The Land of the Kings, is India at its exotic and colourful best. Home of the Rajputs, a group of warrior clans who have controlled this part of India for 1000 years according to a code of chivalry and honour akin to that of the medieval European knights. While temporary alliances and marriages of convenience were the order of the day, pride and independence were always paramount.

Never able to present a united front against a common aggressor, much of their energy was spent squabbling among themselves and the resultant weakness eventually led to their becoming vassal states of the Mughal Empire. Nevertheless, the Rajputs' bravery and sense of honour were unparalleled.

With the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Rajputs gradually clawed back their independence through a series of spectacular victories, but then a new force appeared on the scene in the form of the British.

As the Raj inexorably expanded, most Rajput states signed articles of alliance with the British, which allowed them to continue as independent states, each with its own maharaja, subject to certain political and economic constraints.

These alliances proved to be the beginning of the end for the Rajput rulers. Indulgence and extravagance soon replaced chivalry and honour. Their profligate waste of the resources of Rajputana (the land of the Rajputs) was socially and educationally detrimental.

Although the fortunes of its former rulers may be in tatters, the culture of Rajasthan, with its battle-scarred forts, its palaces of breathtaking grandeur and whimsical charm, its riotous colours and even its romantic sense of pride and honour, is still very much alive.