By Pradeepta Mallick

Introduction

Honourable Chief Minister of Odisha, Respected Members of the Legislative Assembly, Esteemed Officials of the Department of Culture, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Department of Tourism, and all stakeholders entrusted with the preservation of our state’s glorious heritage:

With profound respect for the legacy of our ancestors, a deep sense of responsibility as citizens and inheritors of Odisha’s rich historical and cultural tradition, and acute concern for the state of our shared patrimony, we—on behalf of scholars, activists, and the people of Odisha—submit this petition. We urgently call for the restoration of the iconic Parlakhemundi Palace (also known as Gajapati Palace) and Brundaban Palace, and for the holistic recognition and revitalization of the enduring legacy of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo—a figure without whose vision and sacrifice, modern Odisha would not exist as it does today.

This appeal is grounded in historical fact, contemporary realities, and the emotional pulse of Odia identity. It is strengthened by the research, activism, and selfless dedication of numerous local actors, including, but not limited to, Vishnu (Bishnu) Mohan Adhikari, Deepak Naik, the Youths of Parlakhemundi, noted national social advocate and son of the soil, Sri Charudutta Panigrahi whose tireless efforts reflect the urgent necessity for government intervention. Our aspiration—and our demand—is clear: to safeguard, restore, and celebrate these monuments and legacies not only as relics of the past, but as cornerstones of a vibrant, inclusive, and prosperous future for Odisha.

The Historical Significance of Parlakhemundi Palace

A Living Monument of Odia Heritage and Statehood

Parlakhemundi Palace, constructed between 1835 and 1843, stands as a monumental testament to the ambitions and enlightened governance of the Gajapati rulers of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. The decision to erect this grand palace was finalized on 20th May 1835, with an initial allocation of 4.5 lakh rupees—a vast sum in the era—to British architect Robert Fellows Chisholm, renowned for his Indo-Saracenic designs.

The Palace is more than merely the erstwhile royal residence; it is deeply interwoven with the genesis of the Odia state. It was within these very halls that the “seeds of a separate statehood for the Odia-speaking people were sown”. The site hosted critical meetings of the Utkal Sammilani (notably its 10th session in December 1914), and the aspirations of a unified Odisha were energised by the activism and statesmanship of the then Maharaja and his associates. The history of the Parlakhemundi Zamindari is, therefore, inextricably linked to the birth of Odisha as India’s first linguistically organised state on 1 April 1936.

The Palaces as Sites of Cultural Renaissance

Beyond its political significance, Parlakhemundi Palace, alongside Brundaban (“Basant Niwas”) Palace, occupies a central place in the artistic, educational, and social evolution of Odisha. The palatial complex, temples, and associated structures were the locus of a vibrant patronage system that nurtured poets, artisans, musicians, and scholars, facilitating the flowering of Odia language, literature, and arts in an era when linguistic and cultural identity faced serious threats from colonial and regional domination.

Architectural and Intangible Heritage: The Unique Splendour of Gajapati and Brundaban Palaces

Architectural Marvel and Syncretism

Parlakhemundi Palace is an architectural marvel, embodying a harmonious blend of the Indo-Saracenic style with Byzantine, European, and indigenous Odia features. The structure, reportedly analogous in design to Chisholm’s later Senate House in Chennai, is remarkable for its:

  • Three-storey elevation;
  • Symmetrical wings (Raja Mahal and Rani Mahal) mirrored about a central axis;
  • Gilt-decorated Durbar Hall featuring intricate wooden trellis-work and mirrored wall decorations;
  • Expansive verandahs, courtyards, and marble, brick, wood, and stone construction;
  • Use of Burma teak, granite pillars, imported stained-glass windows, and authentic European fittings.

Important architectural innovations include the Singhadwar (lion’s gate) flanked by grand lion sculptures—a motif predating similar architectural elements in Europe—and features such as secret tunnels for strategic retreat, a Kalyan Mandap for sacred ceremonies, and an awe-inspiring mechanical bell for public timekeeping.

Brundaban Palace, set on the lush banks of the Mahendratanaya river, is equally significant. Built between 1890 and 1905, reportedly by Italian architects, the structure reflects Indo-European architectural idioms and advanced engineering suited to the subtropical climate. Its 50 rooms, conference halls, high-quality imported fittings, and secret underground tunnel to the main palace combine opulence with exigency.

Living Heritage: Art, Music, Festivals, and Community

The palaces were not static symbols but dynamic nodes of cultural production. They housed and nurtured world-renowned poets like Kabikalahansa Gopal Krushna Patnaik, fostered horn and ivory crafts unique to Paralakhemundi, hosted Sanskrit dramas, literary meets, and sports (including the first tennis and cricket matches in southern Odisha), and maintained rare manuscript collections, mural paintings, and a mini-zoo.

