If old palaces, forts and havelis are discarded, they tend to become ruins where the nightowl hoots, bats hang in cobwebbed rooms and belated passersby see apparitions, either because of optical illusions or deep-rooted superstitions. What better way to preserve them than converting them into hotels? Indian Heritage Hotels: Legacy of Splendor is Anuradha Kapoor’s labour of love, encompassing 50 such hotels throughout the length and breadth of the country, enshrined in a glossy coffee table format publication by Roli Books and Janssen BV of The Netherlands.
The inspiration was born some 40 years ago when a slimmer Anuradha went on her honeymoon to Laxmi Vilas Palace, Opposite Fateh Sagar Lake, Udaipur. For just Rs 2,000 she and her husband had a room to themselves, and a bathroom double the size of the living accommodation, which amused them no end. That’s how a memorable experience turned into a romance, which bred nostalgia and the urge to visit more such places.
Mukandgarh fort, in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, is about the closest such place to Delhi, which one could reach in just six hours, and find oneself in a hamlet “in the middle of nowhere”.
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In this “one-camel town” is the haveli-cum-fort that, despite its haphazardly- built rooms, attracts visitors, both Indian and foreign. Continental and Mughlai dishes vie here with Rajasthani cuisine that includes such delicacies as dal-bati and sengri-ki-sabzi.
An afternoon spent with the author in Press Enclave a long time back enlightened one on the foresight of those who converted their palaces, havelis and forts into the money-spinning tourist industry. Not so much because of the lure of lucre as for the sheer thrill of infusing new life into old structures.
This is indeed an achievement in this age of mass tourism. And there is enough proof of it as one thumb through the book. Ahilya Fort, at Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, Alsisar Haveli, Jaipur, Pushkar Mela site, Aodh Hotel, Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan, Bal Samad Lake Palace, Jodhpur, and so many others are surely worth visiting.
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