Princely state aesthetics always remained confined to a 10*10km block in their capitals which is contrary to the remaining 99% of their state existing for the sole purpose of extraction.
Look at Telangana for example , as we praise the musi flood alleviation and the beautiful palaces in Hyderabad remember that the rest of the state had the worst possible literacy rates and every other index that represents a good quality of life.
Fun fact today after decades of being a part of India , Telangana has a higher literacy rate than Andhra.
Now thats how democracy succeeded in delivering what a princely state couldn’t
Unpopular opinion: indian princely states had better sense of Asthetics and urban planning compared todays indian state.
E.g. Jaipur, Udaipur, Vadodara, Mysore, Hyderabad.