Vithalbhai Haveli, Vaso

Vithalbhai Haveli is a mansion in Vaso, in Gujarat's Kheda district, built in 1872 and now a Monument of National Importance. It was restored between 1999 and 2001 and is an example of the state's late 19th-century domestic architecture.

The four-storey house stands on a square platform. Its frame is of wooden pillars and beams, with the gaps filled in brick and finished in lime plaster. The street front, main entrance and balconies are richly carved, and a Ganesha sits at the centre of the entrance lintel. Inside, a pillared verandah surrounds an open courtyard with an underground tank for rainwater. The ground floor has two large vestibules and thirteen rooms, with lattice windows painted with Krishna, Vishnu and other deities. The first-floor hall has a decorated wooden ceiling, and the ceiling of the second-floor hall is carved with floral designs inlaid with ivory. Brackets shaped like animals hold up the balconies, and the open top floor has arched halls and carved rings for a swing.