the romantic life of a rajput prince

8/11/2019 The Romantic Life of a Rajput Prince

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My Rajput Princely Life

Vasan Sri

Preface

This is a fictional story, set in colonial

India ,of a Rajput princely family in

Rajputana, present Rajasthan, before

Independence from the British in 1947 and

their transition as common citizens of

Independent India, with the life sketch of

a Prince.

My name is [Prince] Yuvaraj Baldev Singh Bahadur,

second son of Maharana Pratap Rajeshwar Singhji,the

ruling Maharaja of Vijaypur, a large princely state

,under the suzerainty of the British Crown. My father


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was entitled to 21 gun salute at British Durbar, an

empty title which the British Crown assigned to Indian

Maharajas ,just to satisfy their whims and keep them in

pecking order of 21 guns down to one gun salute for

postage-stamp size kingdoms of some 'Rajas'.

Vijaypur is a Princely state, about 100 miles wide

and 50 miles long, along Chandravati river, which has

almost dried up, like the Saraswati river in desert

sands, except for a small rivulet which gets flash

floods during the rainy season, for about a month each

year and lets its water into a thin lagoon near the

sea.

Vijaypur is blessed with a coast line and a small

sea port of Kanwar which was the entry point for

European goods and at one time the port of export of

exotic silks,spices and carpets from our state. My

father Maharana used to narrate stories of Roman and

Arab tycoons coming to this port for brisk trade in the


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first century and 8th century respectively. They were

trading not only these merchandises of high quality and

finish, particularly the carpets, but also acquiring

lovely fair-skinned nymphets of medium build, with lot

of jewels adding to their weight, Rajasthani girls with

almost cylindrical hands and legs in colorful langas or

skirts ,short bodice and long tresses of hair twisted

in two or three braids, with gold studs pinned every

four inches at the back. The traders used to smuggle

these women under some pretext , without the knowledge

of Maharana who had imposed strict rules for their

movements near the port buildings or market places . At

the same time, they also brought in very fair skinned

women with almond eyes , large foreheads ,sharp noses

,deep navels , supple waists and long thin legs , noted

for their twirling belly dances from Persia [Iran]and

Syria for the pleasures of Hindu princes as nautch

girls [dancing girls] in their zenanas [harems].


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But these things had almost disappeared in my time,

when local girls rarely studied beyond high school and

were chaperoned around palace grounds.

Vijaypur was famous for its jewelry, with cut

diamonds brought from Panna mines in Central Provinces

at a distance of about 300 miles and weaving of sarees

of different fibers with exquisite dyeing in pigments

made of vegetable juices, dried in open sunlight. It

did not have any fertile field for crops . It had small

patches of dry soil for growing peanuts, mustards and

peppers, and small quantities of vegetables for hot

summer days, like cucumber and radish in hilly parts.

Maharana was allowed to keep an army of 10000 troops,

as part of the Treaty signed with the British Crown in

1861, as well as a small cavalry regiment of 100

horses. But when the Crown needed, 5000 troops should

be lent to the British Army.

The Bupendra Palace and the Old Fort

Bhupendra Palace was the main palace of Maharana, built


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by his grandfather Bhupendra Singh Bahadur. Bhupendra

was fond of western style rooms and halls. Hence he

constructed the palace using Italian marble tiles from

Carrara and the walls were plastered with special

alabaster from Portugal. The granite stones and red

stones were of local origin. Several chandeliers were

brought from Belgium. Almost all furniture were made of

Burma [Myanmar] teak.

The palace had two towers with cupolas which were of

copper sheets from Rhodesia [now Zambia] and were gold

plated with British technicians. Sri Bhupendra Singh

also bought a custom-made large clock , about 3 feet

in diameter , from Seth Thomas in London for the

Palace. The clock was the center piece on the top panel

on the front wall , with royal emblem on both

sides---with two large lion figures. The palace had two

watch towers, stone buildings with a spiral stair case

and a top viewing port with hexagonal dome and six

windows. A guard stood on that porch watchful for


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intruders into the palace. He could see easily a

distance of about 4 miles. There were sepoys at the

bottom of the towers to arrest any intruder sighted by

the watch guard.

The Palace had two large halls--a Durbar hall [court

hall] and a Banquet hall adjoining it. It had a large

Yojana Hall [ conference room] on the left for seating

the ministers and courtiers when Maharana wanted to

discuss state matters. It was always kept closed and

heavily guarded. The Raksha [Security] Hall was on the

right side --a place to discuss matters relating to

Defence and Law and order situations. The main feature

of this room was a large map on one of the walls. There

was a Ghazana [treasury] behind the Raksha hall with

underground cellars to store gold and silver bars and

precious jewelry ,including crown jewels.

The Palace had a large central courtyard--open space

reserved for wrestling matches and martial arts

demonstrations.


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The Durbar hall was open to any one authorized to

meet Maharana and would be a place where ambassadors

and British dignitaries would be received. This hall

had a number of beautiful chandeliers and paintings on

the side walls. Several swords were fixed on the walls

with special brackets. Maharana sat on the throne on an

elevated platform, at a height of about six feet from

the floor. The throne itself was made of polished

silver ; my father Maharana kept the Gold plated throne

in an inner chamber and used it only on ceremonial

occasions. There were always two beautiful young women

to fan the Maharana with large hand fans on both sides

of the throne. A small shrine for the Kuldevi Bageswari

was kept on the right side of the throne. Maharana

always commenced the Durbar after praying for five

minutes in front of the shrine.

