But, as so often happens in history, perspective determines the verdict. Fortunately for the legacy of Umaid Singh, his son was also a visionary, and a realist. He turned this huge white elephant into a monumental tourist attraction. Looking like a cross between Angkor Wat and Buckingham Palace, Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel is a must-see. And that era lingers in a touristic afterlife in the hotel.
Waiters wear turbans and fawn over diners.
Tea is served in lounges crammed with bookcases and thick with pipe smoke. And, yes, residents do wear those cartoonish horse-riding breeches known as jodhpurs. Maharaja Gaj Singh II still does, especially when receiving guests in his palace, now a wing of the hotel. We have to be more imaginative with marketing. The Maharaja is doing his part.