SAWAI PADMANABH SINGH THE RENEWAL OF JAIPUR

From polo grounds to palace courtyards, the suave 27-year-old is spearheading a movement to reclaim Jaipur's status as a global centre for cultural excellence.

- BY PRASAD RAMAMURTHY

Back in the autumn of 2021, while on assignment at Rajmahal Palace RAAS Jaipur, I noticed a lean young man dressed in beige track pants and a matching hoodie walking around the hotel with its then general manager, pointing to things, asking questions and, very visibly, taking keen interest in the improvements being made. That young man turned out to be Padmanabh Singh, the titular Maharaja of Jaipur and the owner of the said hotel. Now globally known, Singh has transformed into an articulate and stylish individual who's leveraging the past— his family’s legacy and heritage, while reinterpreting its relevance in the present and for the future. Both on the public and personal fronts.

On the personal front, he’s building on the glamorous lives of his predecessors, such as Maharani Gayatri Devi—the uber chic, polo-playing queen who was equally at ease rubbing shoulders with the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth II. At the GQ Heroes summit in Bengaluru, as we converse at a panel discussion presented by Isopure, Singh says the Maharani broke the rules that in her time governed the lives of royal women.