5452 TRAVEL TRAVEL ++ LEISURE / L E I S U R E / M AY 2 0 1 7MAY 2017
COURTESY OF NARENDRA BHAWAN%(<21'
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striking red upright piano—Édith, a tribute to the
French chanteuse. I resist the urge to play a rendition
of La vie en Rose, but imagine the monarch, sitting
here in the evening, singing of love and angst.
The interweaving traditional Rajasthani and
Victorian-era motifs, symbols, upholstery, and
architecture come together at Narendra Bhawan as
seamlessly as these elements did in the lives of royals
from princely states in colonial times. The 80-odd
rooms, generously spaced out over six fl oors, diff er
not just in space, but also thematically—again being
based on a diff erent period in the late Maharaja’s life.
There’s velvet upholstery, English fl oral prints, lots
of big ornate mirrors, spring beds, and a thoughtful
curation of objets d’art. What all of them—the
Residence rooms, the Prince rooms, the Regimental
rooms, India Rooms, and the Republic suites—share
is unhindered space and guilt-free luxury.
It’s easy to get ensconced in your well-appointed
quarters and decline your hosts’ invitations to
explore the city. That would be a mistake. Bikaner,From above:
The hotel organises
sundowners under
the sky; the Prince
Room at the
Narendra Bhawan.with its genuine untrammelled vibe,
is a great city to soak in Rajasthan’s
pre-tourist-juggernaut character. The
historical merchant houses in the old
city, reminiscent of Fleet Street, are
living, even if endangered, relics of
a time when prosperous merchants
plying their trade on the Silk Route
built gorgeous mansions in the city.
On the other end of the spectrum,
the hotel will happily put together
an evening experience out in the
boondocks. There, in the fl icker of
oil-lit lamps, the dulcet notes of a
manganiyar singer, and generously
potent cocktails, you can lounge about
at sunset, and watch the desert sky
transform into a sea of stars.
Back at the hotel, the Mad Hatter
bakery (modelled on Alice’s adventures,
a favourite literary wonderland of the
late Maharaja) dishes out authentic
puddings, pies, and toff ees. If you do
decide to stay in, grab your swimsuit
in the evening and take the elevator all
the way up to the breezy terrace. Settle
into a corner of the infi nity pool, and
ask the khidmatdar for the cocktail of
the day and to turn up the jazz. With
the fl at skyline of Bikaner stretching in
front of you, contemplate on existential
questions. Or, just enjoy your drink.
The Narendra Bhawan makes its
case in two very compelling ways:
One, the quality of isolation that
Bikaner aff ords from the marauding
hordes, and second, pets—you can
get yours along. Animals will never
be let down at the Narendra Bhawan.
The Maharaja would have been
very pleased. Residence and Prince
Rooms available for `12,000 per night;
narendrabhawan.com ▪*E77,N* 7+E5E
The fastest trains take
seven hours to traverse
from Delhi to Bikaner—
the overnighter is the
best option. For those
fl ying in from other
parts of the country,
the closest airports are
Jaipur and Jodhpur,
from where it takes fi ve
to six hours to get to
Bikaner by road.The interweaving
traditional Rajasthani
and Victorian-era motifs,
symbols, upholstery,
and architecture come
together at Narendra Bhawan.