The way to Kila Dalijoda is not a usual ride to an Odisha homestay. It travels through a long elephant corridor; no paved roads and Google Maps to guide you. To land at Mangarajpur village, where stands the laterite building, is to go back in time.
At first glance, the building is deceptively medieval; locals call it a fort. But the building is a hunting lodge that borrows the architecture grammar of a European castle. Built by Raja Jyoti Prasad Singh Deo between 1931 and 1933, it preens with turrets, stained glass windows, and thick walls that hold the memories of the colonial age and now, regional adaptation. Martin & Burn, the British engineering firm that built the famous Howrah Bridge, were the chosen architects of Kila Dalijoda; their Anglo-Indian sensibilities were behind the Gothic styling and structural choices. “It was built for hunting expeditions, and never meant to be a palace,” says the host Debjit Singh Deo who belongs to the Panchkote Raj dynasty.
Windows line all its sides, and are designed for cross-ventilation in a climate that demands it. The walls of local laterite are thick and heat-resistant; some sections even incorporate volcanic stone, chosen as much for durability as for insulation. Inside, light filters through colored stained glass panels. Kila Dalijoda’s past tells a story of pride. By the late 1980s, it had fallen into neglect. Without maintenance, nature began to reclaim it. Its restoration was neither quick nor romantic. Starting around 2004, Debjit and his wife Namrata Kumari, faced numerous challenges. For nearly a decade, the building was effectively unliveable.
“We had no considerable funding to rebuilt this place. We used whatever money we could spare. Restoration was slow, but we wanted to bring it back to life without losing its essence,” reveals Debjit. The decision to restore rather than reinvent is what defines Kila Dalijoda today.
Outside, the landscape has been transformed by time. Tigers are long gone, but the area remains alive with birds, small creatures of the wild, and the occasional elephant moving through the sanctuary.