A thing of beauty

This heritage hotel in Jaipur makes us question the eye of the beholder

21 Jul 2025

A 19th-century palace converted into a heritage hotel in the 1990s. The fate of Jaipur House on Mount Abu is not out of the ordinary, especially in the Pink City. Yet it still whets a conversation, even for those of us who may not align (or agree) with the royal model of luxury. It’s important when talking about the Jaipur House to consider the liminal cultural context in which Ram Singh II, the erstwhile maharaja of the Princely State of Jaipur, created it in colonial India. Who was the man behind the title? What were his beliefs? And what remains hidden in plain sight today?

Upon first glance, the palace is an aesthetic delight. Overlooking the Nakki Lake, the erstwhile holiday home, located atop the Aravallis, offers picturesque vistas. Chattris tower over the hilly terrain. Arches, round and scalloped, repeat in a rhythmic gesture. Given the property’s history and keeping in mind its current role as a hotel, Ram Singh II’s great-grandson, Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur, entrusted its renovation to Dutch designer Marie-Anne Oudejans, perhaps best known for her candy-coloured interiors and use of patterns. “Following the traditions and surroundings,” says Marie, “I gave it a hill station feeling, with a touch of old-school English charm and love of polo.”

OBJECT AND OBJECTIVITY

Marie’s inspiration and aim are especially noteworthy when you regard Ram Singh II’s love for photography. From most angles, the palace, especially after she redecorated it, appears akin to a picture frame (or maybe even a Wes Anderson film scene.) The symmetry, complemented by the optical illusion of the stripes, draws you in. A montage of styles comes together. Jharokhas exist side by side with reclining pool chairs. Chequered floors and heirloom furniture in parallel with a contemporary material palette of greens, blues and bordeaux. The main hall, which Marie claims was initially bare, was transformed by wooden panelling. In most aspects, the palace has reinvented itself, yet its essence as a royal residence is still crucial to its identity.

Ram Singh II’s photography is still seen as controversial today. Out of six thousand individual photographs and nearly two thousand glass plate negatives, his photographs of the women living in the royal zenana are most renowned. While his work offered a rare glimpse into the native and European life, both royal and common, it would be unfair not to view it through the contradictory lens of post-colonial modernity. There is no doubt a question of power (and an indelible beauty) in the idea of the photographic subject and the palace alike. But can we ever separate the duality of a beautiful object and the context in which it is made beautiful?

HOW TO READ A PALACE

A royal residence cannot be discussed, let alone appreciated, without an understanding of the socio-political conditions which informed it. To alleviate the expenditure of maintaining large, historic properties after independence, coupled with the desire to preserve their cultural significance, royal families often choose to operate parts of the palaces as hotels. And it works, every year tourists from the country and beyond pour in to experience the royal lifestyle. After all, who wouldn’t want to live like a king, even if it is just for a day?

While there may not be any objective way to view design, despite our attempts, you can shift the gaze through which you perceive it. The architectural object exists as a self-portrait of not just the patron but the people of the land who enabled the patron through labour. Like photography, it has two sides. The eye behind the camera, in contrast to the ones that look back into the lens. Both, equally capable of perceiving.