The ministers and courtiers sat on several chairs on

both sides in the hall, with due protocols. There was a

red carpet , about ten feet in width, all along the


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hall, leading to the platform for the throne. Children

and women were not normally allowed inside the hall

except on special programs. On the left side were two

large tables at which scribes sat. They recorded the

discussions and later would publish the main rulings of

Maharana after approval by the Dewan or Prime minister

of the state. Maharana ,being a lover of music and

arts, important musicians were invited to the Durbar

and allowed to sing or play instruments for short

times, and receive rewards or gifts from Maharana.

In later years, photographers were always ready to

take pictures of various events in this hall.

Maharana- a Dharmic Prince

There were moments in the Durbar hall that was

significant and turning points for the state. Maharana

wanted to experiment and introduce 'open prison system'

for prisoners charged with minor offences. There was a

lot of opposition from certain ministers and courtiers.


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Maharana had earlier discussed this with Mahatma [M K]

Gandhi in his Wardha Ashram in the year 1924,and taken

a message from him. Maharana asked one of the

ministers to read out this message. This silenced the

detractors and Maharana's ruling was welcomed.

Another event was when Maharana made a "temple entry

proclamation" allowing dalits ['harijans' or

'untouchables' ] into all Hindu temples . There were

several protest meetings from orthodox Hindus against

this move . But Maharana was firm and asked the Diwan

to lead a group of harijans into Bageswari temple on

that day. This proclamation was widely published

throughout India and many would praise Maharana for

this bold move ; many other states followed this step.

This temple entry move for harijans brought many

visitors to the State --to congratulate Maharana---the

foremost visitor was Gandhiji. The date of the

Mahatma's visit was broadcast in the city through local

radio. Thousands thronged to see the great man.


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Maharana wanted me to make all arrangements for his

visit and his entourage of nearly 10000 Congress party

members and other big leaders. I had to build nearly

100 tents in the Parade Grounds with the help of army

sepoys [soldiers]. Several langars [community

kitchens] were built in smaller tents. The grounds were

covered with white khadi-clad [home spun yarn cloth]

men with bright white cloth caps. There was no law and

order problem, but providing them with food and chai

[tea] was formidable, because they were moving about

like ants everywhere.

A large stone tablet [2 feet x 3 feet] inscribing the

proclamation was installed on a special mantap [hall]

with a picture of Mahatma on one side . Gandhiji walked

into the hall to unveil the plaque; he spoke a few

words praising Maharana and the citizens of Vijaypur.

When Mahatma was stepping out of the hall, a loud

explosion was heard from the nearby park a hundred

yards away. A bomb had exploded . I swiftly mounted my


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horse and went there with four of my guards. On

searching , we found two muslim boys hiding in a bush

nearby. They were brought for questioning and they

admitted to their plot to kill the Mahatma. Both gave

information about their ring leader who was a Hindu

extremist leader from Nagpur. After due trial, one of

them was hanged. This incident gave us a foretaste of

the Hindu-Muslim riots that would erupt in the next

few years--even in peaceful state like Vijaypur.

Earlier Maharana was inclined to abolish capital

punishment [death penalty] in the state,as it was done

in the State of Travancore [Kerala]. But after this

incident of bomb explosion during Gandhiji's visit

,Maharana changed his stand .

There was also another amusing incident in the

proceedings at the Durbar. There were some communities

in hilly regions in which women would not wear blouses

and went about topless. This practice was supported by

certain high class Hindus, to keep these women in a


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primitive condition. Diwan wanted to abolish this by

declaring a law. But ,interestingly, some upper caste

men protested against this stating that wearing blouses

would make the hill tribe women look more attractive!

Maharana supported the Diwan and the ruling was

approved. Such instances are ever green in my memory.

Many such measures in Vijaypur would make the state not

only progressive, but a model state for other princely

states to follow.

I grew up in a large fort, called the 'Purana Kila"

[ Old Fort], where one had large halls for bed rooms

and a study, with beautifully carved wooden furniture

and large chandeliers lit with candles. Each piece of

furniture--- chairs , tables, chest of drawers and

wardrobes, book shelves --was inlaid with gold or gold

plated brass inserts and some ivory panels that the

external surface was always smooth and firm, without

any speck of decayed wood or rough varnished surface.


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The mattresses were filled with downs from local birds

the names of which I do not know. The fort had many

bird coves on its ramparts and it was delightful to

watch many birds making calls and fly offin formations

in the early mornings.

I was served by two valets who were also my daily

instructors--one senior with lot of history behind,

named Man Singh and another, a young fellow , Brijraj,

who would teach me martial arts, wrestling and horse

riding. Mansingh was a strict master, who always

talked of Rajput traditions and how I should behave in

the court of Maharana, my father, whom he had taught

some fifty years ago. There was a friendly rivalry

between Mansingh and Brijraj over the time they could

take care of me in a day for teaching their respective

skills.

