Live Life Kingsize

Grecian baths, sepia family portraits, walls draped in silk, the leisurely pace of the Pathani suit-clad r...

One foot forward and you are propelled to another world. Leaving behind the raucous sound of blaring horns and boisterous streets, the car glides past achingly beautiful rhododendrons and regimented chrysanthemums, the soothing sound of wheel on cobbled path shutting the cacophony outside. 8216;8216;It is Tara Mahal,8217;8217; says the retainer who appears genie-like, ushering everyone into an antique suite before vapourising, leaving you with a dashing prince looking benignly from the wall.

A tall, ornamental gate is all that separates the past from the present at Raja Vijayendra Singh8217;s Fort Nalagarh in Solan district, Himachal Pradesh. It is a leap that most rajas of this hill-state are making. Heritage tourism, one that put Rajasthan on the world map of travellers, is what they are also looking for 8212; a resurrection of the past for profits in the present. The Himachal royal estates do not disappoint, they are equally grand, luxuriant and flamboyant.

Grecian baths, sepia family portraits, walls draped in silk, the leisurely pace of the Pathani suit-clad retainers make the fort a marvel of preservation

8216;8216;It8217;s an ideal way to preserve our culture for posterity,8217;8217; says Tikkaraj Aishwarya Katoch, the scion of the Kangra royal family, who is now a full-time hotelier. Ten years ago, his father Aditya Dev Chand, the erstwhile Raja of Lambagraon, took a tentative step in this direction when he converted Cloud8217;s End, his sprawling nine-acre summer retreat at Dharamsala, into cottages for holidaymakers.

His mother Chandresh Kumari, a senior Congress leader, recalls it was after an agonising debate they decided to throw open to public their cherished estate, built by her father-in-law after the big 1905 quake. 8216;8216;We did it for the sake of the palace which was decaying for want of care,8217;8217; says Chandresh. Today, the palace with its distinguished art deco interiors harking back to the 1930s, is a big hit with foreigners in search of solitude and a slice of history. 8216;8216;Finally, it8217;s able to take care of itself,8217;8217; she smiles.

A Treasure Trove
Among the heritage tourist spots in India, Paragpur, a village in Kangra, occupies a unique place. In 1997, it was the first to be declared a heritage village in India. And the credit goes to Vijay Lal, an industrialist, whose family had a hand in founding the village in memory of the Kangra princess who lived here 300 years ago. It was in the late 8217;90s that Lal decided to convert the mansion, which he had inherited from his grandfather, Justice Sir Jai Lal, into a resort. 8216;8216;But I wanted to do this without alienating the people of my village,8217;8217; says Lal, pointing with distaste at the stark contrast between the royal havelis of Rajasthan and the poor villages at their doorstep. Together with his wife Rani, they floated the idea of a heritage village, based on the model of the National Trust of Britain. The concept was an instant hit, both with the locals, who were now able to augment their income by merely being themselves, and tourists, who got to savour Himachal country life. 8216;8216;It has also injected new life into local handicrafts, which we now plan to brand and sell in association with INTACH and the likes of designers and retailers like Meera Muzaffar Ali,8217;8217; says Lal, who organises a series of festivals every year.

It is not pure commerce but the mindboggling cost of maintaining these stately homes which prompts even the most conservative of ex-royals mull tourism. Virbhadra Singh, former state chief minister, who hails from the former Bashahr state, confesses that at times he too is tempted to turn his Rampur Bushair Palace into a resort. 8216;8216;Though I have yet to take any concrete decision, it will solve the problem of its upkeep.8217;8217;

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It was this hard reality that drove Kanwar Rattanjit Singh and Kanwar Karanjit Singh, sons of the late Lt Col Rajkumar Ripitjit Singh of the Kapurthala family, to throw open part of the exotic Chaplsee Palace to visitors in 1976. A year later, Kanwar Uday Singh of Jubbal followed suit.

Sitting in his favourite tiger lounge, surrounded by hunting trophies, Singh recounts how it was the high cost of keeping the five-acre Woodville Summer Palace shipshape 8212; it was built at a cost of Rs 5 lakh in 1938 8212; that sent him rushing to shake hands with the Welcom Group of Hotels.

