From the vast meticulously maintained archives of the City Palace, Udaipur, are presented glimpses from the life and times of Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, 76th Custodian of the House of Mewar. Shriji passed away on 16 March 2025, aged 81, having spent 40 long years in positioning the city of Udaipur, Rajasthan and India on the world map of heritage tourism, hospitality, education, sports and spirituality.

Here is how the global and India media covered his era: “Perhaps the most successful hotelier is Udaipur’s Arvind Singh whose chain of nine inns grossed $8.5 million last year,” profiled Time (11 August 1997) in its edition ‘India 50 Years of Independence’. “He recalls how his family opposed his father’s decision to convert one of the Udaipur palaces into the ethereal Lake Palace Hotel in 1962. Now Singh knows better. ‘Our generation has no excuses for not getting ahead,’ he says. ‘How much of a head start do you want? We had assets, good education, and contacts. What was lacking was the ability to manage money. It was like sitting on a gold mine with a begging bowl.’ ” Time magazine’s feature was titled, ‘The Royals’ Blues’. “Arvind Singh, scion of the 1,400-year-old Udaipur dynasty has replaced the scepter with the computer to run his hotel empire.”

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“The Maharana (a unique title, more senior than a Maharajah) has a reputation for not standing on ceremony,” reported Country Life (24 February 2000), “however when he does arrive, his bearing and his presence betray his status. He is attired entirely in white with a beret perched on his head, and the simplicity of his appearance contrasts with the opulence of his private rooms… There are numerous portraits of his forebears and signed photographs from the British royal family… The 56-year-old Maharana is a modern champion of his heritage…he is still the focal point of this charming city and its palace complex, a series of different palaces built at different times. ‘We are developing every facility,’ he explains in his deep mellifluous tones.

This includes the commercial and non-commercial aspects as well as the religious and non-religious charities that are run by the Mewar foundation.” The Country Life feature carried an evocative title, ‘The very model of a modern Maharana.’ “ ‘So one is no longer a sovereign ~ so what?’ fifty-two year-old Arvind Singh Mewar says in impeccable English,” wrote Architectural Digest (January 1997) in a feature titled, ‘Dynastic Dream in India’. “ ‘The most important thing is to find a solution to the current problem.’ His problem is this: How can he preserve the monumental complex of Hindu edifices that had housed the dynasty for future generations?

And how can he redefine the family’s time-honoured role as benefactor, employer and adviser to the people of this ancient principality in the north-western part of India? But Shriji, or Mr Arvind Singh Mewar, as he is now styled, has fought off be coming an anachronism. ‘Fortu nately, we have become commercially strong and have set up in – stitutions to maintain our bond with the people,’ he says.” “Watching the 76th Maharana of Udaipur, Arvind Singh Mewar, seated on a gold gilded, richly tapestried, high-backed chair on the morning of his 57th birthday…,” wrote Upper Crust (January 2002), “he wears his grand ancestry quite casually.

He possesses all the trappings that set him apart from common mortals, yet he is rather laidback, down to earth and real. He is impressive in appearance, a po – werful build from his years as a keen sportsman, a flourishing Rajput beard, soulful eyes and a mellifluous baritone voice which he uses to converse quietly, thoughtfully. Wryly he calls himself self employed. And pray, what could that mean? That, simply put, means he is the present custodian of the 1500-year-old Mewar dyn – asty and the chairman and managing director of the family’s commercial business and its many charitable and heritage institutions.

Under the banner of the HRH Group (it stands for Historic Resorts & Hotels, not, as you would jump to conclude, His Royal Highness) his private limited company, he oversees the running of their numerous palace hotels all over Rajasthan. His business acumen is said to be as sharp as his ancestors’ steel swords.” The report was titled ‘A Royal Birthday in Udaipur.” “The distinguishing feature of Arvind Singh Mewar is his refusal to wallow in an indolent past,” reported Jetwings (October 2003). “He suavely rubbishes romantic notions of the burden of noblesse oblige.

