Anshika Singh

Yuvrani Anshika Kumari is a historian, hotelier and representative of Karauli- royal house and historic custodianship that comprises Bhanwar Vilas Palace-a unique heritage hotel, the 14th century Karauli City palace—an immersive museum and restoration experience, and philanthropic trusts supporting the largest school for hearing impaired children in Rajasthan among other initiatives. She is an advocate for the philanthropic role of royal families in local communities, and generating strategic partnerships for entrepreneurship in inaccessible regions.

Karauli resonates and reverberates with the legacy of our ancestors’ contributions, sacrifices and, from the earliest foundations of the city in 1348 to the roads, bridges, dharamshalas, schools and hospitals of the early 20th century. It is the evidence of this magnificence in the soil, structures and terrain that drive us daily-to ensure that city ingrained in our blood, retains its glory and prosperity. Our family have always maintained our duties to the place, indefatigably working to bring water, medical aid and education to villages around Karauli through our schools, hospitals and the irrigation projects in partnership with a Dutch foundation called Stichting Karauli, and sharing all of this with the world through the hospitality offered by Bhanwar Vilas Palace, Karauli- a unique boutique heritage hotel, that offers an authentic, experiential glimpse into regal living amidst the most stunning surroundings.
My husband, Yuvraj Vivasvat Pal is an artist, and I am a historian and I have always felt a thrill upon seeing the magnificent forts and temples in Karauli, a sense of pride that my family had provided the environment for such timeless art and architecture to flourish, from the Karauli city palace which is the oldest city palace in Rajasthan to the intricate carvings of even more ancient forts such as Timangarh and Devgir. However we were disturbed to see a lacuna had developed in recent times as the local youth did not have the necessary tools to recognize the significance of the buildings around them, and the artisans and craftsmen, including the hereditary court artists or chateras, had begun to feel that there was nothing left in their art and no way to make a living. Our first task was a restoration of the City Palace. This was a tremendous challenge as it not only required training in techniques of aaraish but also a constant reminder that the old paintings were beautiful in themselves and did not require re-painting in gleaming colours to be ‘restored’. Eight years later, I feel we have come a long way as we now have a dedicated team working at the palace. After our establishment of the Karauli chapter of INTACH, there is also a group of the local youth who conduct cleaning and repair-work sessions at our old forts and are sensitized to collecting information about the rich history we all share.
It is with this unique culture in mind-a culture brought about by the geographical location of Karauli at the confluence of Rajputana, Madhya Pradesh and Brajbhoomi, that ou raim is to bring it to the notice of more people in the country, as I think the lessons that art and history that we have been fortunate to learn from Karauli should be accessible to more of our countrymen.
There is a serious lacuna in critical analysis and formal academic writing as to the historic contributions and social structures of the Rajput states, with Karauli being one of them of course. There is actually a wealth of information, in small self-published tomes written by truly knowledgeable people, who don’t get the kind of attention they deserve because this information is usually in the vernacular. We have undertaken a codification and cataloguing of all this information. The sheer wealth of history that I am faced with when contemplating Karauli is both humbling and inspiring, because to handle subjects so embedded in history that they have paradoxically achieved the status of myth requi