Born into the erstwhile royal family of Bhavnagar, Gujarat, Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil has been interested in the field of heritage since childhood, when she was exposed to an environment of art and historically significant objects and artefacts. It comes naturally to her. The exposure to her family trust, which maintains heritage hotels, historical temples and schools, led her to start restoring some of the historic structures in the city. At present, she is restoring the old family cenotaphs and designing a sound and light show around the same structures.
Dipping her hands into grassroots, she also runs a brand called Bhavnagar Heritage, which works with rural women artisans on local hand embroidery and beadwork, as well as designs textile prints inspired by cultural and natural heritage. In a bid to keep crafts alive, the brand also focuses on documenting old embroideries and reviving them with the help of rural artisan clusters. Over two years ago, she started the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage Chapter (INTACH) in Bhavnagar and is currently its Convenor. As part of INTACH, she is restoring and redesigning an old museum, which houses ancient textiles and local craft objects as well as planning a crowdfunding initiative to restore a historic library in the city.
The vivacious, 29-year-old Princess is also a curator for the Mumbai-based auction house Prinseps, which acquired the Estate of Bhanu Athaiya, India’s first Oscar winner. She has not only curated multiple exhibitions on Ms. Athaiya’s legacy, but also an exhibition on the Bengal artist Gobardhan Ash. From being instrumental in setting up the Piramal Museum of Art to working as a researcher for Durham UNESCO Chair in Lumbini, Nepal, Princess Brijeshwari has taken her past in stride, and made it flourish. She is a royal, yet wonderfully human.
Trying to go deeper into her thoughts on life, we ask her our 13 questions.
LuxuryFacts: What did you want to become as a child?
Brijeshwari Gohil:Â An artist.
What was the life experience that impacted you the most? How and why?
Losing my grandmother. It taught me the impermanence of life
What advice would you give to your 18-year old self?
The best is yet to come.
What was the last thing that made you genuinely laugh?
A meme my brother sent me on Instagram.
What is the most exciting part of your work day? And the most tedious?
Meeting like-minded people, researching something new. Tedious has to be replying to emails and working on Excels!
How do you decompress?
Spending time with my family and dogs, working out.
What was the first thing you thought about this morning?
Coffee! And how gripping the television series called 3 Body Problem I watched last night is.
What is the last thing you do before going to bed?
Read and pray.
What is the one luxury item or service you can’t live without?
The spa.
What is the meaning of life?
To make the world a better place!
What’s love?
Where friendship and respect meet.
What are you most afraid of?
Losing a loved one.
What is the one existential, difficult-to-answer question you wished you knew the right response to?
Is there life after death?
