Hari Kothi situated in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, was bought and presented by His Late Highness Raja Sir Bhuri Singhji of Chamba to his eldest child, Princess Rattan Deiji Saheba upon her marriage to Prince Brijmohan Palji Saheb Bahadur of Kutlehar, subsequently the Raja of Kutlehar. Hari Kothi is one of the oldest estates in Dharamshala and consists of four acres of densely tree covered prime
land and a natural water spring, due to its positioning it offers incomparable views of the lush green Kangra Valley and Dharamshala town in front and the snow covered Dhauladhar mountain range behind. The estate is located in the exclusive area of town with the Central Tibetan Secretariat, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Gangchen Kyishong minutes walk away, the Palace of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a few minutes drive away and the market, Kotwali Bazaar, a two minute drive time away. The villa in the estate is a charming old structure, peculiar to the architectural design of its time and organic to its environment, built in the standard timber framed structure of the Indian Himalayas called "dhajji" which is with the load bearing wooden posts set into the foundation, vertical beams are then spanned by horizontal beams creating a mesh of wooden framework, within each square of about two feet by two feet corner to corner wooden planks are fitted in a diagonal cross, the open spaces are filled with stone blocks held together by a mortar of clay, lime and pine needles to increase the 'elasticity' of the building as Dharamshala is in a high seismic zone, this construction makes the building earthquake proof and is created to withstand climate that straddles between tropical sunshine, snow, icy winds, high humidity and rainfall which is amongst the highest in India. The estate has and continues to, host numerous Heads of State, Princes, Princesses and other distinguished guests. It is said that Swami Vivekananda too stayed here on his visit to the hill station. The late Shri Raja Saheb Shri Mahendra Pal ji Saheb Bahadur was born in this house in 1934 and spent many years here as did his mother, the late Rajmata Saheb Shrimati Rattan Deiji Saheba. The estate is now the summer residence of Shri Raja Saheb Shri Rupendra Palji Saheb Bahadur of Kutlehar. Hari Kothi is a private property and the estate is not open to the general public.
