Revealed: The Royal History Of Gujarat

The royal history of this colourful state is a well-kept secret. Priya P. Revels in the unique hospitality of two erstwhile palaces.

- Priya P.

Asmooth, green, two-and-a-half-hour drive from Ahmedabad (but of course, this is prime ministerial country!) and we are standing in front of the huge iron gates leading to the rajmahal, or palace, in Devgadh Baria. Google had already told me that this little hamlet is known as the ‘Paris of Panchmahal’ but that naturally begged more questions than it offered answers. But I receive a part-answer as we pull up in front of a century-old structure, after driving past manicured lawns, water fountains and statues. In front of us is a dazzling white, sweetly proportioned yet imposing building, its façade embellished with baroque stucco.

I leave the car to receive a royal welcome. Almost literally: if we had been living in a time before India became a sovereign democratic republic, which reduced all of us to honorific-less equals, I could have claimed bragging rights by being received by His Highness Maharaja Tushar Singh and his wife Maharani Ambika Kumari. But, perhaps, the graciousness of a royal past is an inherited trait—and Mr and Mrs Singh have the most gracious smiles.

A clutch of dogs runs up and proceeds to make my welcome a rousing one. My hosts walk me indoors and there’s plenty to please the eye here too. In that first instance, I take in time-buffed terra cotta floor tiles, a handsome but unostentatious wooden staircase, sepiatinted family portraits, old but lovingly maintained furniture, high ceilings and stained-glass windows. Nothing is shiny or garish, not a grandiose note can be heard. My mind clicks a snapshot of gracious living, an intangible inheritance as precious as this beautiful building and its contents.