Guest column

Luxury: A connection to the past, a guide to the future

By Maharana Arvind Singhji Mewar

The word luxury comes from the word ‘excess’, signifying something that you did not need, but wanted.

Personally, I do not believe we can restrict the definition of luxury only to ‘things we do not need, but want’. I believe luxury encompasses ‘the beautiful which is as useful as the useful’. We need luxury to fulfill a need higher than the mere physical: sometimes luxury will reveal our connections to the past; sometimes it will show us the way to the future.

In the days when India was governed by kings, luxury actually translated into objects that became desirable because they were crafted almost to be one of a kind. Cars like the Rolls Royce, and watches like the Breguet, objects de art like the F & C Osler crystal collections were illustrative examples of these things.

India’s contribution to luxury had one notable difference: we have had a tradition of not signing our creations. So we do not know who perfected the Taj Mahal or the millions of awesomely crafted precious jewels that are an integral part of our heritage.

Of course, like everything else in life, luxury as a concept also keeps evolving. For instance, for the truly rich, luxury is not associated with a thing anymore but with time: time is a basic commodity, and yet it is in short supply to a certain class of human beings.

Here, I’d like to offer two insights:
Firstly: If you look carefully, objects that have been created over time are truly not replicable, or mass marketable. You can knock off a Christian Dior or a Gucci fake on a machine in China or Vietnam, but it is impossible to recreate jewellery that requires several hundred man hours to recreate. Customisation is the ultimate in luxury.

Secondly: To me living, intangible heritage is as beautiful and life-affirming as a finely crafted sword, painting or palace.

For 76 generations that is the responsibility we have borne: to ensure that the heritage of music, dance and rituals, like Holi and Ashwapoojan, is guarded. So what need does the colourful celebration of Holi satisfy? It fulfills the emotional need to connect with other people. What does Ashwapoojan signify? It helps us understand that we, as human beings, are part of a web of life.

Maintaining our heritage and enriching it, even though it has no seeming physical benefits, is a luxury that is a necessity, not a ‘want’. This heritage has seeds of the past, and they will continue to germinate in the future.

That too is the wealth of a nation, and has to be guarded.

Maharana Arvind Singhji Mewar is the 76th custodian of the 1500-year-old House of Mewar, acknowledged as the world's oldest-serving dynasty. Shriji, as the 76th Custodian of the House of Mewar, is unfolding the vision of 'Eternal Mewar' that is integrating the non-commercial and commercial enterprises of the House for the benefit of 21st century travellers, researchers, entrepreneurs and mediapersons.