I was also assigned a body-guard, a rough looking heavy

weight man, brought from Ethiopia, with enormous

moustache and large red turban, always carrying a


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shining sword in his sabre and wearing the Royal

insignia [logo] of Vijaypur-- a large brass plate on

his chest, emblazening his official status as my guard

. There was always a fear that I may be abducted by

goons for ransom money.

I must add that the Crown Prince, my elder brother,

Vijayarajendra Singh, who would be the next ruling king

or Maharana, was five years elder to me. He had four

body guards for his protection and a large wing in the

fort for his quarters. He also had a horse-drawn

chariot for his movements. He was a regular 'shikari'

or tiger hunter in Bharatpur forest or in Jalawal. He

easily befriended the British officers who were keen

on tiger shooting. He was a college student in Jaipur

at that time--but he rarely attended the college except

to play in polo matches. The Crown Prince was trained

as a cavalry officer by the British Cavalry Regiment at

Deolali, near Nashik, famous for its cavalry ranches

since the days of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.


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I must add that there was much enmity between Hindus

and Muslims from 17th century; but much of it had

disappeared in the early 20th century. Our kingdom of

Vijaypur employed many Muslim commanders and officials

and also several teachers, Urdu poets and literary

giants in the court. Court musicians invariably

included several maestros of muslim faith, called

'Ustads' who were well versed in Hindustani music

which was a blend of native Indian, Afghan and Persian

[Iranian]/Sufi music styles. In fact several songs

were written in Urdu and Persian verses. After all

these musicians and scholars were mostly Hindus and

then converted to Islam due to political pressures or

social favors. [There was double taxation on Hindus in

many Muslim sultanates in India; to avoid that, many

Hindus converted to Islam.]

Now I must talk about the great music teacher I

had---the famous Ustad Parvez-Imran Khan of Gwalior

Gharana [school]. I learned to play on Sitar from the


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age of eight---I was big enough to hold the heavy

instrument. He taught me in easy,graduated steps that

was simple and perfect practice. This sitar training

would go on for 6 to 8 years. These were the best

part of my education, since I was tutored at home by

several tutors---a kind of home schooling for princes.

The music classes had additional attraction for me.

Ustad's young daughter Ameena accompanied him in

singing and in tweaking the tanpura. She was 12 years

old when I was also of the same age. She was fair

skinned and attractive in colorful skirt or langa with

sequined border and wore pearl necklace, nose studs and

ear rings. She never spoke a word to me ,but always

sat with head bent down that I could see only her lips

and chin. Occasionally she smiled at me when her father

made a sudden twist in rendering a raga. This smile

relationship continued for many years. I picked up

courage to talk to her only in my 18th year during a

Diwali festival when she had blossomed into a young


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woman of great charm. I knew that she would eventually

marry a Muslim boy-may be a musician drawn from

numerous students of her father. But her charming

figure always remained in my memory as perfection of

female beauty crafted by her lineage and nurtured by

soft music.

Vijay Yogashala

I was a keen practitioner of hatha yoga [physical

yoga with focus on asanas and pranayama] since my

boy-hood days and learned it from Yogi Shivananda in

our city. Later I was taught advanced methods by

Yogiraj Madhavadasji at Vadodara [Baroda] for three

months. Yogiraj was nearly 100 years old at that time.

He commanded me to start a yogashala [yoga school] for

young boys in Vijaypur. With his blessings and

support from Maharana, I started the 'Vijay Yogashala'

in Madanmohana Palace, a place meant for physical

training of young princes.


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There hangs a tale about this yogashala. I appointed

a young yoga master ,one Virendra Bhramachari from

Jammu. He had excellent credentials in yoga practice.

After two years I got a report from my sitar teacher

Ustad Parvez-Imran Khan that Virendra was building a

zenana [harem] with muslim girls in Amir Nagar, a local

suburb. One evening I raided the Zenana with a band of

five troops on horses. Virendra surrendered. He was

taken to the state prison and the girls were rescued.

The Metropolitan Magistrate sentenced that Virendra

should be castrated and sent out of the state! Such

instances were many in early years of my life.

Military training at Meerut

My life would take a definite turn at this time when

I reached 20 years. After some deliberation with state

officials, Maharana, my father,decided that I should

have some military training in British Army. He

arranged for my training at the Meerut Army Cantonment,


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with Col William Olcott , Commander of 54th Regiment.

Col Olcott had the reputation of having trained several

princes from other states.

I was sent to the Army barracks with a small bunker

as my residence for the next two years. It was a big

change from the Royal comfort of Vijaypur Fort. The

bunker was a tiny room of 15 feet by 10 feet. While I

had seventeen servants at the palace along with two

valets who attended on me, here I had to shine my own

shoes and wash my clothes in a tub of water. I resented

the situation so much that I even thought of running

away from the barracks to some cave in the Himalayas.

The other cadets soon showed respect and kindness for

me as I was a prince but was one among them in the

cantonment. The training ,with lot of physical

exercises, horse riding and artillery drills ,was hard

but exciting. The Polo games were most delightful part

and I excelled in this game right from the beginning. I

was nicknamed "polo saheb" by other cadets. After a


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month I forgot my miserable situation and had become a

fine soldier under the watchful eyes of Col Olcott and

one Major Wolverton who was like a personal trainer for

many things. The only silver lining in the cloud was

that I got a new "Hillman" car from Maharana for my

travels .

