AT THE HEART OF JAIPUR is the Rajasthan Polo Club – a fitting spot given the sport is intricately linked to the history and royalty of the city. King Sawai Man Singh II brought polo to Jaipur in the early 19th century, making the polo club (then known as Jaipur Polo Club) the turf for historic matches, played by the likes of the Prince of Wales, and more crucially, witnessed by the likes of former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Diana.
The stands at polo grounds are as crucial to the culture as the action on the ground – thanks to the dignitaries in attendance and the high fashion they bring along. Derby hats and floral dresses are motifs as common to polo matches as mallets and horses themselves. Polo Palladio, a members-only club situated on the periphery of the polo ground at Rajasthan Polo Club, is a reminder of yet another unassailable aspect of polo matches – the food.
As you enter Polo Palladio, the interiors strike you like a swift shot during a polo match. Like a tasteful yet dramatic derby hat, the club's aesthetic is also classy yet maximalist. It screams Jaipur – no, the walls aren't pink, but sunshine yellow, which goes in tandem with the teal upholstery, the green zig-zag stripes across the pillars, the chequered marble floor, the colonial ceiling lamps, and the Mughal floral artwork leaping at you from the walls. Also peppered across the space are framed archival pictures from historic polo matches, and t-shirts and mallets of renowned polo players like the current prince and Instagram sensation, Padmanabh Singh.
Before you get to soak in all the information, colours, and patterns, I'd recommend you enjoy a quiet sundowner at their outdoor section, which is the perfect vantage point to watch a polo match. Located parallel to a side of the polo ground, it helps you wave at polo players rehearsing for their next big match, hear horses galloping and neighing, as you sip on classic cocktails like Dirty Martini, Picante, and Old Fashioned, or signature Pink City cocktails like Jamun Gin & Tonic. You can pair your poison with their hors d'oeuvre – chicken liver pâté, finely or coarsely ground chicken liver prepared in traditional kaleji recipe served with toasted breads; or bread sticks and sliced cucumber, carrot, and lemongrass served with chickpea hummus and guacamole. However, my favourite was their puffy home-baked sourdough bread and smooth white butter – simple and sumptuous.
We moved indoors for the main course – like our eyes, our palates also adjusted to the sensory overload. For vegetarians, there's Smoked Mushroom Galouti – the traditional kebab dunked in creamy mushroom sauce with sautéed mushrooms surrounding the centrepiece. In case you don't want to sign up for the mushroom onslaught, you could try the ravioli in tomato gravy with spinach and cheese – as creamy, but less mushroomy. For the non-vegetarians, the grilled chicken steak makes for an organic, more succulent follow-up to the chicken pâté. Before you pull on the reins and dismount, I insist you try their chocolate ganache, another excess to get your hands dirty with, but not without a hint of mint that will stay with you long after you ride into the sunset.