Today, many elements of these traditions survive only in memory or fragility, awaiting revival through conscientious restoration.

The Indelible Legacy of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo

Architect of Odisha’s Statehood: Vision and Sacrifice

Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo (26 April 1892 – 25 May 1974) is rightly hailed as the “founder of Odisha” and the quintessential architect of modern Odisha statehood. A fierce campaigner for Odia linguistic and cultural rights, he, along with other luminaries like Utkal Gourav Madhusudan Das, employed his personal fortune to sustain the Odia identity movement and relentlessly represented the case for Odisha’s unification at the British government’s Round Table conferences in London in 1931 and 1933.

It was due to his advocacy and determination that, following centuries of dismemberment, Odia-speaking regions were finally amalgamated into a single province. Maharaja Gajapati was appointed the first Prime Minister (then Premier) of Odisha on 1 April 1937, a position he held again from November 1941 to June 1944.

Champion of Civil Welfare, Education, and Development

Krushna Chandra Gajapati’s philanthropic impact is legendary:

  • Agriculture: Over 1281 irrigation tanks constructed, which transformed Ganjam into the “rice bowl of Odisha”;
  • Education: Established scholarships for poor and meritorious students, founded or supported institutions like SKCG Autonomous College (Odisha’s second oldest), the Maharaja’s Boys’ High School (est. 1857), Sanskrit College (est. 1912), and promoted printing of Oriya textbooks to combat linguistic marginalization;
  • Public health and Social Welfare: Built hospitals, choultries, roads, and public shelters, improved healthcare access (notably for women and indigenous tribes), and promoted gender equality reforms;
  • Economic and Infrastructural Prowess: Initiated the Paralakhemundi Light Railway (Odisha’s first railway line), advanced modern farms, and was a Member of the Royal Agricultural Commission;
  • Cultural Patronage: Supported research in Odia music, literature, art, and preserved regional crafts, extending patronage to scholars like Dr. Satyanarayana Rajguru and musicians such as Apanna Panigrahi;
  • Military and Political Service: Served as Captain in World War I, received the KCIE Knighthood, and was a Member of the Constituent Assembly of India.

His personal engagement with communities, frequent interactions with tribals (especially the Lanjia Saora tribe), and selfless donations to scientific, social, and even industrial projects inspired by Biju Patnaik, further cement his place as an extraordinary figure in Indian and Odia history.

Emotional Resonance and State Recognition

Few figures in India’s regional histories can claim to have earned such heartfelt devotion: his death in 1974 prompted a state funeral at Paralakhemundi, and the naming of Gajapati district in his honour stands as an enduring testament to the people’s affection. His birth anniversary (26 April) is commemorated across Odisha; a commemorative stamp and first-day cover were issued on his birth centenary in 1992 by the Government of India.

The Current State of Parlakhemundi and Brundaban Palaces: A Tragedy of Neglect

Gajapati (Parlakhemundi) Palace: Crumbling Walls and Lost Glory

Despite its stature as the heart of the Odia movement and a singular representation of high architectural heritage, Gajapati Palace is now in a state of alarming decay. Reports and field visits reveal:

  • Crumbling walls, cracked roofs and terraces, and damaged doors, windows, and floors;
  • Accumulation of dust and grime on historical artefacts;
  • Mural paintings and wooden décor at serious risk due to water infiltration and lack of climate control;
  • Decrepit servant quarters, garages, and outbuildings, some infested by wild shrubs and vines;
  • Absence of systematic records, inventories, or digital documentation of the palace’s invaluable archive and collections.

These are not minor maintenance lapses. If not addressed swiftly, we risk losing not only bricks and mortar, but the tangible evidence of our collective narrative.

Brundaban Palace: From Royal Retreat to Ruin

Once the summer sojourn where the royal families retreated for leisure and cultural functions, Brundaban Palace is now a study in dereliction. Despite a substantial renovation grant from the state government years ago, restoration efforts were sub-standard and misdirected:

  • Original features destroyed (e.g., Ranikund, ancient artefacts stolen or lost, unauthorised demolition of historic structures);
  • New construction is poorly maintained and is already deteriorating;
  • Newly appointed regular staff—occasional contract guards, needing consistent remuneration, so that theft and vandalism can be prevented;
  • Cracks are visible throughout, terraces are sagging, and moss or weeds engulf decorative details;
  • The overall site, instead of a pride of tourism, appears as a cautionary tale of neglect and mismanagement.

Lack of Systemic Stewardship

The wider failure lies at the policy and implementation level. While the ASI and INTACH have nominal oversight or “protection” status, vital day-to-day care, and strategic restoration—necessitating skilled artisans, scientific methods, and stakeholder engagement—are absent. Lip-service or occasional tourism campaigns cannot substitute for a well-resourced, transparent, and accountable long-term conservation strategy. Officials, as documented by former MPs and heritage advocates, have so far appeared at best indifferent, at worst complicit in the ongoing loss of Odisha’s architectural legacy.

