Never mind 60 years of independence, in Jodhpur it’s as though the princely states were never abolished. The erstwhile maharaja, Gaj Singh, still reigns supreme, referred to in deferential tones as ‘Bapji’ by his ‘subjects’—be they peasants, middle-class traders or former zamindars. It’s not because of any lingering royal aura around the man, but because he has reinvented and repackaged himself and his heritage so cleverly that it has created thousands of new livelihoods in Jodhpur and its surrounding areas, and brought prosperity, bustle and international glitterati to the city. If the likes of Madonna and Liz Hurley now find Jodhpur the very epitome of exotic, dazzling, Incredible India, he can take much of the credit.