City to witness its erstwhile royal glory

RAJKOT: The city is all set to get a feel of its erstwhile royal glory. Hectic activity is on for the wedding of Tikka Saheb of erstwhile royal family Jaydeepsinhji Jadeja who will tie the nuptial knot with Saubhagyakangshini, who is the daughter of Harshvardhan Singh of the erstwhile princely state Dungarpur in Rajasthan, on January 24 at a hotel in Bangalore. Jaydeepsinhji is the son of Yuvaraj Mandhatasinhji Jadeja.
The reception will be held in Rajkot on January 25 but the city residents are particularly looking forward to get a glimpse of the royal wedding procession known as ‘Fuleku’ that will be carried out on January 22.
The Ranjit Vilas Palace of the city is being decorated in royal splendour and a series of traditional wedding rituals of the Rajkot royalty are underway since January 15.
According to Mandhatasinhji Jadeja, the Fuleku has been the most important event in all royal weddings and thousands of people turn up for it. He said that this one will also be a memorable event.
“The procession will kick off from Ranjit Vilas Palace at 3:30pm on Thursday. All the participants will be seen in traditional attire. Royal family members and members of the Kshatriya community will join the extravagant procession where there will be elephants, horses and over 50 vintage cars carrying members of the royalty from across the country,” Mandhatasinhji told TOI.
The procession will pass through Canal Road, Dhebar Road, Bhutkhana Chowk, Lodhawad Chowk, Malviya Chowk, Yagnik Road, Ramkrishna Ashram, Phulchhab Chowk, Limbda Chowk, Jawahar Road, Trikon Baug, Bhupendra Road and Swaminarayan Temple to return back to the palace. The wedding party will leave for Bangalore on January 23 and return on January 25 in Rajkot.
The vintage cars that will join the procession include a Buick Super, Hillman Minx, Oldsmobile Dynamic 76 Series, Chevrolet Phaeton Master Eagle Convertible Golden, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Bellar and Willys Station Wagon.