The billionaires of Rajasthan
The desert breeding ground of India’s billionaires
‘This is backwoods, really backwoods,’ says Aditya, as the rackety, jam-packed bus pulls into Rajgarh, a small town in the north-west of Rajasthan, India’s desert state.
Sooni thinks the desert might have something to do with it: ‘We have a scarcity of water here. There’s an old saying that how we learnt to use water is how we learnt to use money.’ There might be some truth to that. The barren landscape forced these towns to live off the major trade route that passed through north Rajasthan; local traders became prosperous financiers, acting as bankers to the Great Mughal himself. When the British began asserting control over the region the Marwari were quick to ally with them against the region’s Rajput rulers. Soon Marwari traders were spread across India’s towns and cities, acting both as traders in their own right and as brokers to the British. By the late 19th century the largest Marwari firms, such as Tarachand Ghanshyam Das, founded by Bhagoti Ram Poddar, rivalled British companies in size.
Their riches have left Shekhawati the lavish havelis, or mansions, that cluster in even the smallest towns. Marwari who made their fortunes in Bombay and Calcutta competed to build the most opulent palaces back in their home villages, complete with garish murals depicting the India of the late 19th century. There are British redcoats, steam trains, even flying machines — everything that the newly sophisticated Marwari urbanites wanted simple country folk of the region to understand.
More articles from: Richard Orange | this section
Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Advertisement
King coal prepares for a comeback
Neil BarnettNeil Barnett says the miners’ union that took on Margaret Thatcher and lost is now talking surprisingly good sense about Britain’s future energy security
Nice pork, pity about the pizza
Judi BevanJudi Bevan finds her local Lidl discount store full of bargains — but not Boden-clad middle-class shoppers
Shared Opinion
Hugo Rifkind
A new cold war means spies. But what can Russia offer Oxbridge graduates these days?
They are made a spectacle unto the world
Michael BeloffMichael Beloff reviews a selection of books on the Olympic Games
And Another Thing
Paul Johnson
Eye-stopping glimpses of an exotic and forbidden world
Our survey shows British Muslims don’t want sharia
Irfan al-Alawi & S. SchwartzDon’t believe the Lord Chief Justice any more than the Archbishop of Canterbury, say Stephen Schwartz and Irfan Al-Alawi
Shared Opinion
Hugo Rifkind
If a policy is in crisis, hand it to the Post Office — or the Girl Guides
Latest blog posts
sponsored links
Sky TV, Broadband & Talk from £16 a Month
Sky TV & free broadband packages available from £16 a month. Choose from a standard free sky box, sky plus or sky hd.
Sky TV, Broadband & Talk from £16 a Month
Sky TV & free broadband packages available from £16 a month. Choose from a standard free sky box, sky plus...
ROME CENTRE
PORTA METRONIA, ROME Standing high on the top of one of the seven hills of Rome- the Coelian- this unique
City Breaks. ROME and PARIS
ROME and PARIS: over 350 holiday rentals apartments listed: visit www.romanreference.com and www.parisreference.com or call +39 0648 903612.
Jewellery. RUFFS (Estd. 1904).
Goldsmiths by Design Welcome to Ruffs! You have found a company of Goldsmiths that specialises in the manufacture, amongst other
Spectator Business | Apollo Magazine
Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms
Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP
All Articles and Content Copyright ©2008 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved