Word: rajasthan
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...moustache that his father and grandfather sported in their own time to mark their nobility. That much is clear from the oil paintings that loom behind Singh on a hot early morning on the verandah of his 71-room hotel, the Castle Mandawa, in the northwestern Indian region of Rajasthan...
...hotelier's family is typical Rajasthani aristocracy, a fixture of the majestically violent landscape that has drawn tourists to this arid northwestern state of India for decades. But there is a difference, at least in this remote Shekhawati region of Rajasthan where Mandawa sits, a scorching five-and-half-hour drive through the desert from New Delhi. But rather than reminisce about the martial adventures of his forefathers, Kesri Singh is preoccupied these days with his former subjects, the "Marwari" merchants who were once moneylenders and traders in the dusty camel-filled town that sprawls around the ramparts...
...some, these feudal pieties are precisely the problem. Compared to Goa's fashionable beach resorts, or Kerala's ayurvedic spas, Rajasthan's desert landscapes, mustachioed warriors and women in billowing, rainbow-colored ghaghra are seen as tired staples of worthy travel documentaries. Yet no place in India, perhaps anywhere in the world, has the density and variety of Rajasthan's fabulous monuments. Its three most famous destinations-the pink city of Jaipur, the blue city of Jodhpur and the lake city of Udaipur-teem with hidden delights, from bustling local markets to old observatories to tranquil gardens. Further afield, ancient...
...Another would be the quality of the state's infrastructure. Rajasthan's roads are already among the best in India and an expanding network of highways (as well as train, air and bus routes) promises more opportunities to veer off the beaten path. And for those less able or inclined to spend a fortune on renovated palaces, Rajasthan's tourism board recently put together a list of cheap and comfortable budget hotels in over two dozen cities across the state (see rajasthantourism.gov.in...
...Confident that Rajasthan can win back the travelers lured away by modish yoga retreats and full-moon beach parties, my tour guide reveals his dream for Chittorgarh. He wants to repaint its faded walls, he explains, and install a sound-and-light show by the victory tower-in the manner of tourist-friendly restorations that have taken place at sites elsewhere in the state. I try not to be too encouraging. This is one place where the clamor of imaginary armies, and the bright flash of chimerical steel, is the only spectacle required...