DEEG ICONS OF INDIA

For the fifth part of the Icons of India series, Dipayan Dutta heads west with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 to an iconic Jat era town on the border of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan

- Dipayan Dutta

A special survey report by the Census of India conducted in 1978 identifies Rajasthan's Deeg as "a place of great antiquity." It goes on to describe the palaces constructed by the Jat king Surajmal that come together to lay the foundation of the district of Deeg, only to end the introduction by saying, "According to some, these buildings surpass all palaces in Rajasthan in respect of grandeur of conception and beauty of detail." Pictures and pastel recreations of the city almost remind one of Versailles, with its expansive gardens, man-made waterbodies and a network of fountains. Yet this town, which was once considered of "equal economic and cultural significance as Delhi", is often overlooked and rarely spoken of, so we decided that in this edition of the icons, we would unearth and explore this forgotten icon of India.