Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar

The Custodian of the World Renowned Mewar Legacy of Udaipur, Sheds Light on an Unbroken, Living Heritage of Indian Luxury and Its Essential Connect to Spiritual Roots

A foreign guest to Udaipur recently said: “For years Udaipur was hailed as the ‘Venice of the East’, today I can definitely state that Venice should be known as the ‘Udaipur of the West’,” laughs Shriji Arvind Singhji of Mewar, adding, “My salaams for the lady… and the finest champagne awaits her when she comes visiting us!”

The 76th custodian of the Mewar dynasty. Shriji oversees the family-owned heritage hotels, resorts and charitable institutions across Udaipur, managing a collective staff of over 1,200 people. He also has an intimate understanding of issues related to his legacy, be it the ecology around the centuries old structures, the attendant spiritual practices of the dynasty. He strives to keep the cultural codes alive for present and future generations and is a spokesperson for the Mewar legacy globally. HELLO! got talking to the regal pater-familias, who has been widely seen in the news recently offering his perspective on the controversial film, Padmavati.

Spirituality and worldly prosperity were never at odds with each other in Hindu scripture. We are thinking of the idea of artha, kama, dharma and moksha, where artha prescribes worldly wealth as a legitimate goal. How did the Mewars look upon this, given the dynasty had a richly spiritual base with Eklingji at the centre?