Richard Holkar

3 Comments on Jan 1, 2011 in Departure

Richard Holkar is a prince and Maharaja. He lives in the village of Maheshwar, in India, but he loves travelling and he never stays in hotels. Despite this, and on friends’ advice, he decided to restore and overhaul his Ahylia Fort into a guest house.

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“One of oldest memories of travel is when I was six years old. I was travelling from Genoa to Bombay on a Lloyd Trestino steamer and we’d stopped off in Aden, in the Yemen. I was a keen fisherman and used to accompany my father when he went looking for trout in Kashmir. I realised that various members of the crew were bending over one side of the boat, looking at the water and line fishing. Being curious, I had a look and asked to join in. I was sitting with the line between my fingers when I felt something pull. Naturally, I also pulled and the line began slipping through my fingers. It burned! It stung! But I held on. My fellow fisherman babbled in a language I didn’t understand but they helped me land the fish. I looked down excitedly and saw what looked like a large plate floating on the surface. I continued pulling and the plate starting wriggling in the air. The crew was ecstatic and I was intrigued. Someone got a harpoon and got hold of the creature with the hook and brought it aboard. It was a skate! The first salt water fish I ever caught.”

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This is the first of many adventures that the Maharaja of Maheshwar recalls in his life. By the way, what’s all this about being a Maharaja in the 21st century?

“My family originally come from a small town in Central India, on the Deccan plateau, called Hol. Kar means “from”, hence the name Holkar. The founder was a cavalry chief who served a feudal lord; however, in 1734, Malhar Rao, which was his name, declared himself independent.

My most illustrious ancestor was a woman, Ahilya Bai Holkar, daughter-in-law of the founder. Thanks to her administrative, political and diplomatic skill, she was recognised as the leader of the state when her youngest son died. The capital moved to Maheshwar in 1765 and she governed there for 30 years during times of peace and prosperity in territory that stretched over 10,000 square miles. She is venerated all over India as the governor that rebuilt many Shiva sanctuaries that had been destroyed by the Emperor in the 17th century. My father, Yeshwant Rao II, the last Maharajah of Indore, was known for his progressive and democratic ideas, encouraging local governments. He was also a man that was heavily influenced by western culture. He had houses in California and on the Côte d’Azur. His royal palace, Manik Bagh in Indore, is perhaps the most extraordinary and coherent example of architectural Modernism in the world. Everything, from the door handles to the furniture, from the rugs and silver to the crockery was designed from an aesthetic perspective and produced a building of unparalleled aesthetic achievement. Unfortunately, our family closed the palace in 1971, and its incredible collection of art deco furniture ended up at Sotheby’s in Monaco. That auction turned collectors like Yves Saint Laurent, Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger into major collectors and started a major hike in prices, with a pair of lamps from Saint Laurent’s collection selling for 2.3 million Euros!

As for me, I was born in 1944, from my father’s marriage to an American lady. Because of this, it was decided that I shouldn’t succeed my father as I was half American. Fortunately, thanks to the precedent of having a female governor, my sister Usha was duly recognised. I began my education in Indore, with a French governess and when I was 9 years old my mother settled in the USA, where I continued my education, finishing it at Stanford in 1967. I married during my last year at college and had two sons. In the ‘70s, my wife and I bought a broken down house in Grasse, France, we restored it and lived in it for 12 years, travelling between Grasse, India and the United Sates.”

Forever in transit

When he’s not in Maheshwar, Richard Holkar travels in Europe and the States, almost always visiting friends. But adventure is in his blood: “One of my more recent adventures was a boat trip between Tahiti and Ambon, in Indonesia. It lasted 21 weeks. I’d hired a competition brig, the Stormvogel, which, in his time, had held the transatlantic sailing record. We left Tahiti and after visiting Moorea we sailed on the Raiatea lagoon. I was up on the rigging when a steel cable that had come loose caught me on the jaw, breaking it in seven places. As the nearest port was some distance, I spent the night on a stool, drugged with morphine, until a plane came to get me the next day to take me to Papeete military hospital. A kind surgeon fixed my jaw, locked my teeth and sewed up my mouth with wire. I stayed in the hospital for a week, while my friends visited Tuamotus on the boat. Then, we continued the trip. Six weeks later, I had the wire removed on the Fili islands. Because I couldn’t eat, I lived off soup and, strangely enough, instead off going off it, soup is now one of my favourite foods.”

Despite all of his travelling, Richard has never been to Brazil and was in Portugal only once, many years ago on his honeymoon. However, the second visit is scheduled for the near future, when he will visit friends at Quinta Patino.

New York to London and Paris

Paris is the Maharaja’s favourite city, but he feels equally comfortable in New York or London. He avoids hotels, preferring to stay at friends’ houses. In Paris, he often visits the private museum Chaumet, located above the brand showroom in Place Vendome. It was Chaumet who made the famous Indore Pears (pear-shaped diamond earrings) that appear in Holkar’s father’s portrait, painted by Boutet de Monvel. When he’s in New York favourite haunts include the Frick Collection and the Neue Gallery. For special sojourns, he likes Varengeville, in Normandy, where he particularly appreciates the way the light reflects on the cliffs and the sea, taking the opportunity to catch prawns with a net at low tide. As he spends time in Union Square, in Manhattan, where his children live, he often goes to Peter Luger, in Brooklyn, to eat steak and to Casa Mono, in Manhattan, to enjoy beef. In London, it’s David Thompson’s Thanh, for the best Thai food in the world. In Paris, the L’Impreviste and the Le Voltaire are his favourites, as well as the terrace of the Palais Royal restaurant, which provides both great food and a splendid view of the city.

Maheshwar revisited

With the turn of the century, Richard started to pay more attention to Maheshwar and the house he had there, Ahilya Fort. The buildings, built by Ahilya Bai in 1766, were run down and a Swiss friend, Dieter Meier, helped him with the restoration. Other friends suggested that he start a B&B. The restoration took a few years because the Maharaja didn’t want to change the typically austere look of the 18th-century Marattha architecture, which is quite different to the elaborate ornaments found in the Rajasthan palaces: “I’ve been lucky to have been well received by the tourist industry and travel magazines, in addition to the word-of-mouth recommendations. As a result of this, the Ahilya Fort is considered to be one of the best destinations in India. Where we are located, on high ground over the banks of the River Narmada, in the centre of India, the temples that flank the river, the quality of the quiet life in Maheshwar, the light, the clean air and the vast lush green landscapes make any stay here unforgettable.”

Maheshwar is a unique and fragile jewel, with architectural, cultural and environmental heritage worth preserving. This perspective is yet to be given much credence, but the city is fortunate because UNESCO has given it due recognition after including it in its network of heritage cities.

www.ahilyafort.com

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by Mário de Castro

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