The white-washed sandstone walls of the Udaipur royal palace gleam softly under the mellow warmth of the late afternoon sun, their ancient presence bearing witness to centuries of legacy-and today, to the sound of laughter and joy.

Two little boys race across the sprawling courtyard paved with aged marble tiles, the echo of their footsteps and delighted shouts bouncing off the colonnaded verandahs. The sky stretches wide and blue above them, birds occasionally flitting past the domed arches, and the rustling of neem trees danced in sync with the wind.