Vijayendra Singh and his wife Sukriti Kumari of Nalagarh

8216;8216;It is inevitable,8217;8217; says Vijayendra Singh, scion of the Hindur kingdom founded by Raja Ajai Chand in 1100 AD, who rescued the Nalagarh Fort from crumbling by joining hands with the same group in 1994. 8216;8216;Earlier, we visited the 15th century fort during the game season. But once the government banned hunting, even this stopped and the 100-room fort built at five different levels near the Sirsa river began falling apart.8217;8217;

The former state Health Minister, Vijayendra could not bear to see his heritage going to seed. 8216;8216;It was then that I decided to go commercial.8217;8217; Eight years later and nearly Rs 2 crore spent, the 20-acre fort is today a study in regal splendour.

8216;8216;We8217;ve got 22 suites, a sumptuous Diwan-e-Khas for corporate meets, a swimming pool, health club, golf greens, tennis court8230;8217;8217; reels off the general manager. But it is the painstaking emphasis on small details that makes the project so satisfying 8212; the imposing gate emblazoned with the coat of arms, the king-size rooms furnished with antiques, the Grecian baths, the sepia pictures of the royals, the 18th century porcelain plates, the walls draped with silk, the leisurely pace of the Pathani suit-clad retainers 8212; making Nalagarh Fort a marvel of preservation.

Add to this, the new inn-keepers8217; personal brand of hospitality, and Himachal will soon pull the rug under Rajasthan8217;s feet. 8216;8216;I8217;d rather be a guide to my own history than have an ADC or some other official doing the rounds,8217;8217; says a firm Tikka Aishwarya Katoch, who also runs Royal Expeditions Private Ltd.

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Others too seem to feel the same. Drop in at Woodsville in Shimla, and Kanwar Uday Singh will sit you down and explain how the palace was the abode of Sir William Mansfield, the then commander-in-chief of the Imperial British Army in 1886. The palace, which has the distinction of being the most photographed private building in Shimla, has played host to the crew of Jewel in the Crown, Bade Dilwala, Lootmar and the unforgettable Kudrat.

Arki: Raja Rajendra Singh of Arki above is one of the few living signatories of the Instrument of Accession

Visit the Arki Fort, an hour8217;s drive from Shimla, and it is not uncommon to be welcomed by Raja Rajendra Singh himself, normally pottering around in the garden. Accept his offer of piping hot tea in the thin shade of poinsittias, and he will treat his audience to a little lesson in history. Or a gripping explanation of how Himachal is a mini-India. 8216;8216;My forefathers came all the way from Ujjain, my daughter-in-law is from Rajasthan8230;8217;8217; says the Raja, one of the few living signatories of the Instrument of Accession. >

Tikkaraj Aishwarya Katoch and Tikkarani Shailaja

Making another distinction between heritage tourism in the two states, Vijay Lal of Judge8217;s Court at Paragpur points out: 8216;8216;You must remember Himachal is the third most literate state in India with perhaps the highest number of telephone connections. Its connectivity is fantastic.8217;8217;

But funding is posing to be a real problem. The Raja of Arki is already feeling the pinch. Built atop a hill with a majestic view of the valley, his fort is waiting for the restorer8217;s magic wand, but there is no money. Opening the door of the darbar hall, resplendent with frescoes that could have the art world gushing, Kanwar Nagendra Singh laments the expensive cost of restoration. 8216;8216;It can set you back by lakhs, even crores.8217;8217; A tie-up with a star hotel chain can do the trick but his father Raja Rajendra fears the wealthier partner could gobble up his property.

Justice Lal and his wife

It is this fear which stops Rana Arun Sen of Kuthar from inking a deal with outsiders. The beautiful fort and palace at Kuthar, a few miles from Subathu, home to the Gorkha Regimental Centre, are in crying need of repair but the Rana is helpless. The Rana has been trying to get heritage status for the property for the past decade but without success. The cliched red-tape is commonplace. Aishwarya8217;s application regarding his Shekhawati property too has been hanging fire for the last six months. 8216;8216;It8217;s just a matter of time before we get into a collaboration,8217;8217; he says resignedly.

There are many other hurdles in this return to royalty but none that Himachal8217;s blueblood cannot surmount. They live life, king-size.