Preserving the Past, for Posterity - Maharawal Brijraj Singh talks of his dreams for Jaisalmer, the city of his ancestors

A lone horseman rides in from the horizon, raising golden dust. It’s early morning in Jaisalmer, and as a city wakes, Maharawal Brijraj Singh, the royal descendant of the city founder, is returning from his ride. Time pauses a while - it could be a page from any year in history, but then there has to be a move forward - and it’s 2002.

Rajasthan is a land of rich extremes. Whether it’s the undulating golden sands that shimmer for miles or the brightness of its blazing sun, this Indian state has always been romanticised by legend and on film. What perhaps also distinguishes Rajasthan besides its colourful and spirited people, is its sheer variety in palaces and forts.
Move on to the historical city of Jaisalmeer, the famed fort that was built in 1156 by Maharawal Chandravanshi Rajput Jaisal. This golden fort that was once the centre of travel and trade, is in the last hundred years, facing the tests of Time. Listed as one of the 100 most endangered sites in the world by the World Monuments Watch in 1996, the fort of Jaisalmer faces a unique problem - that of increased tourism, ironically, the one activity that keeps it going.

The Maharawal dismounts and enters his palace and soon the concerns of the modern world envelope him. There is the issue of the conservation of an entire fort to be looked into - to be put forth in planned phases, so that a thousand year old historical edifice does not bite the dust at the turn of the millennium. “I finished my studies, my B A at Indore and returned home to Jaisalmer - I was keen to begin working there, for my father passed away when I was quite young,” says he.

Jaisalmer is a city of half a lakh people and about 2,000 and more live within the crumbling walls of the fort, a beauty in architecture. “It is perhaps the oldest lived in monument in the world,” says Brijraj Singh. The fort, built of dry sandstone on foundations of clay, sand and rock, houses open drains that once proved adequate. But it is that elixir of life, water, that threatens the fort. Water, that was once drawn from wells, used and wasted sparingly, is now piped to serve so many more inhabitants as well as the tourists who visit the ancient fort. “Tourism is important to our people,” says the royal caretaker of future Jaisalmer, “It is the only source of income for my people.” Water from the drains now saturates foundations, penetrating the walls of historic buildings. It is an entire history at stake. The Maharawal convened the Jaisalmer chapter of INTACH in 1996 with support from the World Monument Fund, and the Jaisalmer in Jeopardy Fund, the restoration of four streets within the fort have begun.
In Chennai after a visit to Tirupathi, the Maharawal hopes to make Jaisalmer accessible to more visitors. “India is such a vast country - and we want those down South to know more about the conservation activity,” he says, “We also invite tourists to visit, see the beauty of Jaisalmer.” A royal guest house of the family has been turned into a heritage hotel, the Jawahar Niwas Palace Hotel.
The Maharawal’s typical day begins with a ride around the orchards of his city, followed by paperwork at the palace, visiting the sites where conservation work is in progress. Evenings are spent playing cricket with his two sons and those who work in his palace hotel.
Politics has never been an option because, “...all the people of Jaisalmer are one, and I do not want political loyalties to divide their love for me.” Instead, it is the Sarva Dharma Samanvaya Samiti, an organisation that he has floated, that seeks to unify his people under one peaceful banner.
“I know my people love me and look up to me for everything,” says the young Maharawal, “I want to take the work forward - I love Jaisalmer and feel bonded to the city and its people.”
The Rajputs have always been historically regarded as the ‘custodians of the north’. For Maharawal Brijraj Singh, history has already charted his life’s course.