Rajasthan - ( India )     Places of Tourist Interest in India Agra Agartala Ahemedabad Aihole Aizawal Ajanta Allahabad Alappuzha Almora Amarnath Amaravati Amber Amritsar Anandpur Sahib Aurangabad Ayodhya Badrinath Bandipur Badami Barmer Bhubaneswar Badkhal Lake Bandhavgarh Bangalore Belur Bhavnagar Bhopal Bijapur Bikaner Bodh Gaya Borivli Bundi Chamba Chandigarh Chail Chennai Chidambaram Chilka Chittorgarh Coonoor Corbett Dachigam Dalhousie Delhi Darjeeling Dehradun Dharamsala Digha Diu Dooars Dudwa Dwarka Fathpur Sikri Gandhi Nagar Gangtok Gir Goa Gulmarg Guntur Guruvayur Guwahati Gwalior Hampi Hardwar Helebid Hyderabad Imphal Indore Itanagar Jabalpur Jalgoan Jaipur Jaisalmer Jammu Jodhpur Junagadh Junnar Kaladay Kalimpong Kanchipuram Kangra Kanha Kanheri Kanyakumari Kapurthala Kapilavastu Kaziranga Khajjiar Khajuraho Kedarnath Keibul Lam Jeo Keoladeo Kochi Kodiakanal Kohima Kolkata Konark Kota Kottyam Kovalam Kozhikode Kumbhalgarh Kullu Kurukhetra Kushambi Kushinagar Lakshadweep Leh Lepakashi Lonavala Lucknow Madumalai Madurai Mahabaleshwar Mahabalipuram Malda Mamallapuram Manali Mandu Manas Mangalore Mathura Metheran Modhera Mount Abu Mumbai Munnar Mushidabad Mussoorie Mysore Nagarjunakonda Nagarhole Nagpur Nalanda Namdapha Nanital Nicobar Ooty Orcha Pahalgam Palitana Panaji Panchimari Patna Patnitop Patiala Pattadakal Peermade Pariyar Pilani Pinjore Ponmudi Portblair Pune Puri Pushkar Raipur Rajgir Ranakpur Ranchi Ranikhet Rann of Kutch Ranthambore Rishikesh Sanchi Sankasia Sariska Sarnath Shantiniketan Shillong Shimla Shivpuri Sibasagar Simlipal Siliguri Somnath Sonmarg Sravanbelagola Srinagar Srisalam Sultanpur Sundarban Tadoba Tejpur Thanjavur Thirssur Thiruvananthapuram Tiruchirapalli Tirupati Udaipur Ujjain Vaishali Vaishno Devi Varanasi Vijaywade Vishakhapatnam Vythiri Warangal

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Royal Accommodations
Spread across the erstwhile princely state of Rajasthan are a large number of palaces and estates that were once home to families that ruled over India . These bastions of history, bristling with memories, some pleasant others less so, seats of intrigue, of coronations, royal residences where durbars were once staged, were abandoned with the passage of time as modern, independent India surged ahead on the road to progress. Since the government had withdrawn the privileges granted under the privy purse, maintaining these magnificent properties, each individually created over centuries, adorned with the best paintings and furniture, and representing different periods of architectural history, were in danger of falling to ruin, even though most continued to serve as residences for the former members of the royal families. Of the 22 princely states and innumerable thikanas or seats of residence of the aristocracy, a small clutch of them have been converted into heritage hotels. These former royal residences, which members of the family have continued to inhabit for generations altogether, are repositories of a gracious lifestyle, a way of living that has all but passed into the realms of fantasy. With their recent conversion into hotels, though they have managed to keep their flavour as  medieval homes intact, these once-forbidden deras have opened their  doors to the world. And in doing so, they have ensured that the properties continue to be maintained in a befitting manner, and that a way of living that was losing ground to the 21 st century, has been preserved for a little while longer. As much as the families, the family retainers whose ancestors once served within these royal portals, have continued to find employment. And a slice of history that would otherwise have been irretrievably lost, continues to survive. With one major difference: You too can now be a part of it !   MODERN PRINCES Rajasthan was always an exotic land, a country that the Western world fantasised about. Here were to be found the martial races that ruled India , tracing their lineage from the warring gods, and known for their aestheticism as well as their chivalry. Here were riches to be found, and splendid, rare jewels. Palaces stood the test of time. Great armies went to war. Over centuries, different dynasties ruled from different parts of the country, their kingdoms built on reciprocity with neighbouring kingdoms. However, it was under the Mughals, first, and the British, next, that an attempt was made to unify the land and breadth of the country as one nation. Members of the royal  houses, and those of the aristocratic order that functioned just under them, drew up an elaborate system that reflected in a lifestyle that consisted of amazing discipline, of great opulence, and sometimes also indulgences; marriages sometimes lasted months, festivals were celebrated with great pomp, and the families ruled with a bene-volence that ensured the well-being of their states. In a county such as India where nature takes its toll annually, as much because of droughts as because of floods, the rulers often commissioned their greatest architectural monuments – forts, palaces, temples – to ensure employment and food for the poorest. And from situa-tions of adversity rose great monumental wonders, some of the most exquisite the world has seen. At the time of independence in 1947, all the states merged into the republic of India , and a modern, democratic nation was born. The royal families were derecognised by the Constitution of India in the 1971, and their privileges withdrawn Fortunately, the lifestyle they represented, ingrained over centuries, has remained untouched. Scions of the great dynasties that once ruled over independent states continue to live graciously, though they are now industrialists, professionals, even hoteliers. The premium positions they occupied by birth have been replaced by merit, but for those who have managed to convert their ancestral homes into hotels, the ways of the past have become a charming reminder of the spirit now reflected in these heritage properties. ‘Khamaghani’ say Rajasthani families, welcoming you into their homes and hearts. Hospitality is a courtesy that comes naturally to most Indians, and graciousness is a way of being. No wonder then that courtesies go hand-in-hand with festivals and celebrations that are a part of a way of being in one of the oldest civilisations of the world.