I also learned to move with other cadets to common

areas like the movie theater and gymkhana club for a

game of billiards. The best part of weekly life at the

regiment was the saturday dance at the Gymkhana

Hall---a dancing floor with several British girls

brought from nearby towns for ball room dancing.

Initially I did not know anything about ball room

practices or western dance. Major Wolverton saw my

plight and fixed a teacher in the name of Mona Skelton,

a woman of 25 years. Mona had been a schoolteacher in

London and was sent to the cantonment to assist the

teachers in military schools. Mona was fair-skinned

with purple cheeks ,quite tall and with rather large


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waist and shapely legs. I was attracted to her at first

sight. She made intimate moves and was soon my regular

partner in dance and also while dining at the club.

She was a girl from a parson's family of limited means.

She showed lot of respect for my royal lineage in India

and the upbringing I had. She taught me many things

regarding western ways of living and also introduced me

to western cuisine and European hard liquor. Soon I was

drinking regularly at the club or in her tiny cottage

near the main office of the regiment. One thing I was

strict about and which she respected was that I would

not touch beef to eat.

On one evening when I met her in her cottage, she

kissed me passionately and I took her on my lap. Soon

Mona was my intimate partner at least for two days in

a week. I also took her in my Hillman car which I drove

myself to nearby hill stations , including Shimla, for

weekends. Shimla used to be a heavenly place for

British officers and Maharajas --a place where you


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would find many British women for companionship. Mona

enjoyed her stay in Shimla and the locals thought that

she was the Maharani of Vijaypur.

Two years of training sped by fast. For my good

behavior and my supervision of artillery garrison, I

was given a 'bronze cross' with emblem of British Crown

and the citation of 'best garrison major' from the

Army Commander. I did not quite understand what this

bronze cross was all about. I knew that British

commanders wanted to keep Indian princes in good

relations and always showered some cheap title or

awards . Anyway I showed this cross to Maharana and

other courtiers, who even arranged a special reception

for me after my return from Meerut Cantt.

While taking leave of Mona Skelton, Mona cried and

wanted a job for her in Vijaypur in some school with

better salary. I told her that I would help her but

could not promise. On returning, I spoke to the Diwan


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{prime minister] of Vijaypur-- Sri Bhawani Shankar Rao

M. A .[Oxon] and the teachers' job for her was

arranged at the Maharaja's High School. Soon Mona

reached Vijaypur and was received at the railway

station with royal pomp; she was also offered a cozy

cottage in Vrindavan Palace Gardens. I learned then

that she was six months into her pregnancy. She also

received a house maid to assist her.

My Wedding

Meanwhile Maharana , my father , was busy seeking a

bride for me from the many royal families in

Rajputana. A search party was formed with Sri Dig Vijay

Singh, his cousin as the leader . There were several

criteria to be satisfied for the suitable bride-- one

being that the bride should be well versed in music.

They chose the daughter of Navnagar Maharaja as the

bride for me-- Vasundara Devi was just sixteen years

old and was an accomplished violinist who had studied

under Vedamuri Shankara Sastry of Vizianagaram in


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coastal Andhra .

A royal wedding was soon held in Navnagar which was

about 300 miles from Vijaypur. A mile long caravan

would haul goods and presents for the Wedding from

Vijaypur. About 200 courtiers would attend my

wedding. A procession of fifty elephants would precede

my ride on a fully decorated horse with golden saddle.

A grand reception for the bride was also put up at

Vijaypur with the whole city illumined with lights ;

several dance and music performances were arranged at

the Durbar hall.

Maharana had invited several British officials

including the Bombay presidency Governor, Sir Elihu

Yale. There were separate pandals for Indian and

British invitees. A large forty course dinner was

served in the main durbar annexe for British guests

with continental and Indian cuisine and choice liquor.

Maharana moved about talking in glowing terms about me

and my first rate performance at Meerut Army Regiment


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to those guests. On the next day, it was revealed that

I would enter the Sandhurst Military Academy in

England to qualify as a Colonel .

Initially I was shocked at this next so-journ for me.

But I would not protest against my father Maharana. I

gently sent some emissaries from his courtiers to

convey that I could join Sandhurst after a year of

marital bliss with my lovely dharm-patni Vasundara

Devi. Fortunately Maharana agreed.

My life with Vasundara was the most joyful one year. I

spent lot of time at the hill station of Mount Abu,

listening to her exclusive performance of violin for me

in the palace gardens. I would sometimes follow her in

Sitar, though my rendering was below par.

Vasundara was deeply religious in her upbringing,

always clinging to her gold idol of Krishna , pouring

out her heart in music. I even thought that she may

abandon our married life and go away as a nun, like

Meerabai of Mewar state did two centuries ago. This


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fear lurked in my mind. I privately consulted my music

teacher Ustad Parvez-Akram Khan. He had a practical

suggestion. Vasundara Devi should become friendly with

his daughter Ameena Begum who was already married and a

mother of one girl. Both of them loved music. Further

Ameena being a woman of the world would bring Vasundara

into romantic life with flowers,perfumes and costly

jewels . At first I was skeptical about this approach.

