Travel & Leisure:

Travel & Leisure October issue, cover story on Jodhpur was authored by Raghavendra Rathore.

feroz guzral When I was a young boy growing up in Jodhpur, the world beyond its borders, was a doubtful and uncertain place. The aftermath of the Raj era was manifesting itself. Decisions made in remote political quarters, far away from the graceful sands of the serene desert, were making their impact felt on our lives. Generals without armies was the best analogy for the rajas, maharajas and rajkumars who were caught in the warp of the change that India was destined to go through. A thin curtain stood between the honour, heritage and ancient lineage of families that traced their family trees all the way back to Lord Ram, and the emerging new order.

All that remained of the old graceful period were chattels that could not be either moved, torn down, or sold under an English auction hammer. 1912 Rolls-Royces stood in makeshift garages without air in their wheels, dusty portraits hung on the walls and the air was filled with whisperings of the changing new world. Occasionally, one would even hear stories of partitions within joint families and struggles between members demanding their share of heirlooms and other treasures that had been passed down for generations. All very normal nowadays, but in those days, it was the most alarming news.

As circumstances tightened their grasp on the “way of life” of this region during the miasma of change, what became evident was that to live in the lavish rajwada style, without making any compromises, was clearly becoming a thing of the past. Out of town guests, who occasionally dropped by without the knowledge of these uncertain times, expected every bit of decadence associated with the lifestyle of the old ways, especially when it came to hospitality. A small dinner still meant 60 to 100 guests--guests who were finally allowed a furtive peek into the privileged world of the aristocrats and old-world families. No matter that only small corners of the large kitchens were activated to cut costs and the silverware was modified to suit the changed circumstances, the fake fascia was an absolute must to safeguard the quick-fading family honour.

To add to this depressing situation, in came the Emergency, levied by powerful forces in Delhi. The paranoia of the Act sent shockwaves through the aristocracy, and psychologically made people dispose their transparent way of life forever. At the outbreak of the Indo-Pak war, astonishingly enough, as the army moved into this region, it paved the way for better infrastructure and connected the parched desert systematically. Once the roads opened up, there was an influx of intellectuals and scholars pioneering modern ideas and looking at Rajasthan as a place to give birth to their innovative work. John and Bimala Bissel, Aman Nath and Francis Wacziarg, and strangely enough, even a Lufthansa crew found friends in villages, cities, towns and importantly pointed people in the direction of preservation of their heritage.

Liberation had suddenly found a friend in Jodhpur, and in spite of the conservativeness and the strict social decorum, individuals were becoming open to exploring innovative ideas to preserve the only residue of the past that they found themselves learning to value. Without, having any preconceived notions or the knowledge to be able to turn it into a sustainable livelihood, the landed gentry were finally ready to fight the languish and the decay surrounding them and their lifestyle, to give birth to the radical idea of heritage tourism.

My father gave more time to me than to any other affair of governance as he participated as a member of the legislative assembly in helping to shape a new India. His presence in my childhood is so significant today that it has cast at the foundation of my design company, and other relevant projects that I help create. His ability to diligently follow through his vision in spite of silent opposition within the larger family was probably his biggest strength. He never spoke about his family as rulers and kings, but always connected the family to the people of the land. He never failed to highlight the purpose behind the privileges that were entrusted as responsibilities on every member of a family that once ruled the land.

“Learn to value the local resources and encourage the indigenous rural people of the land, without making them into specimens,” he said, always stressing on a value system that was built on logic, common sense and mre importantly, a democratic design. “If you rebuild what is broken, it will have long-lasting value,” he believed and in this way, he started building his vision, one room at a time which later came to be known as the Ajit Bhawan Resort, amongst the first heritage hotels in the country. The age of preserving heritage through charm and hospitality had arrived.

Jodhpur was the first city to herald globalisation as a precursor to tourism, partly because of the vision of Maharaja Umaid Singhji. He realised the value of Jodhpur’s strategic location very early in his reign and inducted into his blueprint for the city a connectivity like no other, be it via train or air travel. Jodhpur was in sync with the rest of the world and like all other cities in Rajasthan had its very own distinct identity.

Jodhpur, somewhat like Jaisalmer, has always been a resource-oriented city. Being close to the Indo-Pak border and located on the desert trade route, both these states we constantly under attack and had to often make do with the limited resources available to the region. This was very unlike what was happening in the cities of Jaipur and Udaipur for instance, which have historically been more about palaces based on luxury, pleasure, a more leisurely life with the royal personalities of their time impressing their signature styles. In Udaipur, for instance, everything revolved around the great lakes, and in everything from the architecture, miniature painting and handicrafts, the inspiration is very apparent.

