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In Rajasthan, when the first of the erstwhile aristocratic families started turning their ancestral homes into heritage hotels, it raised more than just a few eyebrows. Earlier, some of the former royals _ the Udaipurs, Jaipurs, Jodhpurs and Bikaners _ had done somewhat similar with their palaces, but for the aristocracy, which considered itself the backbone of the feudal system, to do so clearly was not considered kosher. It wasn't just other members of the family who were complaining, but also the villagers where these havelis and garhs were located: not only would their former heads entertain `white' people, they would stoop to take money from them. "We had to tell them," says the Rani Sahiba of Deogarh, "that these white tourists were often far richer then we were."

 

It wasn't just a question of money, however: honour, more likely, had more to do with the concern. After all, hadn't the same families devised elaborate plans, wearing gloves, greeting the `whites' of the British Raj and