But soon I learned that Ameena was quite an adept at

teaching Vasundara about courtly life and amorous ways.

My tension was relieved and soon Vasundara became a

constant companion to me in all my movements.

Maharana wanted me to reorganize his army along

modern lines like the British army before I left for

Sandhurst.. I took this task seriously introducing new

training methods and sacking old lance naiks[majors]. I

also bought new guns from Britain and tanks from

Germany to replace the obsolete ones.

Meanwhile I must tell you about Mona. Mona had a baby


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daughter. She was christened Vijayandra , sounding

similar to Alexandra, at the local Anglican Church.

The child's father was one Major Atkinson according to

birth records. We learned to utter many lies as we go

along the high society life in British India!.

Mona decided to go back to England if I could provide

a decent apartment for her in London. Obviously she was

tired of her life in hot,dry climate of Rajputana. She

would like to bring up Vijayandra as a London girl. I

arranged to buy her a house in South London which

belonged to another Prince, Krishan Singh of

Bhavaninagar at a nominal price. Mona was very happy. I

gave her a set of jewels as heirloom to keep. I

arranged a farewell for her at the Jodhpur airport

when she took a flight to London. Her eyes were

brimming with tears which she controlled in true

British reserve. To get ahead of my story, I met her

three years later in London. She was a teacher in a

London school . She was now Mrs. Mona Wilson, married


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to an Army officer in Tank division and was a mother of

a boy as well. She longed to visit Vijaypur , though.

The courtly life with Vasundara Devi on tow, with

numerous ceremonies and functions to attend, was too

much to bear. I had become a noted military officer by

default--after the reforms I made in my State Army.

British officers were full of praise for my work in the

tiny state that was Vijaypur. Vasundara was blooming

with the nice company of Ameena and had learned the Art

of Life with company of children . Soon she was

pregnant with my first child for the Royal lineage. A

boy , named Vijay Bhadra Singh was born on 11th July,

1925. Maharana and the entire Royal household was

rejoicing with the arrival of the baby prince.

On the next day, I touched the feet of Maharana, took

the blessings of my mother and elders, and left for

London from Bombay [Mumbai] airport by a Dakota

propeller aircraft to join Sandhurst. It would be


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another two years of hard life at the Military

Academy.

My Life at Sandhurst

I met my training commander Maj Gen Duncan to discuss

my training plans. I needed two weeks to consult with

my father Maharana. I sent a telegram to him. I

received a wire reply stating that I should take up

'tank warfare' training there. I joined the tank

division. We would be trained to ride and shoot from

Sherman tanks of USA and from Vickers-Armstrong tanks

made in England.

It was a grand preparation against the rising strength

of Hitler with his tank columns. Only much later I

realized how right my father Maharana was; during World

War II I fought for the British army against the

'Desert Fox' Erwin Rommel with his tanks in North

Africa near Tripoli.

To return to my life at Sandhurst. It was hard , from


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early morning pre-dawn exercises at 2 AM till late

afternoons in foggy or rainy weather. I realized why

the Britishers often talk about weather which could be

nasty in England. It was quite challenging to work with

some British officers, mostly veterans of World War I.

There was much fire and noise during the tank war

games we played. The dictum was : " You shoot as soon

as you see an enemy tank going across at a distance of

half a mile ;or else you are dead in 10 seconds"

...that is the kind of battle that went on.

I enjoyed a lot of smutty jokes the soldiers threw

around ,some things I would never hear in Rajasthan.

The British cadets also wished to engage me in

wrestling though that was frowned upon by prim British

officers. The British soldiers loved to carry a whiskey

bottle in their hip pocket--a habit I soon cultivated!

The relaxing moments were in the evenings with

drinking bouts, in the Offiers' Club, with lot of women


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around, mostly wives of Army officers, who would be

quite drunk and ready to hug ,to plant a kiss or to

hold tightly at the waist and to rub their open backs.

I behaved rather clumsily unlike the British officers

and they accepted my uncouth gestures because I was a

Prince from India and I owned a Bentley car which

Maharana had ordered for me in London. I was sometimes

shocked at the brazen way in which British women,

these wives of colonels and majors, fondled a man at

the club in dim lights, but soon accepted these mores

as part of military culture there. Many women were

attracted to me because of the strong arms and biceps I

had due to kusti [wrestling] practice in Vijaypur. I

gently let them kiss me as they pleased.

I was attracted to one woman, Clara Thompson,wife of

a Colonel , who was alluring and quite open in her

appreciation of me and often hugged me close, scantily

dressed as she was most of the time. She invited me for

small parties in her house. I always carried some


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presents made in India for her...an ivory broach , a

silk scarf and so on. I was mistaken. She was not

interested in me but she wanted me to move with her

daughter Sally Thompson who was a fashion-design

student at Madame Bowery Fashion School and was twenty

years old. Sally was thin, tall and bony but had a very

attractive face with almost diamond-like bright eyes

and sharp nose. I would compare her mentally with

plumpy ,short Rajasthani girls at the court. She also

dressed in high fashion with a thin gown , slit at the

right side revealing her thighs , a short blouse with

open shoulders and high heeled shoes. Again I would

think of Rajasthani girls with several layers of

petticoat, then langa or skirt and then two folds of

thick saree ,laden with jewels, in the hot weather of

Vijaypur. In cold foggy Sandhurst air, Sally was only

wearing most of the time a short ,thin skirt extending

to her mid thighs . I was soon very friendly with Sally

but Sally had other designs for me. She wanted to kiss


33/88

me all over and take many jewels from me enticing me

after a few drinks. She was particular about the gold

chain and the dangling Patek-Phillippe pocket watch

which was my prized possession. I told her that I would

get her another ladies pocket watch from London's Seth

Thomas watch company.

