India, Jan. 21 -- Decades ago, when I went to school in Ajmer, Jaipur was the nearest proper airport (it probably still is) and the nearest big town. There was, we knew, huge tourism potential in Rajasthan, but, frankly, India did not get too many foreign tourists then, and domestic tourism had hardly taken off.

In the decades that followed, much has changed. Jaipur is now a typical North Indian city, full of unplanned development, ugly construction and noisy traffic jams. Unless he or she knows where to look, a visitor to the city might wonder what the fuss is about: Ugliness and chaos are everywhere. (Udaipur is a much lovelier town.)

But Jaipur began to flourish when tourism began to boom. It started in the early 1970s when the Taj g...