दरभंगा हाउस, 7,मान सिंह रोड , दिल्ली.

न . दिल्ली के लूटियन जोन मे 1928 मे निर्मित इस सुन्दर भवन की खूबसुरती पर तब ग्रहण लग  गये  जब 1962 मे महाराजा  डा . कामेशवर  सिंह , सांसद  के आसमायिक निधन के बाद इसका केन्द्रिय सरकार  द्वारा  अधिग्रहण   कर लिया गया | कुछ वर्ष  अमेरिकन किरायेदार  के रहने के बाद IB का  मुख्यालय बनाया  गया और बाहरी  व्यक्ति के प्रवेश और तस्विर  लेने पर प्रतिबंध  लग गया . अब तो बस मानसिंह रोड से अकबर रोड को जोड़ने वाली स्ट्रीट रोड दरभंगा लेन की बोर्ड हीं दरभंगा की याद दिलाती है . 

इस भवन की दूर्दशा   की  ओर  ध्यान आकृष्ट  कराते हूए  उसकी उचित  रखरखाव  हेतु  Nehchal Sandhu  , IPS and Ex Director of Intelligence  Bureau and Deputy National Security Advisior to PMO लिखते हैं : “ The arcaded verandahs had been crudely bricked up. And inside, many of the commodious rooms had been partitioned into cubby holes. The few elegantly wood-panelled rooms with fireplaces bounded by dark pilasters standing on extended hearths, and marble mantelpieces supported by elegantly sculpted corbels, were reserved for the big bosses. As was the single lift, with a variety of heritage brass fitments and a relatively unspoilt Belgian mirror etched with the coat of arms of the Darbhanga Raj. Bathroom, which had a marble floor and blue and white tiles on the walls . Darbar Hall had peeled off at places, and its wooden flooring had lost its sheen. The loggias positioned so as to offer sweeping views of the lush gardens and orchard had been closed. The Italian marble floor of what might have been the dance floor lay cracked at many places. Portraits of erstwhile royals set within intricate white and gold plaster embellishments on the walls were missing. The inner courtyard had been divested of its centrepiece — an ornate fountain, and the vaulted corridors had been covered with artificial ceilings to conceal air-conditioning ducts. The tennis courts and lawns were not spared the jackboots of the sentries or the heels of women employees, who would gather to share their repasts. And the mango and litchi trees were invariably divested of their fruit well before maturity. With the central air-conditioning system losing steam, and CPWD professing inability to maintain obsolete equipment, every wall in the building was punctured for installation of window ACs. ” 

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