A priest is still employed by the present Maharana to care for the shrines of his ancestors. And twice a day the Pandit's family makes the stiff uphill climb to the castle to light the sacred lamps before vermilion-daubed images of Hanuman, Chamunda, and Ekling. There is an octagonal room in which Rana Pratap was born, apart from, the hall in which his grandson Prince Karan entertained the future Mughal Emperor Shahjahan, the beacon tower from which a flame summoned Mewar's chieftains to war. The austere chambers, the vast reservoirs kept full by elephant relays, the simple garden court for the royal ladies, the easily defendable narrow staircases all declared that this was primarily a warrior's hideout, not a palace for princely pomp and show.
The imaginatively designed Aohdi nearby belongs to a descendant of one of those great warrior families, the Rathores of Ghanerao, who enjoyed the distinction of having the only hereditary seat among the premier nobles of both Mewar and Marwar. The Aohdi's castle-type cottages provide comfort and privacy for those seeking a peaceful retreat, plus a base for horse safari and trekking enthusiasts.
Ghanerao is the place where Thakur Sajjan Singhji and his gracious wife have recreated a charming old-world ambience by opening this castle constructed in 1603 to paying guests. The genuine warmth of his greeting as he strode across the courtyard towards us, the bright wall frescoes, hunting trophies, turbaned retainers, peeing maids, carved jharokhas, drawing rooms full of colored windows and chandeliers, Rajput miniatures, ostrich eggs hand printed by the owner in Mayo College, all those old photographs