Why Jaipur's 26-year-old king is winning hearts online and offline

“Never complain, never explain.” This is the idea that has been ascribed to how the British royal family conducts the business of being in public life. There have, of course, been aberrations. But never complaining and never explaining demand a kind of resilience that require a person to paper over hurt, anger, remorse, elation — all the emotions that make us human. While tradition has romanticised this diktat, a new generation of royals around the world are creating their own template of being in public life — where personal interests can co-exist with public duties, where being authentic isn’t at odds with being powerful. Jaipur’s 26-year-old Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh is one of them.

Whether it is walking the runway for Dolce & Gabbana, or representing India in polo or examining his own relationship with an institution whose legacy spans thousands of years, Singh embodies a candour that’s rare in public figures, particularly royalty. And when he does talk about his title, he’s ready with a disclaimer — “The title may not mean anything in a democracy, but in Jaipur, and Rajasthan at large, people are still deeply rooted in traditions.” In India, people also have a healthy relationship with nostalgia, which means that royalty often comes to embody culture, heritage and traditions. When it’s not the title, you find other ways to be in public service. Singh’s own family has engaged in public service not only through social work, but also politics (his mother is the deputy chief minister of Rajasthan and holds the all-important finance portfolio).

He was made aware of the weight royalty carries early in his childhood by his grandfather, Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh, who encouraged a young Padmanabh to engage in traditional rituals and other cultural activities before he was sent to boarding school. That weight, however, was truly felt when his grandfather passed away, and Padmanabh saw the entire city practically come together to pay tribute to him. “The day it happened, I was brought back from my school. The route that would have ordinarily taken me 10 minutes to cover took three hours because of the sheer number of people who were out on the streets mourning my grandfather’s demise,” he says. “My grandfather was also legally my father because he’d adopted me. His demise opened my eyes to what lay ahead... You get a lot of respect, there are a lot of religious, cultural and ceremonial duties one has to carry out. For example, during Holi (an Indian festival of colours), we light up a large fire that’s called Holika Dahan and perform puja. We open the doors of the palace to public to worship the fire. So, culture is very much alive in Rajasthan,” says Padmanabh.

What has continued to give him perspective is the fact that his grandmother, Rajmata Padmini Devi of Jaipur, has always reminded him that all the love and adoration is, ultimately, for the scion of the 1,000-year-old institution. “I think when I was 11 or 12, and people offered to touch my feet, it was a very confusing period. It made me think about who I am and what my identity is. I eventually realised it’s also important for me to be young, to pursue all my other interests and endeavours — be it fashion or polo, travel or studies — while fulfilling my royal responsibilities in Jaipur. One must not come at the cost of the other.”

The modern role of royalty in India

Padmanabh adds that every generation brings with it its own idea of royalty. “We live in a fully functional democracy, and I think the place for royal families, and scions of such families, is to make sure the cultural heritage of this country does not die,” says Padmanabh, who has majored in heritage management. “We live in Jaipur, which has lovely forts and palaces. People come here to see that. So, it’s important for us to make sure that the culture and tradition are not dying out.”

How does one contemporise the institution then? “That has already happened. Look at the number of politicians in India who belong to royal families. They are serving people by embracing political life. Service is at the core of our family — whether it is through military (my grandfather was a part of it) or politics. The fact that you can serve public through different means, in itself, is a contemporary idea. Also, there are different projects we are leading with our family’s properties. In fact, we recently launched Jaipur Centre For Art, which is aimed at promoting contemporary art. We believe Jaipur has been the hub for a lot of contemporary ideas on art. This is our way of rejoining that conversation.”

The passions

No Indian royal ever since Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur has been under such spotlight as Padmanabh Singh for impeccable style. He has been spotted at some of the major fashion shows around the world, and was also recently named the global brand ambassador for US Polo Assn. Having grown up seeing images and videos of his ancestors — right from Maharaja Sawai Man Singh (the last ruling Maharaja of Jaipur) to Maharani Gayatri Devi — fashion has been central to the family legacy. But it is also something that’s deeply rooted in Rajasthan. “Of all the places I have been to in the world, there are only a few where a sense of fashion is so deeply inherent, and you will find that in plenty in Rajasthan. Here, you will find a sense of style even among herders who tie their turban a certain way, and groom their moustache a certain way.”

The second love, which might as well be his first, is polo, deemed by many in India as the sport of kings. The royal family has always had a deep love for the game. Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II had been an avid polo player. The city even boasts of a sprawling polo club. And today, the Jaipur Polo team is helmed by Padmanabh. “I can talk from morning to evening about polo,” says Padmanabh, aka Pacho, a nickname his grandmother gave him. “Some of the best polo players in the world have come from Jaipur. My great grandfather Sawai Man Singh was one of the world’s best players. Polo World Championship Trophy was, in fact, made in Jaipur and presented to the world. Having grown up around all this history as well as watching my grandfather going to the polo field, I was naturally influenced. Strangely, I did not take up the sport until I was sent to Mayo College. Only when I went there did I start riding and then got into polo.”

Off the spotlight

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