The words on the hotel sign
Garh: a fort, from a ruler's citadel to a village stronghold. Rohet Garh and Chandelao Garh are noble forts, Mehrangarh a royal one.
Rawla: the residence of a noble or of a branch of a royal family, built more for living than for defence. Rawla Narlai was a royal hunting lodge.
- Garh
- Fort; a garhi is a small fort
- Rawla
- A noble's residence in a village or town
- Mahal
- A palace, or a palace wing
- Haveli
- A courtyard townhouse
- Kothi
- A later mansion, often European in style
- Bagh
- A garden, and the house within it
- Mahal: a palace or palace wing. Deogarh Mahal is a noble's palace, Chandra Mahal a ruler's.
- Haveli: a townhouse turned inwards around a courtyard, built by merchants and nobles alike. Our journal on what a haveli is explains it.
- Kothi: a later mansion, often built under European influence in the nineteenth or twentieth century.
- Castle: an English word adopted for some hotel names, usually for a noble's fort, as at Castle Mandawa and Castle Bijaipur.
- Bagh: a garden. Rambagh began as a garden house before it became a palace.
What a thikana was
When our grandfather talked about a village, he named its thakur before its crops or its temple. That was how the countryside was mapped in his childhood: by families who held land from a ruler and answered to him. The kingdom was the ruler's. The village, in everyday life, was the thakur's.
The grant: a ruler granted a noble one village or many, often by a written deed called a patta.
- The bargain: in return, the noble supplied horsemen in war, attended court on great occasions and paid dues to the treasury.
- Succession: when a noble died, his heir usually paid a succession fee and was confirmed by the ruler. Most estates stayed in one family for centuries.
- Local authority: within his estate the thakur collected revenue, settled disputes and kept order, with his own small court and retainers.
- Not quite a fief: historians compare thikanas to European feudal estates, but ties of clan and kinship mattered as much as land.
- Jagir and thikana: jagir is a wider term, from the Mughal system, for land whose revenue was assigned to someone. In Rajputana the noble's estate was usually called a thikana.
Titles, and how to use them
Thakur: the everyday title of a Rajput noble across most of Rajasthan. You address him as Thakur Sahib.
Rawat: used by many great nobles of Mewar, such as the Rawats of Deogarh.
- Thakur
- The most common title for a noble
- Thakurani
- His wife
- Kunwar
- A son of the house
- Baisa
- A daughter, or a young lady of the family
- Hukum
- My lord, a respectful form of address
- Rao and Rawal: titles of senior nobles in some states, and of rulers in others. Jaisalmer's rulers were Rawals and later Maharawals.
- Raja: in some states, a title for the greatest nobles; elsewhere, a ruler's title.
- Maharaj: in Jodhpur, a title for close relatives of the ruler, as with Maharaj Ajit Singh of Ajit Bhawan.
- Kunwar and Baisa: a son and a daughter of a noble house. You will hear staff call young family members Banna and Baisa.
- Hukum: roughly my lord or sir, used by staff and elders. Guests needn't use it, but it is gracious to recognise it.
- Today: all of these are courtesy titles with no legal status. Follow your host's lead on how they like to be addressed.
Ranks, honours and seating at court
Tazim: the honour of being received by the ruler rising from his seat. Nobles who held it were called tazimi sardars and sat closest to the throne.
Mewar's sixteen and thirty-two: the Maharanas ranked their greatest nobles as the Solah, the sixteen, and the next rank as the Battis, the thirty-two. The Rawats of Deogarh were among the sixteen.
- The Chundawats: a Mewar clan descended from Chunda, a fifteenth-century prince who gave up his claim to the throne. Tradition gave their senior house a special place at coronations.
- Jaipur's twelve kotris: the Kachwaha nobility was traditionally grouped into twelve clan houses, the barah kotri, said to descend from the sons of an early ruler.
- Marwar's clans: Rathore branches such as the Champawats, Kumpawats, Mertiyas and Jodhas held the great estates around Jodhpur.
- The painted record: court paintings, such as those of the Deogarh school, show these rankings precisely: who stands, who sits and who holds the fly-whisk.
Why so many family names end in -awat
The pattern: a branch is named after its founder with an ending such as -awat or -ot, meaning roughly the descendants of. Chundawat means the line of Chunda.
Rathore branches: Champawats, Kumpawats and Karamsots in Marwar all descend from princes of the Jodhpur house. The Karamsots of Khimsar trace their line to Rao Karamsji.
- Kachwaha branches: the Shekhawats, who gave Shekhawati its name, descend from Rao Shekha in the fifteenth century. The Nathawats of Samode are another Kachwaha line.
- Sisodia branches: the Chundawats and Shaktawats of Mewar both descend from princes of the Udaipur house.
- Why it mattered: the branch decided rank at court, marriage alliances and which estates a family could expect to hold.
- Why it matters to you: when a host says his family are Champawats or Chundawats, you can ask about the founder. It is the best opening question in Rajasthan.
- Marriage rules: Rajputs traditionally marry outside their own clan, which is why the great houses are linked by brides across the whole of Rajasthan.
Life on an estate
The seat: a fort or rawla at the head of the village, often on a rise above a lake or tank.
The water: a stepwell, a tank or a lake, built and maintained by the family. Water was power in the desert.
- The temple: a family shrine inside the walls and a village temple outside, often to the clan's own goddess.
- The cenotaphs: chhatris of the family's ancestors on the edge of the village. Our journal on what a chhatri is explains them.
- The people: farmers, herders, potters, carpenters and the hereditary musicians who sang the family's genealogies at weddings.
- The festivals: Holi, Dussehra and Gangaur, when the village gathered at the fort and the thakur took part in the rituals.
- The horses: every estate kept horses for war and ceremony, and many families still breed Marwari horses.
Reading a garh or rawla room by room
The gate and the deorhi
- Pol: the gate, often with an angled approach to slow attackers, and sometimes iron spikes against elephants.
- Deorhi: the gatehouse or entrance passage, where guards sat and visitors waited to be announced.
The men's side
- Mardana: the men's quarters near the entrance, with a hall for receiving visitors and settling village matters.
- Durbar hall: in larger houses, a painted hall for formal gatherings, as at Samode Palace.
The women's side
- Zenana: the women's quarters, deeper inside, around their own courtyard. It was the true centre of family life.
- Jharokha: screened balconies through which the women watched processions and the village. See our journal on the jharokha.
The defences and the roof
- Burj: round bastions at the corners, now often the best rooms or terraces in the house.
- The roof: for sleeping on hot nights, flying kites in January and, today, dinner under the stars.
Palace, garh, rawla or haveli: telling them apart
A palace
Who built it: a ruler or a ruling family, for a court of hundreds.
- Clues: durbar halls, great gardens, a zenana large enough for a whole household of queens and attendants.
- Examples: Rambagh, Umaid Bhawan and Udai Bilas. See our guide to palace hotels.
A garh
Who built it: a ruler or a noble, for defence first.
- Clues: thick walls, round bastions, a defended gate and a position on a hill or above water.
- Examples: Rohet Garh, Chandelao Garh and Khimsar Fort.
A rawla
Who built it: a noble or a branch of a royal family, for living.
- Clues: courtyards and terraces rather than bastions, set in a village or a small town.
- Example: Rawla Narlai, once a royal hunting lodge.
A haveli
Who built it: a merchant, minister or noble, in a town.
- Clues: a plain wall and a carved gate on a lane, opening into one or more courtyards.
- Examples: Samode Haveli in Jaipur and the painted houses of Shekhawati. See heritage havelis.
Some estates whose names you will hear
Rohet, in Marwar: granted in 1622 to Thakur Dalpat Singh, and still held by his descendants, who opened Rohet Garh to guests in 1990.
Auwa, in Marwar: its Thakur Kushal Singh led a revolt against the British during the uprising of 1857, a story still told in the villages of Pali.
- Deogarh, in Mewar: a Chundawat house among Mewar's sixteen, with its palace and a celebrated school of painting.
- Samode, near Jaipur: the Nathawats, a Kachwaha branch, who turned their fort into a painted palace in the nineteenth century.
- Mandawa, in Shekhawati: Thakur Nawal Singh built its castle in 1755 to guard a caravan town. See Castle Mandawa.
- Khimsar, near Nagaur: begun in 1523 by Rao Karamsji, a son of Jodhpur's founder, and still the family's home at Khimsar Fort.
- Shekhawati's estates: the Shekhawats, another Kachwaha branch, held a cluster of thikanas north of Jaipur. Our Shekhawati guide explains the region.
How the estates ended
Land to the tiller: after the states merged into Rajasthan, the state resumed the jagirs and thikanas through the 1950s under its 1952 law, ending the nobles' rights to revenue.
What they kept: the family home and some land of their own, with compensation for what was taken.
- States merged
- 1948 to 1956, into Rajasthan
- Jagirs resumed
- Rajasthan Land Reforms and Resumption of Jagirs Act, 1952
- Rulers' privy purses
- Ended in 1971
- What families kept
- Their homes and some private land
- The hard years: many forts emptied as families moved to the cities, and roofs and wall paintings decayed.
- The way back: from the 1970s and especially the 1990s, families began restoring their seats as heritage hotels. Read heritage hotels explained.
- The village link: in many estates the relationship survived the law. Families still attend village weddings and festivals, and villagers still come to the fort.
- A mixed memory: older villagers remember both protection and heavy dues. Good guides tell both sides.
What to look for when you stay
The family goddess: most clans honour a particular goddess, the kuldevi. Look for her shrine inside the walls and ask her name.
The weapons room: swords, shields and old guns on the walls, often with a story for each one.
- The portraits: rows of ancestors in turbans on the stairs. The older ones are often paintings, the later ones hand-tinted photographs.
- The grain stores: deep rooms or pits where the estate kept grain against famine years.
- The stables: even where horses are gone, the stable yard usually survives near the gate.
- The village chhatris: ask for a walk to the cenotaphs of the family's ancestors at the edge of the village, best in the late afternoon light.
- The old court room: some houses still have the hall where the thakur heard village disputes. Ask where he sat.
Where you can sleep in an old estate
Garhs of Marwar
Rohet Garh: lakeside fort, horses and Bishnoi villages, about 40 kilometres south of Jodhpur.
- Chandelao Garh: a Kumpawat fort of 1744, simple and close to village life.
- Khimsar Fort: a larger fort with dunes nearby, still the family home.
Rawlas and mahals of Mewar
Rawla Narlai: a royal hunting lodge below the elephant hill, with stepwell dinners.
- Deogarh Mahal: a great noble's palace above its market town.
- Castle Bijaipur: a sixteenth-century castle near Chittorgarh, opened to guests in 1991.
Near Jaipur and in Shekhawati
- Samode Palace: the painted country seat of the Samode family, a hotel since 1987.
- Castle Mandawa: the caravan fort at the heart of a town of painted havelis.
Being a guest in an estate house
Greet first: khamma ghani with folded hands, to the family, the staff and the village elders you pass.
Stand for elders: if the head of the family or an older relative comes in, stand up, as everyone else will.
- Dress for the evening: one smart outfit for drinks and dinner. Families dress up a little, and guests tend to follow.
- Shoes at the shrine: take them off at the family temple, and ask before photographing the deity.
- In the village: ask before photographing anyone, especially women, and accept a shake of the head with a smile.
- Leave hard subjects alone: land, money, disputes and politics are private. The house, the clan and the old court are always welcome.
- Our fuller guide: etiquette and dress covers homes, temples and dinners across Rajasthan.
A short glossary to keep in your pocket
Patta: the deed by which a ruler granted an estate.
Sardar: a noble or chief, often used for the nobles of a court as a group.
Umrao: another word for a great noble, used in court histories.
- Durbar: the ruler's court, and the formal gathering held there.
- Chakri: service owed to the ruler, above all in war.
- Zenana and mardana: the women's and men's sides of a house.
- Chhatri: a domed cenotaph marking a ruler's or noble's cremation place.
- Khamma ghani: the Rajasthani greeting, a wish of many good things. Use it with everyone.
- More words: our guide to language and phrases.