Maharanisaheb Kumud Kumari, from the Palace of Gondal in the Rajkot district of Gujarat, knows most about Mumbai’s landmark Royal Opera House (diagonally opposite the Roxy theatre), which is now in the final phase of renovation, before its resplendent curtains go up in October. "Speak to my mother," says the Yuvraj of Gondal, when asked about the historic building. As one of the wealthiest royal families in India, the Gondals are owners of this Charni Road icon, and are keen the ‘Royal’ in its prefix has real meaning, it is not just a leftover of colonial times or a cosmetic namesake.

Ornate stonework is part of the structure. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi