TRAVEL + L E I S U R E / M AY 2 0 1 7 51
COURTESY OF NARENDRA BHAWAN
7
he solitary hunting trophy—a stuff ed
leopard—at the Narendra Bhawan stands
in a dark corner of the snooker room.
Obscured from prominent display, the
big cat strikes a discordant note...the late
Maharaja Narendra Singh glances down
disapprovingly from a lifelike portrait on the wall.
The leopard won’t do. Not here. Not in his house.
It’s a reasonable conjecture that the last king of
Bikaner was no fan of taxidermy. He was an ace
marksman—part of the job profi le for a regent of
a princely state in Rajasthan—but much preferred
to track inanimate clay birds in trap and skeet with
the muzzle. And in this sanctuary, which he chose
to retreat into after taking leave of regal and family
commitments, animals ruled the roost—hundreds
of cows, dogs, and a host of other animals. An army
of handlers and keepers were employed full-time
to look after the quadruped denizens of the house,
and the King himself only partook of his repast
after all the animals (he apparently knew each one
by name) had been fed.
This veritable menagerie precipitated the need
for simple, almost austere, living quarters. Relatively
speaking that is: A vast estate in the middle of the
city could never qualify as a spartan living, but as
the abode of an erstwhile monarch, in Rajasthan—
where royal patronage and the lineage of the
erstwhile ruling family still have social sanction—
Narendra Bhawan was a minimalist, almost ascetic
manifestation of a king’s sensibilities.
The most obvious trait of the late maharaja that
persists in Narendra Bhawan—Bikaner’s newest
heritage hotel—is a lack of ostentatiousness. It
may not seem like much, but when compared to the
hotels’ counterparts in Rajasthan, it is the one thing
that genuinely sets it apart. To be fair, it’s not as if
Narendra Bhawan doesn’t pander to the tropes of
royalty and grandeur so pervasive in hotels of its ilk:
You’ve got the ramparts, the colonial furniture, long
colonnades on the roof, and immaculately turned out
staff in traditional attire that could get a walk-on part
in a period fi lm. But, there’s no ostentatiousness.7/ ,N6,'E5 7,3
The fi rst ingredient,
in attempting to
concoct a faux royal
life in his house, is
a pinch of narcissism—
you’ll fi nd your framed
photograph sitting on
the mantelpiece when
you arrive. So before
booking your stay,
ensure that your profi le
picture on Facebook
is one of your best, and
in decent resolution.From above: Old
world charm of the
Narendra Bhawan;
Victoria-era motif
and English fl oral
prints dominate the
spaces. Opposite:
Entrance to the
Narendra Bhawan.“Narendra Singh ji was a very
interesting man,” says Faisal Nafees,
General Manager, after some
contemplation. “And with this hotel
we’ve tried to create a monument that
represents his personality, life, and
tastes. And not just from the relaxed
stage of his life when he settled here,
but from his youth when he travelled
extensively around the world.”
The late Narendra Singh had a
special love for theatre—Moulin Rouge
and Broadway shows in particular
were staples on his itineraries. That’s
no spiel: walk into the lobby, and at
the very end sits the late Maharaja’sThe most obvious trait of the late maharaja
that persists in Narendra Bhawan—Bikaner’s
newest heritage hotel—is a lack of ostentatiousness.
TRAVEL + LEISURE / MAY 2017 53