Resilience: Historic Houses of India and Their Custodians with Richard and Yeshwant Holkar

This week the Centre for Historic Houses of India brings to you Ahilya Fort Heritage Hotel and its Custodians, Prince Richard Shivajirao Holkar and Prince Yeshwantrao Holkar of the erstwhile royal family of Indore.

Built in the 4th and 5th centuries by Akbar, and later taken over in the 18th century by Malhar Rao Holkar, Ahilya Fort is a heritage hotel in the ancient town of Maheshwar, on the banks of Narmada river, run by the erstwhile royal family of the Holkars. As suggested by its name, the Ahilya Fort used to be the residence of the Maratha queen, Rani Ahilya Holkar, and was also the place where she controlled her empire from. The fort was reconstructed by the Rani in the 18th century and currently looks like a Rajasthani palace, complete with arches, balconies, and oriel windows and is open to tourists.

A renaissance man, Prince Richard Shivajirao Holkar has interests in areas ranging from heritage hospitality and gastronomy to textile revival and conservation. Richard is the founder of the Ahilya Experiences hospitality group, having converted his ancestral home in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh, into the Ahilya Fort Heritage Hotel in 1999. Richard's work in Maheshwar has been upheld as a leading example of adaptive reuse conservation, especially the restoration of Devi Ahilyabai's Gaadi and Wada. Richard was also the co-author of the Cooking of the Maharajas, widely considered one of the seminal books on the Royal cuisines of India. He was the co-founder of REHWA Society, an NGO established in 1979 to revive the Maheshwari textile and its weavers. Richard holds a BA from Stanford University.

Prince Yeshwantrao Holkar is a partner of Ahilya Experiences, the group behind the Ahilya Fort Heritage Hotel in Maheshwar, MP, and Ahilya by the Sea in Goa, a Relais & Châteaux property. Beginning his career in the investment world in New York and Singapore, Yeshwant went on to get his MBA from INSEAD in 2013 and returned to India to carry forward the family hospitality business, leading the group's expansion into Goa with the founding of Ahilya by the Sea. Yeshwant also works to preserve and promote the Maheshwari handloom tradition as a board member of REHWA Society, a not-for-profit NGO. Yeshwant pursues his passion for conservation and restoration as a Trustee of the Khasgi Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Trust, where he has led the Trust's restoration project of the iconic Ahilyeshwar Mandir in Maheshwar, in collaboration with the World Monument Fund.

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