About Solarium in Jamnagar, Gujarat :
Solarium was sponsored by late Lt. Col. His highness Maharaja Jam Saheb Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji of Navanagar State in the year 1934. It was designed by Dr. Jean Saidam, a French Engineer. Approximately Rs. 6 lacs were spent to build this solarium. Actually there were total three solariums in the world. Two solariums located in France were destroyed during 2nd world war, due to bombarding and at present Jamnagar solarium is the only one in existence.
Total height of our solarium is 40 feet. The platform on which solarium cabins are built is mounted on a tower at a height of about 30 feet from the ground level. Platform is 114 feet long, having total 10 cabins for natural rays therapy. Its cabin size is 13 X 9 feet. The platform revolves in a horizontal plane and the patients bed in the cabin can simultaneously rotate vertically. Solarium is simultaneously adjusted every 10 to 15 minutes as per the movement of Sun in the sky and for this purpose a special arrangement is made in an observatory room to control this movements. Rotation of solarium is done by an electronic motor. However if the power supply fails, there is a pivoting system in the basement of the solarium by which a person can rotate it manually. To complete one full circle it takes 60 minutes.
Three types of rays therapy (i.e. Ultraviolet rays, Infrared rays and total radiation rays) are given in the treatment cabin by means of the special large concentrator glasses, which can concentrate two and a half time (2 ½ times) the sun rays. Special wavelength filter glasses are placed below in order to cut off the unwanted rays, so as the patient receives only desired rays for the treatment purpose. Due to unavailability of the concentrator glasses and filter glasses in India and abroad, and as the above original glasses were broken during last cyclone, the natural ray – therapy is not possible at present. Moreover all rays therapies are now available by prepared electrical gadgets. Therefore it has now only historical importance. It attracts large number of visitors from different parts of the country and abroad.