Princess Diaries

Princess Rajyashree Kumari of the royal family of Bikaner is a multi-faceted woman. She won the Arjuna Award for shooting at 16, has authored a coffee-table book on their home—the Lallgarh Palace—and is now actively involved in its preservation and restoration.

- Satarupa Paul

What are the challenges faced in the restoration of heritage properties, such as palaces and forts, into hotels?

These are buildings that were residential by definition and to adapt them into modern commercial hotels, one has to keep in mind the period of the building and at the same time provide the guest with all modern amenities. Yes, it is a challenge. It isn’t easy to adapt great big rooms and make them more cosy and habitable for the modern traveller. We consult good architects but fortunately in the case of Lallgarh Palace, it was designed along European lines internally, so it is not so difficult to convert it now.

How does turning a royal palace or fort into a heritage hotel help in its preservation?

Whatever income is earned from the commercial activity goes towards the upkeep of the building. Parts of the building at Lallgarh Palace are over 100 years old and everything needs work from time to time, which is not just time consuming but also an expensive business.

What are the modern elements you bring in during restoration?

Nice, functional bathrooms, for starters. Since we live in Rajasthan, there’s always a problem of water shortage. In the old days, the original installations were huge, deep tubs—the size of small swimming pools—and filling them up with water is extremely impractical now. I believe water is a precious commodity that shouldn’t be wasted. So, we’ve gone for dedicated showers, so that there is limited wastage of water.

What is the USP of Lallgarh Palace?