One day, at her house, while caressing me, Sally

rubbed my gold necklace with a pendent on it. I always

wore that,as a talisman ,to protect me; the pendant

carried a picture of our Royal kuldevi [family deity]

'Bageswari'. Sally asked :"Who is that in the

pendant?".

I replied: "Our goddess, Bageswari";

Sally laughed and said " You should keep such things in

the altar and forget about it".

I instantly got angry and told her: "You don't know

about such things.You keep your mouth shut" . I rose up

,ready to leave in a huff. Clara came down fast and

asked what the matter was. She told Sally to apologize


34/88

to me. Sally immediately sobbed , put her head on my

lap and apologized. I lifted her up gripping her

shoulders and stared at her face with angry look ,

about to push her away. She shed copious tears and

hugged me. I could not bear to see a girl cry like

that. It was against Rajput chivalry. I took out my

silk handkerchief and wiped her tears. She planted a

kiss on my fleshy chest. I reciprocated with a

passionate kiss on her cheeks and held her close. That

was the beginning of a long relationship with Sally,

extending over twenty years,as I shall narrate later.

Clara was worried that my training would be over in

the next six months and that I would go back to

Vijaypur. Being a clever woman, she spoke to some

Under-secretary in the India Office at Whitehall ,to

secure a job for Sally at Vice-Regal Palace in

Lutyen's 'New Delhi'... Sally could become a costume

designer for the wife of Viceroy of India. Given the


35/88

lethargic pace of India Office, it would take another

two years before Sally could land in India. Meanwhile

Sally was already a mother of my first child --a blue

eyed boy - christened Richard Thompson - in the next

few months.

Clara called me one day and wanted to speak in

private--without the knowledge of Sally. She wanted me

to make a college fund deposit of 1000 pounds with

Barclay Bank for Richard's education. I told her that

after my departure , the Bentley car I had could be

sold and the proceeds would make this fund. The

Bentley could fetch about 2000 pounds. Accordingly I

told Major William Templeton, my friend at Sandhurst,

to make the necessary arrangements.

My training was proceeding smoothly; I

received generous praise for my tank

tactics in war games and I was awarded a

gold medal. The commander , Maj Gen Duncan


36/88

had recommended me for another title: KCIE

[Knight Commander of Indian Empire] which I

would receive from the hands of the

Vice-Roy at New Delhi a year later--

another empty title bestowed on Indian

rajas.. Maharana, my father was, however,

proud of me for all these accomplishments.

The British resident and his misery

The British Crown planted a British

officer,called the 'Resident ', in each

Princely state or for a group of small

princely states.. His main duty was to spy

on Maharaja and his men so that no

seditious activities were encouraged

against the British Empire. The resident


37/88

also kept a close watch on the financial

condition of the state and the strength of

the army, if there was one in the state.

Most residents were decent officers while

some were cranky or whimsical.

Our resident was one Michael Collins B A

[Cantab] who started his career as a

diplomat in Delhi. Mr Collins rarely

interfered with our administration and had

a great regard for Maharana. He liked tiger

hunting and would accompany my brother

Crown Prince to forests in Bharatpur and

Jalawal on hunting expeditions. His wife

Mrs Florence Collins,called Floe, was a

fine woman and a good piano teacher. She


38/88

taught piano to many Rajput princes,

including me. Soon she was attracted to the

tall erect figures of Rajput princes. She

developed intimate relationships with

several students. It was rumoured that she

had amorous relationship with my brother

Crown Prince, also with Ustad Vilayat Khan

, son of my sitar teacher, and with

Ramachandra Rao, son of the Diwan, who was

a treasury officer in the state. I do not

know how far these rumours were true. But

her scandalous behaviour was watched by

many courtiers and became the talk of the

town. Mr Collins also noticed her absence

from the resident's mansion, particularly


39/88

when he was out in his hunting trips.

Obviously Mr Collins was in no position to

check her promiscuous ways. He became

withdrawn and had taken to drinking

heavily . He had become an addict to the

bottle. It was a moot point whether his

drinking habit drove Floe for waywardness ,

as some courtiers alleged, or her behavior

led him to addiction.

The rumours surrounding Mrs Collins

reached the ears of Maharana and the Diwan,

Bhawani Shankar Rao. Maharana requested

the Diwan to adopt some clever trick to

send Collins out of the state. Diwan Rao

conspired with Dr T Gopal Rao FRCP, Chief


40/88

Medical Officer of the state for a little

ploy. Dr Gopal Rao issued a medical

bulletin stating that a dangerous bacteria

had been spreading in Vijaypur and that

white folks were vulnerable for this

bacterial infection. Following this

bulletin, Dr Gopal Rao advised Mr Collins

to leave the state within a few days. Mr

Collins spoke to the Viceroy in Delhi and

got himself transferred to Kashmir state!