The Rising of Citizen Activists and Scholars: Sustaining Hope and Demanding Action

The Role of Youth, Scholars, and NGOs

In the face of government inaction and apathy, Paralakhemundi’s youth and local scholars have become Odisha’s principal heritage guardians. Noteworthy is the activism and documentation efforts of the local youth and not the pseudo-historians & intellectuals from Bhubaneswar.

The Youths of Parlakhemundi: Through social media outreach, public demonstrations, and volunteer-driven maintenance (however limited by means), the youth have shown immense pride and engagement with Odia language, crafts, and the symbolic value of these monuments. Their activism reflects a powerful sense of “place attachment,” amplifying calls for government accountability and cultural stewardship.

Emotional and Symbolic Resonance in Heritage Activism

Research and heritage management literature underscores the value of “sense of place”—that emotional, often intergenerational attachment to sites imbued with history, memory, and meaning. It is this “sense of place” that transforms a palace from stone and timber into the soul of a people. The symbolism of Parlakhemundi Palace, Brundaban Palace, and the legacies they contain extends far beyond physical walls: it is a source of pride, identity, and belonging for millions of Odias at home and in the diaspora.

Heritage Preservation Policies in Odisha: Current Initiatives and Gaps

Odisha’s New Heritage Policy: Potential and Limitations

The recent announcement of Odisha’s comprehensive Heritage Policy, aiming to safeguard more than 3,000 monuments, is an ambitious and laudable step. Drawing on partnerships with institutions such as IIT Madras and the National Institute of Water Sports, the policy promises structural audits, advanced conservation techniques, digital engagement, and a nodal task force (composed of Culture, Law, and Tourism officials) for monitoring and implementation.

Public documents lay out an inclusive vision: convergence of local and scientific expertise, community participation, sustainable management, integration of heritage and tourism, and skill-building for local artisans. In principle, the policy could be the model for public-private partnerships and for mobilizing both government and grassroots actors for conservation.

However, practical outcomes depend on effective, transparent execution. Hundreds of heritage monuments in Odisha—including Parlakhemundi and Brundaban Palaces—remain in catastrophic neglect, suggesting poor alignment between policy intentions and ground realities. Bureaucratic delays, misallocation of renovation funds, insufficient training of staff, and lack of proper accountability mechanisms have marred past efforts and threaten to undercut the exciting aspirations of Odisha Vision 2036.

Lessons from Heritage Restoration Best Practices

Comparative analyses from recent successful restorations—Rambha Palace, Belgadia Palace, Dhenkanal Palace, and Aul Palace—highlight the essential ingredients for sustainable heritage management:

  • Authentic restoration with minimal structural alteration and use of traditional materials and techniques;
  • Stakeholder engagement, respecting the lived experience and memories of local communities;
  • Creation of economically viable models (such as heritage hotels, museums, learning centres) to ensure ongoing maintenance and community benefit;
  • Digital documentation and open access to historical records;
  • Protection from vandalism, theft, and inadvertent loss;
  • Transparency of financial flows; regular audits.

In these cases, INTACH and the ASI played an advisory role, but success depended on committed leadership from both the royal families and community activists, careful craftsman selection, and strict preservation protocols.

Structure, Substance, and Strategies for an Effective Petition

Legal and Formal Elements

A formal petition under Indian law—especially when seeking intervention from the highest state authorities—must be fact-driven, explicitly data-backed, and grounded in precedent or existing policy frameworks. Essential components should include:

  • A clear synopsis (why the issue is urgent and relevant);
  • Chronological list of key dates and events;
  • Profile and credentials of petitioners and activists;
  • Evidence of harm: current state of palaces, documentation, testimonies, expert reports;
  • The legal/statutory basis for government obligation to act (including reference to Article 49 and 51A(f) of the Constitution of India and Odisha’s specific heritage legislation);
  • Detailed, actionable prayers/reliefs (restoration, engagement of expert agencies, ongoing supervision, community involvement);
  • Declarations of public (not personal) interest, and disclosure of any prior actions or grievances;
  • Supplementary annexures (photographs, news clippings, field reports, contractor/consultant advice).

Emotional Argumentation: Integrating Public Sentiment

Experience and scholarship alike demonstrate that petitions and ceremonial appeals which evoke deep emotional responses—rooted in historical pride, sense of place, and generational responsibility—are more likely to mobilize both government and public action. Thus, a ceremonial petition should blend statistical fact with narrative, local testimony, poetic invocation, and the voices of youth and elders alike.

