Grandson of Maharaja Yeshwantrao Holkar II and 16th direct descendant of Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar, Yeshwantrao Holkar III pursues his passion for conservation of Ahilyabai Holkar’s legacy.
In collaboration with the World Monument Fund, he is spearheading the project for restoration of the iconic Ahilyeshwar Chattri in Maheshwar. He is the founder of Maheshwar’s Holkar Cultural Center, which is dedicated to researching, documenting and holding cultural programmes. In his capacity as the board member of REHWA Society & WomenWeave, two not-for-profit NGOs in Maheshwar, he is working to preserve and promote the Maheshwari handloom tradition.
In conversation with Anoop Verma, Editor – News, ETGovernment, Yeshwantrao Holkar III provides his insights on the legacy of Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar. He also talks about the importance of preserving historical monuments and promoting heritage tourism.
Edited excerpts:
Your ancestor Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar is a major influence on India’s cultural, social and religious traditions. She has contributed to the growth of Indian architecture through the commission of various temples, ghats, and dharmshalas. What initiatives should be undertaken to preserve the legacy Ahilyabai Holkar for the future generations?
First and foremost a proper study and synthesis of the history of Punyashlok Lokmata Devi Ahilyabai Holkar and the values that she stood for is important. Somebody so multifaceted as she was, must be studied from diverse angles in order to be understood. She has lessons for all spheres of our life. It is possible to look at her contributions from a business administration angle, an economics angle, the angle of a social worker, the angle of a patron of crafts, the angle of an administrator, and as a great builder and a model of deep devotion to her faith and respect for other faiths. These facets of her life and work can and ought to be studied.
This is something that we are doing through the Holker Cultural Center. It is a testament to her enduring legacy that statues in her honor are being put up in various places. People are becoming aware of her history, and the important contributions that she has made. I believe that it is important for us to move forward towards achieving the ideals that she stood for. We need to follow her vision for the welfare of women, creation of healthcare facilities for all, building of infrastructure for water conservation and distribution and several other such measures.
The central and state governments have started initiatives in her name for the general welfare of the people. A city in Maharashtra has recently been named Ahilyanagar in honor of her memory.
It is said that the tradition and craft of Maheshwari sarees was started through the initiatives of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar. What can be done to preserve and popularize Indian traditions like Maheshwari sarees in India and other countries?
There are three or four different areas where we can focus. Many organisations are already doing commendable work for enhancing public awareness about the beauty and style of the Maheshwari sari. We have to find ways of sending out the information that the Maheshwari sari is not just a thing of beauty and a fashion statement, it is also something of national and traditional importance. One can wear it with pride.
India has such an extensive and vibrant handloom sector that there is a great amount of diversity between the saris that are being created in various villages. The sari being created by the weavers in one village will have subtle differences from the saris being created in another village. Young people are interested in saris because they remember that their mother and grandmother used to wear such saris.
One of the issues that I can see is that the handloom sari is quite expensive as compared to the factory made saris. We have to do something to ensure that the handloom saris are affordable to all sections of the society.
In most countries, tourism and hospitality sectors contribute significantly in revenue generation and job creation. But in India, we don’t attract international tourists in large numbers. What steps can be taken to grow the tourism and hospitality industry, and present India as an attractive destination to the global tourists?
After a difficult time during Covid, there has been a huge bounce back for tourism in India and globally. We are in the boutique and heritage hospitality space, which is one of the fastest growing sectors within tourism because people these days are looking for slightly different kinds of experience. When you come to a place like Maheshwar, and you stay at the Ahilya Fort Hotel, you learn about the history of that place. You learn about the history of India. You learn about the history of the Holkars. You also learn about the handloom weaving craft. You get these learnings by observing and experiencing directly.
There is potential for tourism and hospitality to grow in India. Of course, we also face some challenges. Especially where the international market is concerned, we face the challenge related to the ease of traveling within India. There is a need for better infrastructure. And work is going on in this area. More airports are being developed. Roads are being built. More hotels are coming up. Public infrastructure is becoming better. Yet, despite these transformations India continues to be a complicated place for foreign travelers. This is why we find India lagging behind in international tourism. We lag behind places like Dubai, Singapore and Thailand.
We have such an incredible country, so much culture, diversity, and natural beauty. When proper facilities become available, India will certainly emerge as a top tourist destination for the global travellers. Along with building the infrastructure, we need to promote the country in the world market and get into the eyes of the global tourists. One way is to promote the cultural, historical and traditional aspects of India. We have to inform the tourists that when they come to India, they can experience the stories from our past. India’s ancient healing and goodlife systems like yoga, ayurveda, and philosophies, dances, arts are appreciated around the world. These facets of our past should serve as a magnet for attracting tourists to our country.
In the last few years, several popular Bollywood movies have been filmed in Maheshwar. What can be done to further enhance Maheshwar’s appeal as a tourist destination and an ideal venue for making Bollywood films?
Some Bollywood movies are also being filmed there. I think the shooting of popular films at heritage monuments is a good way of popularizing the history of those monuments among the younger generation. At the same time, it is important to have a proper governance framework to ensure that no damage is done to the heritage structures during the filming. The Bollywood crews work on a tight schedule; they are under pressure to film many scenes in a short period of time. If the shooting is done without any governance framework then there is risk of damage being caused to the monuments. In Maheshwar, we have developed a framework to enable the Bollywood crews to do their work without any risk to the monuments.
The 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar was celebrated on May 31 this year. How do you see the key areas where she has made valuable contributions?
India is a place where people have very deep beliefs. They tend to be very strongly oriented towards their faith. Punyashlok Lokmata Devi Ahilyabai Holkar was a devout follower of Lord Shiva. She organised the construction of several temples and other holy places where people can express their feelings of devotion to Lord Shiva. She is credited with building or rebuilding over 100 temples, including the Kashi Vishwanath and Somnath temples. While being devoted to her faith, she was respectful to all other faiths.
During her reign of about 30 years there was complete peace and prosperity in her kingdom. Her ability to maintain peace and prosperity in her kingdom during an age when wars were raging in most parts of the Indian subcontinent is by itself a testament to her administrative skills. She made immense contributions to the area of women’s empowerment and social transformation at a time when people were not aware of such issues. In fact, she herself broke the patriarchal norms, when she became the queen after the death of her husband.
In her honor, India issued a commemorative stamp in 1996. The Indore international airport was renamed Devi Ahilyabai Airport, and the Indore university was renamed as Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya. In March 2024, the Maharashtra state government approved renaming Ahmadnagar to Ahilyanagar.