Tragedy at Vijaypur

Crown Prince , my elder brother, was an

avid 'shikari' going for tiger hunting

every year to Bharatpur, the kingdom of his


41/88

father-in-law . Bharatpur had a huge,lush

forest with hundreds of tigers . Crown

Prince would spend about two months every

year in Bharatpur which is only about 100

miles from Vijaypur. He would also take

British Babus who wanted to kill tigers and

take pictures with their prey. [Tiger skin

was highly valued and was used by many

sadhus and religious leaders for meditation

seat .] During the recent hunting trip,

the Crown Prince contracted an infection in

the forest. This led to high fever and lung

infection for him. He died within a week. I

received a wire message [ telegram] to my

room at Sandhurst ;I was shocked and lost


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my balance. Only after nearly half an

hour, I could think of what to do next. I

took the message to my commander Maj Gen

Duncan and asked for a leave of one month

to be back in Vijaypur. The general

immediately approved my leave and also told

me that he would arrange for a flight from

London to Mumbai by Royal Air Force [RAF]

aircraft.

I reached Vijaypur two days later and was

trying to console Maharana, my father and

Rajmata , my mother. Both were in deep

grief. Crown Prince's body was

interred at the Royal cemetry following the

religious injunctions for Rajput Kshatrias


43/88

[ warrior caste]. A 10-day mourning was

declared in the state. Chanting of slokas

[hymns] continued in all the temples with

the citizens participating with a sense of

deep sorrow. Thousands of sadhus

[mendicants] and brahmins were fed for free

at a large shamiana [tent ] near the palace

for ten days. Hundreds of cows were freely

distributed [go-dhan] to brahmin priests --

to ensure a safe passage for the departed

soul to the lotus feet of the Lord.

After the 10- day rituals, Maharana

convened a meeting of his

ministers,courtiers and

family members to reorganize the


44/88

administration which was largely looked

after by the Crown Prince. I was anointed

as the next Crown Prince in the Durbar

hall, with religious function conducted by

the family priest before the shrine of

Kuldevi Bageswari ; my duties and

responsibilities were spelt out for me. I

suddenly realized the enormous burden I had

to carry--no more the care-free life of a

military officer or a play boy.

I would sort out a few problems and then

would get back to Sandhurst to complete my

training for the next three months. An

immediate task was to make arrangements for

the widowed Princess and her children--


45/88

their going back to Bharatpur, her father's

Kingdom.

I returned to Sandhurst next week and

got on with training schedules though my

heart was heavy with sorrow . I pondered

how Maharana was coping with the tragedy

and how Rajmata would miss her son. Along

with training , I made plans for my return

with all the personal effects. I was keen

on taking part in the passing -out parade

from the Academy. I was given a place of

honor in the graduation list ; the

commander was generous in his citation with

the remark that I could be a valuable asset

to the British Crown in India. The year was


46/88

1934. The gathering storm for the

calamitous world war II was ominous at

that time. Several reports came from

Germany which was getting heavily armed

with tanks and bomber aircraft under the

Third Reich.

I also learned that the tragedy of losing

her son was too painful for Rajmata, my

mother. She used to wail many times in her

antapura [inner chambers.] She had bouts of

depression. She died of heart attack one

week after my return from Sandhurst. I had

to console Maharana who had to cope with

double tragedy within a year. Rajmata was

buried in the Royal cemetery close to the


47/88

palace. Maharana installed a statue of her

in the central courtyard of the Palace.

Palace Intrigues

Palace intrigues are common in the kingdoms

of Rajputana. I had faced a few of them. I

will relate one that pained me most. After

my return from Sandhurst, about a year

after the passing away of Crown Prince,

some vicious elements in the state floated

a rumour that the death of the Crown Prince

was not due to infection from the forest

but due to food poisoning at Bharatpur and

I was behind this conspiracy to kill the

Prince, my brother. Such malicious reports


48/88

appeared in the newspapers and the state

was asked to conduct a police

investigation. I was shocked and dismayed.

I guessed at once that this canard was the

work of a minister whom I sacked , by name

Dayanidhi Gupta. Gupta was involved with a

smuggling gang operating in the sea port of

Kanwar and was highly corrupt. His aim was

to malign my name and dissuade Maharana

into making me the future king. I knew that

Maharana did not believe this story, but it

was necessary that I should be cleared of

this accusation with proper proof.

My confidant was the sagacious Diwan,

Bhawani Shankar Rao who had practiced


49/88

earlier as a criminal lawyer in Bombay.

Diwan Rao promised to help me with this

nasty situation. He called together a few

top police sleuths to trace the source of

this rumour and find evidences for

exonerating me. It was rather easy. The

sleuths found that Dayanidhi had paid some

thugs to spread the rumour and to inform

the news media. Fortunately, Diwan Rao

identified a doctor who had examined my

brother after his return from the hunting

trip in Bharatpur forest. He was Dr Joseph

Murphy FRCP,the highly respected Chief

Physician at Agra Medical Hospital. He

showed Diwan Rao his medical record that


50/88

the Prince had extensive insect bites on

his arms and legs, but no skin

discoloration due to poisoning. He also

had the blood test report to indicate some

form of bacterial infection. Diwan Rao gave

an interview to the press corp at Vijaypur

and I was absolved of this false

accusation. The Police chief Ramachandra

Rao arrested Dayanidhi on charges of

corruption.

