A 500 YEAR OLD LEGACY

On May 4, 1986 Dhananjai Singh was born to the house of Khimsar as its 20th scion. Known to be one of India’s last surviving Rajput dynasties of direct descent, Khimsar is home to the Karamsoth sect of Rathores, which stemmed from Rao Jodha when in 1523 CE, one of his many sons, Rao Karamsiji unearthed his destiny in Khimsar. Rao Jodha was the eminent founder of Jodhpur (Marwar) and the then head of Rathores. In a bid to fortify Rathore stronghold over the neighbouring provinces, his sons set out upon their father’s behest. What was once Kshemsar, or the lake (sar) that preludes safety and well-being (kshem) has now evolved into India’s prime Heritage hotel destination and amongst Rajasthan’s fastest developing rural corridors, bustling with trade and commerce.

Back in the day, the mighty Rathores commanded their unparalleled wartime legacies against Sher Shah Suri, Kamran Mirza (Mughal Emperor Humayun’s brother) and successive Mughal invasions thereafter, their Karamsoth brethren played an instrumental role as harbingers of peace, negotiation and strategic alliances. Karamsiji’s 20 generations produce valiant wartime heroes and prudent statesmen, visionaries, and notable entrepreneurs. For instance, Khimsar’s 9th scion, Zorawar Singhji, spent his entire life far away from home, negotiating peace between Jodhpur and Bikaner. Not only was he the leading contingent behind bringing Godwar into Marwar’s map, but he was also amongst the most respected Rajputs by the formidable Maratha army. History repeated itself time and again, requiring Khimsar to intervene for the cause of peace between frequently warring brethren. Even in the darker hours of colonial eclipse, Raja Kesri Singhji was a prominent contestant for Khimsar against all odds. So deep was his love for his motherland that he relinquished his sovereignty over Khimsar for it to be passed on to his still minor son Onkar Singhji, who was a few months shy of turning 18 at the time. Upon growing up, Raja Onkar Singhji served Rajasthan as a prominent diplomat and statesman, only to be furthered by his son. Raja Gajendra Singhji’s political sagas need no prior introduction. True to that legacy, Dhananjai Singh is a bright businessman orator and stands amongst India’s leading connoisseurs of vintage automobiles.

Having had pursued his early education at Ajmer’s Mayo College, Dhananjai then encountered a brief university stint in Australia before finding his niche in Switzerland’s illustrious Ecole Hotelier De Glion. Upon graduating from there, the young entrepreneur returned to his motherland to lend his familial business in Khimsar a hand as amongst the hotel’s primary directors. Through and through, Dhananjai felt a particular affiliation to the field of politics and youth leadership, wherein he amassed tremendous youth support for his father’s numerous electoral campaigns and the larger political propaganda of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Dhananjai is also the founder of the Annadata Charitable Trust.

Thanks to Khimsar’s numerous marital alliances across state borders, its children have had the privilege of being exposed to myriad cultures- be it Bundelkhand, the home of Dhananjai’s maternal grandmother, or Poonch, the land of his paternal grandmother’s origin. The family’s earlier generations have been tied by blood to the houses of Ghabana, Mehru, Meja and most recently, to Saurashtra, the land which gave birth to both, Dhananjai’s mother and wife. Cosmopolitan in the true sense, Khimsar’s progeny, belongs as much to the mountains as it does to the arid desert. As much to the central Indian ravines as to the landlocked conglomerate of central Gujarat.

Dhananjai is a present-day embodiment of this distinct historical progression, wherein vestiges of a bygone past are not brushed under the carpet or placed amongst skeletons in one’s closet. Rather, he wears his ancestral past proudly as a feather in his cap while keeping his head humbly on his shoulders. At the same time, his vision charts out fresh territories for innovation and development.

Earlier in 2012, Dhananjai wed his soul mate Mrigesha Kumari, the eldest Jadeja princess of Rajkot. A keen philanthropist and cultural icon, Mrigesha has been a crucial edifice to bolster her husband’s rise. Together, they have given birth to three bright-eyed children, Mrignaini, Shivagami and Sangram, who comprise Khimsar’s next generation.

He is a living example of the hereditary loyalty commanded by modern-day Rajput scions and their instinctive connection to their people.

India’s quick progression into a democratic republic and the subsequent abolition of royal titles and privy purses came as a serious impediment to the centuries’-long status quo within the Rajput social order.

But for a select few families of India’s erstwhile Rajputana, this socio-economic and political transition spelt as a true anomaly. Khimsar’s swift re-adaptation to the fields of hospitality and politics was as elegant in its gait as in its successive victories.

Dhananjai

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A 500 YEAR OLD LEGACY

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Dhananjai Singh