PALACE INTRIGUES

You’ve heard of the Great Wall of China. But what about the great “wall” of Kishangarh? Located 100 kilometers west of Jaipur in India’s desert state of Rajasthan, it’s composed entirely of marble—seemingly endless slabs of stone in shades of ivory, gray, rose, and emerald green stacked outside the countless marble showrooms that line both sides of the expressway leading into town. Four centuries ago, Shah Jahan built his Taj Mahal from stone quarried at Makrana in the hills just north of here. Kishangarh has since evolved to become the marble capital of Asia, selling luxury stone to aspirational Indians whose dream home is a mini Taj Mahal. But I’m not here for the marble. I’ve come for a palace.

My driver, Dinesh, has driven tourists around Rajasthan for three decades, but never before has he brought any to Kishangarh. This dusty city of 150,000 rarely features on tourist itineraries; it’s on mine because I have a thing for palace hotels. Not the celebrated and ruinously expensivesomeone else is paying. My taste is in minor palaces, the faded glories and forgotten follies of India’s maharajas.