Jaipur’s faded splendor lures tourists to the pink-walled city, where they thrill to exotic chaos in the markets and marvel at the romantic decay of old forts and palaces. But for Her Royal Highness the Rajmata of Jaipur, who, at 88, knows the place better than almost anyone, modern Jaipur means nothing but heartbreak.
Tucked behind the Rambagh Palace hotel, just past the Rajmata Gayatri Devi Tennis Academy, where barefoot boys play a morning game, stands Lily Pool, the Rajmata’s peaceful hideaway. Military men casually guard the gates, and a golden retriever sprawls in the shade. “I have a lot to do today,” says Her Royal Highness, descending the stairs barefoot and looking every inch the queen in her turquoise sari, with her silver hair cut in a bob. “This won’t take long, will it?” After all, it’s wedding season in India. The calendar offers only so many auspicious days, and she is one of social India’s most coveted guests.
"As maharani, she had the power to make heaven fall to earth," says Gem Palace scion Sudhir Kasliwal.
And it doesn’t take long for the famously outspoken Rajmata (the title given to a widowed maharani, or queen of India) to deliver her opinion of the city she calls home. “When I first came here, there were no high-rise buildings, and all this advertising, these billboards, wasn’t allowed,” she says, her clipped accent thoroughly British. “To tell the truth, I often think, Thank God I’m not young so I won’t have to watch the further destruction of Jaipur.” It’s true, ads cover every available surface, right down to the delivery boys’ buckets. To the clueless outsider who moons over the picturesque city regardless, the Rajmata offers only tart politesse: “Jaipur is no longer beautiful, but I’m glad you think it is.” Lobbying for restoration, she concludes, is hopeless. “Knowing the government, all they want to do is make money,” she says. “Jaipur will become a ruin.” Case closed.
Jaipur's famous Wind Palace
Since arriving here from West Bengal in 1940 as the 20-year-old bride of the dashing Sawai Man Singh II, Maharaja of Jaipur, the Rajmata has experienced India’s government from the inside out. In 1962 she won a seat in the parliament by what the Guinness World Records book confirmed was the largest proportional majority ever won in a democratic election. By 1975, however, her opponents had gained the upper hand, and the Rajmata found herself locked in a cell at the Tihar Jail on the outskirts of Delhi. A member of the opposition party at the time, she was never formally charged by the government, which was then headed by Indira Gandhi. But foreign currency found in her dresser—19 British pounds and 10 Swiss francs, exceeding India’s legal limit—was excuse enough to keep her behind bars for months.
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