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Eternal India
encyclopedia
LIFESTYLES
THE MAHARAJAS
During British rule there were 565 Maharajas, Rajas and
Nawabs ruling over states of different sizes which together made
up 47 per cent of the population and territory of India (587, 949
square miles). When the country became independent on August
15, 1947 most of the princely states had acceded either to India or
Pakistan. With this the autocratic rule of the Maharajas came to an
end. Their bizarre, opulent, out-of-this world lifestyles also largely
became a thing of the past although they continued to live com-
fortably enough because of the privy purses granted to them by the
government.
Some of them used to fill their swimming pools with champagne
to celebrate the birth of an heir. Their babies were rocked in cradles
of gold. They lived in marble palaces that were filled with pearls,
diamonds, rubies and emeralds and paintings by famous European
artists. They had scores of gold-plated Rolls-Royces and Daim-
lers in their garages.
The Nizam of Hyderabad was, in his time, the richest man in the
world. His personal wealth was in 1954 estimated at Rs.
1.350.0.
000.
Of this Rs. 350,000,000 was in liquid
cash, Rs.
500.0.
000 in jewellery and a like amount in real estate. A
jeweller who was called in to estimate the value of the jewellery
spent four days in doing so. He saw the 282 carat Jacob diamond
which weighs 70 carats more than the Kohinoor in the imperial
crown of the English Queen. In addition to this he saw a rare
unmounted set of 22 emeralds the total weight of which was 420
carats. Exquisite eastern jewellery was also seen by the jeweller.
Of these he wrote: "I have never set eyes on such jewels before.
Each piece is beautifully enamelled on the back in colours obtain-
able only after pounding precious stones. Today if I were asked to
produce even a small replica of one of these I would be unable to do
so, for these are unique specimens of a lost art."
The personal lifestyle of the Nizam was abstemious. He' was
reported to be parsimonious. But this could not be said of the
majority of the Princes.
The Ruler of Junagadh state in Saurashtra celebrated the
“marriage” of his favourite bitch named
Roshanara
with the male
Golden Retriever of the Nawab of Mangool in great style. A state
holiday was declared for three days and all citizens and visitors
numbering about 50,000 were entertained with food being supplied
at their residence three times a day by special wagons and trucks.
The marriage ceremony was performed by priests, in the same way
as a royal wedding, in the presence of 700 courtiers and distin-
guished guests from all over India. Following this several rulers in
the north of India celebrated the marriage of their dogs in similar
lavish style.
The Maharaja of Gwalior had a unique little silver electric train
which was used to serve his guests. It went round the table on
silver rails with wagons containing nuts, fruits and wines. In the
dining room there were silver fountains on corner tables and an
electrically illuminated rock garden.
Maharaja Sir Ranbir Singh Rajendra Bahadur of Jindh state in
the Punjab was used to keeping late nights and he would get up only
at 4 in the evening. After breakfast during which he would drink tea
and sip champagne alternately he would have an oil massage and
take his bath in a tub scented with French bath salts. After his bath
he would come to the main drawing room where his English Mahar-
ani Dorothy, his daughter and sons and some of the principal
officials of the state were present. The Maharaja was stone deaf
but he had developed the faculty of reading the lips of those who
spoke to him. He thus managed to converse with the members of
his family and officials. All the while he sipped glasses of brandy.
At about 11.30 p.m. dinner would be served. After dinner, which
would last two hours, he would play bridge and billiards with his
officials and guests. More pegs of brandy would be consumed till
he had reached 25 which was his normal quota for the night. At 4
a.m. he retired with his favourite Maharani and would be seen
again only at 4 p.m. next day.
The Princes were dedicated hunters, shooting everything
which moved or flew, especially tigers. The Maharaja of Gwalior
is said to have shot 1400 tigers. The Maharaja of Cooch-Behar
bagged 365 tigers, 438 buffaloes, 207 rhinoceroses and 311 leop-
ards.
The Maharajas introduced polo to England. It was the sport of
kings. It was the Maharaja of Jaipur who glamorised polo. In the
1933 season the Maharaja's team ran away with every major tour-
nament.
Some played golf. When the Nawab of Jaora was playing a
game of golf, a bodyguard walked in front of him with a rifle, a
British golf professional alongside the Nawab himself and a couple
of caddies carrying golf bags. Next came another sentry with a
rifle on his shoulder. A Rolls-Royce drove the Nawab from tee to
tee. When they got to the green, the two sentries stood to atten-
tion, the pro lay full length on the green directing the Nawab to get
the ball into the hole.
The Maharajas travelled a lot, amazing Europe with their
lifestyles. The Maharaja of Baroda, arriving in Naples in 1905 on
a specially chartered ship, insisted on taking over the entire Hotel
Royal. His party included cows and sheep which had to be accom-
modated in the garden. The beds were removed as the royal party
preferred their own air matresses. The servants milked the cows
and others killed the sheep in the garden and cooked up Lamb
Mughlai.
The Maharaja of Patiala liked the fifth floor of the Savoy in
London and insisted that the 35 suites should be filled with 3000
fresh long-stemmed roses every day. Once for a special dinner
party, in London, the Maharaja of Patiala had a sudden fancy for
quail out of season. After telephone calls and telegrams all over
Europe, six of these birds were found in Egypt. The Maharani of
Cooch-Behar gambled at Le Toquet with her talisman always by
her side. It was a tiny live turtle with emeralds, rubies and
diamonds embedded in its shell.
On January 1,1972 the Princes became commoners, when their
titles and privileges were abolished by the Government. They lost
their titles, their privy purses and their privileges which included
free water and electricity, free medicine, armed guards, their own
number plates and flags, and the right to import wines, liquor and
anything else from abroad free of import duties.
SELECTED REFERENCES
Charles Fabri,
Indian Dress,
New Delhi 1960
V.D. Mahajan,
Ancient India,
New Delhi 1993
V.D. Mahajan,
India since 1526,
New Delhi 1973
Charles Allen (Ed),
Plain Tales From the Raj,
London, 1975
Diwan Jarmani Dass,
Maharaja,
Delhi, 1970