devi and son  Digvijay Sinh who took up the great challenge of restoring their erstwhile home to its former glory. Having fallen into decay from being uninhabited for so long, the restoration of Kathiwada Mansion  became the mother and son's dream. The aim was to preserve its original structural heritage, yet create a sublimely comfortable living environment with all available contemporary amenities.

 

 

Sangita Sinh Kathiwada has a passion for the environment, design and heritage and runs the very successful fashion and design business, Melange, in Bombay. It is this craft that she has carefully integrated while resurrecting the Kathiwada Raaj Mahal, using authentic and organic design elements and materials. She went on to create relevant and especially woven textiles for each room.

 

Rana Digvijay Sinh  with drive and ambition to see their home re-born has qualifications from the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles in urban and rural development. His energies will be focussed towards creating inclusive development programs at the grassroots level. Digvijay Kathiwada manages a cricket league in Bombay and is of the opinion that rural Cricket and other sports can play an important role in development of the youth of rural India.

 

It is immensely important to both mother and son to revitalise the local tribal community. This will now be their next undertaking for  cultural enhancement and preservation in Kathiwada.