Calls to Action: Prayers, Reliefs, and Recommendations

In light of the above, we respectfully demand the following:

  1. Immediate Comprehensive Structural Audit: Commission a professional, scientific survey (with the involvement of IIT Madras and INTACH) of both Parlakhemundi (Gajapati) and Brundaban Palaces to ascertain risk, prioritize urgent interventions, and develop a time-bound, fully costed restoration plan.
  2. Transparent Public-Private Restoration Partnership: Establish a multi-stakeholder committee comprising government officials, INTACH/ASI experts, historians, craftsmen, youth and citizen representatives (including Vishnu Adhikari, Deepak Naik, and the Youths of Parlakhemundi), to oversee and periodically review all restoration and conservation activities.
  3. Heritage Status and Legal Protection: Grant full State-protected Monument status to both palaces, ensuring the highest standard of legal protection under the Odisha Ancient Monuments Preservation Act and relevant central laws.
  4. Community-Engaged Adaptive Reuse: Develop parts of Parlakhemundi Palace as a living museum and cultural centre, with curated exhibitions on the Odia unity movement, the poetry, music, folk crafts (including horn, ivory, and bamboo art), and the scientific and philanthropic legacy of Maharaja Gajapati. Where feasible, explore eco-friendly boutique tourism to provide sustainable revenue and employment for local communities.
  5. Digital Documentation and Open Archives: Digitally scan, photograph, and catalogue all historical murals, paintings, manuscripts, artefacts, and architectural features in collaboration with local researchers and the Youths of Parlakhemundi. Create a public online archive to foster scholarship, transparency, and international awareness.
  6. Model Heritage Training Hubs: Utilize the restoration process as a living laboratory for skill-transmission in conservation, authentic craftsmanship, and modern heritage management, in line with Odisha’s capacity-building goals and recommendations under the new heritage policy.
  7. Regular Review and Accountability: Institute an annual public forum (with published audit reports and public Q&A) on the status of the palaces, open to all citizens and stakeholders. Provide for evaluation by independent experts and invite international partnerships (where appropriate) to share best practices and mobilize global support.
  8. Celebrate Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati’s Legacy: Institute an annual festival of Odia culture, music, and unity at Parlakhemundi Palace, highlighting both its historical role and future potential. Ensure the continued publication, translation, and performance of literary, musical, and philosophical works patronized or created by the Maharaja.

The Consequences of Inaction: A Final, Respectful Warning

Heritage, once lost, is lost forever. To ignore the cries of Parlakhemundi and Brundaban Palaces is to disown not only our past, but our children’s right to know the fullness of Odia history. Every passing year of neglect accelerates the decay, erasures, and irretrievable loss of intangible as well as tangible legacy. If decisive action is not taken, Odisha risks eroding the very foundation of its state-building narrative, diminishing its stature among the world’s great cultures and, most acutely, disconnecting its people from the living wellspring of their pride.

Closing Invocation

Let us, therefore—citizens, officials, custodians, and inheritors—rise to our collective duty. Let us transform the silence of ruined halls into the chorus of restoration, the desolation of neglect into the light of renewed stewardship. Let us ensure that Parlakhemundi and Brundaban Palaces stand once again not as mournful relics, but as radiant beacons illuminating the courage, wisdom, and creativity of the Odia people. Let us, in restoring these monuments, restore as well our communal spirit and our promise to future generations.

With hope, urgency, and unwavering resolve, we submit this ceremonial appeal, confident that the Government of Odisha and the institutions entrusted with our heritage will fulfil their sacred mandate.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the conscious citizens, scholars, youth, and all who hold dear the heritage of Odisha.

State Formation Museum at Parlakhemundi

This petition is both a plea and a pledge. We beseech our leaders for action, and pledge as citizens our partnership and vigilance in the stewardship of our past. In the measured words of Odia heritage wisdom: “Heritage, once lost, is lost forever.” Let us not allow the palaces of Parlakhemundi and Brundaban—or the memory of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo—to fade into silence. Let us rather write, with courage and care, a new chapter—a chapter of recovery, pride, and renewal.

The absence of a State Formation Museum at Parlakhemundi is a poignant oversight in Odisha’s cultural and political memory. As the cradle of modern Odisha’s identity—where Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati played a pivotal role in the state’s formation in 1936—Parlakhemundi deserves more than passing mention in textbooks. A museum here would not only honor the legacy of visionary leadership and linguistic pride but also serve as a living archive of the aspirations, struggles, and negotiations that shaped Odisha’s birth. Its absence reflects a broader neglect of regional memory and the ceremonial dignity owed to foundational moments. Establishing such a museum would be an act of historical justice and cultural renewal.

(The writer is an advocate of Odia Asmita)

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in the article are solely those of the writer and do not in any way represent the views of Sambad English.