He is as dismissive as his royal upbringing permits him to be of some of his peers who continue to live a treasury-to-mouth existence ~ ‘sell-enjoy-sell-enjoy’…the issue of taking Mewar well into the future is closest to his heart and he has voluntarily taken upon himself to discharge the responsibilities of time immemorial as its custodian. Despite being stripped of his privileges and the headwind of perception that royal encounters, Arvind Singhji soldiers on without rancour. In fact the apathy of the powers that-be drives him to greater resolve. He is a befitting role model. A 21st century Corporate Maharana with 1500 years of lineage. To sum up in his words, ‘nothing has changed and yet everything has changed’.”

The feature was titled, ‘From feudalism to corporatism’. “I am also occupied with a project that is very close to my heart ~ what we’ve called the City within a City project in Udai pur,” Shri Arvind Singh Mewar was quoted as saying in The Times of India (3 July 2002). “Tourism is not about tariffs alone; it is also about what the place has to offer, whether it is a museum, convention centre, library, or archives. This is especially true if the visitor comes to an ancient city, rich in history. The City within a City project seeks to forge lasting relationships with our visitors, and we hope to give them enough to make them become what we call ‘repeat’ visitors. This is possible only if we have something tangible to offer them and also plenty of goodwill.” The Times of India editorial page article was titled, ‘Heritage on Sale’. Shriji aired his thoughts: “Rajasthan’s heritage is indeed the main attraction for foreign visitors today. But till recently, heritage was the poor end of the hospitality industry.

The term ‘heritage tourism’ was used to describe hotels that had inadequate facilities. Today, there’s a total makeover ~ heritage hotels are laying down the highest standards in the hospitality sector, especially in Rajasthan. Heritage has given Rajasthan its USP (unique selling proposition). Heritage doesn’t mean only old palaces and havelis; it also means natural heritage. This too, Rajasthan has in plenty.” “But kingship is more than empire, wealth and titles. It is a historical, social and spiritual commitment,” reported Incredible India (November-December 2003). “Shriji’s willingness to make that commitment shows him up to be a true heir to the lineage of Bappa Rawal. In the scope of what he has undertaken, he has far exceeded the cynical brief of ‘CEO Maharaja’ handed to him by some.

A slew of Trusts and Societies funded by the House of Mewar run more than fifty developmental projects in and around Udaipur. In the grand sprawling City Palace complex, Shriji has visualized, and partly realized, what he calls ‘A City within a City’ ~ a microcosmic, sustainable contained mini-city, with museums, shopping, culture, craft and everything that embodies the heritage of Mewar. A living, breathing city within a city, not a cold, dead monument.” The Incredible India cover-story was titled, ‘Mewar ~ A bequest to India’. “My father, Bhagwat Singh Mewar, was the 75th in an unbroken chain of maharanas dating back to 734 AD who served as custodians of our region,” The New York Times quoted Arvind Singh Mewar as saying in the column ‘The Boss’ on 16 October 2010. It was titled ‘From Palaces to Hotels’ where he said: “In our tradition, we hold our possessions and authority in trust, passing them from generation to generation.

We still uphold these traditions as a moral ~ not constitutional ~ responsibility. Dad inherited a lot of financial pressures. He set up commercial companies, legal trusts and charitable organisations to sustain our legacy. “In 1961, he converted our 17th century marble summer home in the middle of Lake Pichola into the Lake Palace Hotel. It was controversial at the time; people thought that we’d sold out. But the move anticipated the current palace-tohotel boom. And he was the first raj to bring in the Taj Hotels as managing partner of any palace hotel. I was never the hardcore academic type. By my teens, I’d surrendered to the game of cricket.

Eventually I captained teams at university levels and played for the national championship for Rajasthan. These days I’m only a spectator. But my son Lakshyaraj still plays; he is also on the Rajasthan Cricket Association board and is president of the Udaipur Cricket Association.” “I believe in the past, with my feet in the present, and my mind in the future,” wrote Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar in the early 1990s in the preface of a public document titled ‘Inheritance 76’. His lifetime achievements exemplify these vision-inspired words.

RAJU MANSUKHANI The writer is a researcher writer on history and heritage issues, and a former deputy curator of Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya