Gajner is a tiny oasis in the Thar desert. It was once the private hunting-reserve of the Maharajas of the State of Bikaner. Here, at his luxurious 17th century palace on the edge of a lake, the astute Maharaja Ganga Singh practiced the fine art of shikar diplomacy. This is where he networked with British viceroys and governor-generals, softening them up with sand-grouse hunts while extracting water rights for his dam projects, and winning favours for princely India. Ganga Singh, presiding genially over the hunt was dubbed by a wit, “King of Bikaner, by the grouse of God”.
The wonderful thing about staying in such palaces is that each one is a little time capsule, preserving within its walls the shadows, voices, and thoughts of the past, in a way that a history book never can. The rooms overlooking the lake are filled with their original furnishings - Victorian four-posters, Venetian mirrors and heavy draperies. Gajner Palace is a symbol of all manner of delicious ironies. It is a classic Rajput pleasure-palace yet was designed by a British knight. Built from finely carved pink sandstone, it is Rajput on the outside, while inside it’s all English, down to the flowery wallpaper. A symbol perhaps of Maharaja Ganga Singh himself – tutored from a young age by an Englishman from whom he “learned to appreciate the fine qualities of the British race”. Perhaps too well, some would say.
The 2,500ha of palace grounds and the miles of trackless scrub beyond are filled with blackbuck. From the palace courtyards you can watch a stream of blackbuck and chinkara – delicate Bambi-like gazelles, high-stepping like ballerinas, as they court and flirt by the lakeside. As for imperial sand-grouse – there are thousands, shuffling nonchalantly along the ground and then lifting off vertically in a mad whirr at 60km per hour. A jeep-safari into the thorny forest is perfect for wildlife spotting.
At the edge of the palace is a small shrine of a Sufi mystic that wandered in from the blazing desert centuries ago. If you tie a little talisman to the pierced screens around his tomb, they say you will be granted your heart’s desire. Every September there is a fair here, where qawwalis are sung, and dervishes whirl. The desert that rings Gajner is a silent tawny place where the sand shears off the dunes in a fine spray.
In this vast featureless space, the palace is a cool hushed oasis enshrouded in the dappled shade of ancient trees, its grounds inhabited by radiant-blue sauntering peacocks. At seven every evening, the air thrums with the sound of drumming and prayer as lamps are lit in the twin temples in the courtyard. As the sky turns cognac and darkness spreads like a luxurious mink cape, the sound of prayer spills over the lake like a tide, and the first stars glimmer. For a little while this ancient oasis is lifted off its earthly moorings to a higher place.
GETTING THERE
Bikaner is 30kms away from the nearest railhead and has easy connections to major cities like Delhi, Jaipur and Jodhpur (the nearest airport).
Rates for a suite at the Gajner Palace start from US$ 150. Best time to visit is between November and March.
Website: www.eternalmewar.in
