Kunwar Yaduveer Singh Bera

Kunwar Yaduveer Singh , Co-Founder of Bera Jackets, Castle Bera & JB Safaris

This scion of the Bera family — descendants of Maharana Pratap of Udaipur — is a hotelier by profession. After training with Welcomgroup and gaining work experience at Oberoi, Taj and ITC properties across the country, he moved back to Castle Bera, nestled in the Aravali Hills, a couple of years ago. He now manages his 300-year-old ancestral home, a luxury homestay popular with international travellers for its serene surroundings and leopard sightings in the Jawai region. “My father started the first leopard safaris in 1993 and, by 1998, it was being done professionally,” he says.

Kunwar Yaduveer Singh Bera at the age of 22 was given the title of the “Leopard Prince” for his remarkable efforts of conservation of wildlife and heritage.

Talking about his mission to open up the local landscape and the local region to the international market, Yaduveer Singh said “I come from the place known as Jawai, the leopard hills of India. My father Thakur Baljeet Singh Bera and Uncle Thakur Devi Singh Bera were the pioneers of Leopards safaris in Jawai. There was a time no one believed that there were leopards in Bera Jawai, but after 20 years of hard work and dedication both the brothers got Bera Jawai on the world map & has given employment and business opportunities to hundreds of locals.” 

origins of Bera Jackets and the story behind how it became popular and what made him decide to promote it. “Bera jackets are not new. It has always been there in Rajasthan for a very long time, since the 1920s and was introduced by my great grandfather Thakur Prithvi Singh Bera, who was a world-class polo player and was a part of the legendary Jodhpur team which won all over the world. Thakur Prithvi Singh Bera was a man of style and in those days the tailors of Bera were known for the art of quilting that was initially done for the polo horses. He ordered his personal royal tailors to make quilted jackets & Phulgaar for him and that’s how it all began. The trend picked up and The Bera Phulgaar’s and jackets were ordered by a lot of royals and were also presented to international personal guests of the royalties,” said Yaduveer Singh. 

Around the same time that he returned home, Yaduveer picked up an interest in the quilted hunting jackets that were first created by his grandfather, Thakur Prithvi Singh Bera. “He was an accomplished polo player and he used to get these jackets tailored [for himself and other royals of Rajasthan] by the local tailors of Bera. After his death, the art faded away,” he says. With no formal training as a designer, and implicit trust in the artisans, he launched Bera Jackets as a brand in 2018, setting out to revive the garment and provide employment. He also got them working on phulgars (a loose, hand-tucked velvet overcoat) which were favoured by royals during the colder months.

While lockdown saw few guests at the homestay, the tailors were able to keep busy. “Since I started the brand, I have only showcased it in Royal Fables [an exhibition of brands from royal houses]. This was the year we were supposed to get a wider audience, but due to the Covid-19 situation, plans were deferred. With winter coming, we hope to get the stock that our tailors have worked on out in the market,” he says, adding that a website will go live in a couple of months.