Today mysticism, magic, tradition, sport and style all amalgamate to create a normal day in Jodhpur. The sound of horses galloping, the occasional scream of a hawker and a calm story being told to the eager vacationer about the way Jodhpur once was, is how the pace of life in Jodhpur still flows. Its modern day persona is a combination of its rich historical past and a very dynamic young breed of fine educated youth. Evenings come alive when we all meet and the conversation rapidly races anywhere from stories about an estate, the tourist season for heritage hotels, who played outstandingly at the afternoon polo match, which horse needs a better rider, tales about handicraft orders and containers being stuck at the dry port - all in all it’s a very good balance of individuals who have stepped out of the traditional templates they were born in to carve out their own paths.

Maharaja Gaj Singh, known to all as Bapji, is no ordinary maharaja as he is the epitome of a modern monarch, accepting and understanding the change that has swept India from the time he returned from London. He has set himself apart by paving the way forward for the needs of the less fortunate and widely dispersed people of the seamless Thar Desert. Needless to say, the Umaid Bhawan Palace, now managed by the Taj, and home to the royal family, was and will always be the adhesive that binds the extended Jodhpur Royal Family, keeping all its traditions, proudly still intact.

Architecturally, the palace’s design is multifaceted, yet basic with all classic Art Deco elements reflecting the customised styling. Interestingly, Jodhpur’s handicraft industry that is famous globally for its woodwork and objets d’art, traces its origins to the ambitious conception of the Umaid Bhawan Palace many decades ago. The project brought together artists and artisans from various regions to execute the architectural challenge that it was. The magnificent structure not only boasts of a unique design, but is also credited for the talent migration into Jodhpur society many years ago.

The open sky washes down on to the horizon of the city into a beautiful “Jodhpur blue”, most visible from the awesome and magnificent Meherangarh Fort. Standing strong for over 1200 years, like a trusted guardian overlooking the placid, yet vivacious city of Jodhpur, the well restored fort is probably the most visited landmark in the city today. Another unique feature about Jodhpur is its close proximity to a number of villages that almost dovetail into the outer city. Traffic from the villages is often an attraction at the local markets, especially near the old Clock Tower market.

In a world of blogs, web communities, point-to-point travel mostly by air, where time is a precious commodity, I find myself torn between the two worlds that I live in, one, that of the global citizen and the other belonging to a bygone era. Walking alone in the 30-feet high ceilinged living rooms with portraits of ancestors looking down on me, I often marvel and submit to the 1200 years of my heritage.

My first job at DKNY in New York, further asserted Jodhpur as the creative inspiration deep within me. More often than usual, I would find myself revisiting the sights and sounds of my childhood in the Zenana, (women’s quarters) for ideas that could be incorporated into my design presentations. My access to the privileged ladies quarters as a child, where I was always surrounded by the banglesellers and sari vendors placed me in a perpetual breeding ground for creative ideas, and helped me sharpen my aesthetic instincts greatly. More importantly, it was watching my mother paint in the days when she lived in purdah, that enriched my visual imagination and inculcated a patience, that became apparent only later in life.

Fashion for me, even today is about editing and picking the right things from the past and combining them with elements from the present. It’s about reinterpreting the primary colours that are the staple diet of every living organism in the barren landscapes of the desert. One is always surrounded by brilliant hues in the old walled city of Jodhpur---graphic signs, logos, a totem impression, a pair of traditional shoes, a spice stand or the omnipresent Rajasthani turban. I remember, one of the major challenges for me at the Parsons School of Design, was to learn to discipline my use of primary colours, and who best to learn from than the Americans, who I believe to be the masters of bringing pastel sensibilities into the colour palette.

During the past decade, my design team has reached out time and again to Jodhpur for its inspiration and for ideas from the old attic, the museums, the people, the rituals and then to transform them into modern silhouettes, so that the whole world can share a small part of my memories of Jodhpur. Light-to-dark shading and dying of fabrics and the old-fashioned leheriya are two important textile crafts associated with Jodhpur the world over and a number of my colleagues in Bombay in Delhi have used these techniques year after year in their collections. Last year, we used a motif from a jewellery piece worn on the turban and called it the Serpech collection. I was pleasantly surprised to see how buyers from across the world and the fashion fraternity reacted to this interpretation. This further illustrates how beautifully a regal idea can find its way most democratically, through fashion to the people.

Of all the various discussions and interactions I have ever had about Jodhpur with friends passing through India, the one that I cherish most, was one with Jacqueline Onassis. On one occasion she remarked, most elegantly, “If Jodhpur were a person it would most definitely be a lady in a shaded blue sari,” The irony couldn’t be more compelling as the city was actually built on the premise of sacrifice and the worship of the sword.