I went to Maharana and touched his feet

for not believing the rumor, with tears in

my eyes. I presented a Cadillac car to

Diwan Rao in appreciation of his efforts

and a Rolex watch for the police chief,


51/88

Ramachandra Rao.

A tricky arranged marriage.

Now it was my turn to help Diwan Rao. One

day Diwan Rao came to me wringing his hands

with a serious look on his face. He wanted

my help on a tricky situation. His daughter

Padmavati, a college student in Jaipur, had

fallen in love with,my second son,Yuvraj

Gajaraj. It was the traditional custom

that the bride's father must approach the

boy's parents in arranged marriages. Diwan

Rao was nervous because we always sought

brides from Rajput families. It would be a

stigma for a Rajput prince to marry a girl

from other castes.


52/88

Fortunately Gajraj was the second son, not

the first son or Crown Prince. Crown Prince

always married a bride from another

Princely family.I was perplexed. I told Rao

that I had to consult Maharana who would

decide and should give his approval. I

broached the matter when Maharana

was in a happy mood and when Rajmata was

also present. Rajmata had several criteria

for the bride to be! She told me that she

had no objection provided Rao's daughter

Padmavati was fair skinned like

Rajput girls and was also slim in waist,

with ample hips. I was not sure whether

Padmavati would meet these criteria. [In


53/88

Rajput families, women with large hips were

preferred as it was thought that wide hips

would ensure birthing several children.]

Maharana was more practical in his view. He

wanted to know what Yuvraj Gajaraj planned

to do after studies. I told Maharana that

he might become a lawyer and would

practice law in Delhi or Bombay.

Maharana told that he would express his

decision after two days. Meanwhile I

ascertained from Yuvraj his interest in

marrying this girl and in becoming a

lawyer. After four days, Maharana

called me ;after deep thought for five

minutes, he spoke slowly: " Yes, Yuvraj can


54/88

marry this girl,but he must leave the

palace after that. He can go

to other kingdoms or any city --Delhi,

Bombay,London or Timbuktu. He will be

entitled to family property though."

Maharana was precise in his instructions .

Rajmata tacitly approved too. I spoke to

Vasundara , my wife and Yuvraj's

mother---she would go along with Maharana's

decison. I knew that this decision amounted

to banishing Yuvraj from the State. Was it

a harsh decision? - I cannot tell. I

conveyed this decision to Yuvraj and also

to Diwan Rao.

On the next Friday--an auspicious day--


55/88

Rao came to our Fort with his wife and

daughter Padmavati.

Padma was nicely dressed in a brocade

saree,with a set of six bangles on each

arm,nose studs, three gold necklaces and

diamond ear studs. Rao had brought a basket

of flowers and a bowl of fruit. He asked

Padma to touch the feet of

myself and Vasundara--her future in-laws.

We blessed her. I

requested Rao to take her to Maharana and

Rajmata to receive their blessings and then

visit the temple of our kuldevi [family

deity] Bageswari. I presented Padmavati

with a pearl necklace.


56/88

I was relieved that this tricky arranged

marriage could be settled amicably.

There was another instance. Mr Rajesh

Sharma , our revenue officer belonged to an

orthodox south Indian brahmin

family--strict vegetarians.

His son, Ravi Shankar who was an auditor,

wanted to marry Gulmohar Bano, daughter of

our court musician , Vilayat Khan ; Bano

was already a well known ghazal singer and

considered a great beauty in the State. As

in the case of Rao,Vilayat Khan went to

Sharma's house for marriage approval. He

had a tough response. Sharma became angry

and asked Khan to leave the house. Sharma


57/88

wanted me to help. How could I mediate in

this case? This was an involved issue

because the boy was a brahmin and the girl

was of Muslim faith. I told Sharma politely

that I would not interfere in this matter

and that Sharma should consult his

religious elders. As it turned out later,

Ravi Shankar eloped with Bano to Dhubai and

got a job there.

Such instances were many in my early life

as Crown Prince./////

The Nautch Girls

The Palace had several nautch girls [female

dancers],hailing from different parts of


58/88

India, nearly 20 of them. Their main role

was to sing and dance before Maharana and

the princes--- to entertain in the

evenings. According to the latest trends in

Rajputana courts, Maharana introduced a few

dancers from Persia [Iran] and Turkey and

one Spanish flamingo dancer into the

troupe of nautch girls. Many of them would

remain unmarried and become mistresses of

courtiers and ministers, a custom that was

tacitly accepted in India since the middle

ages in the courts of Princely states.

[Hence the word "courtesan" in English.]

The spanish dancer was Maria Mendonca, a

Roman Catholic, given to regular rituals


59/88

in local cathedral--the only cathedral in

Vijaypur. There was one priest Fr.

Fredicick de Souza from Goa who was the

officiating priest at the cathedral. The

priest was supported by Maria from her

income though the Church was rich . The

intimate relationship between Fr Frederick

and Maria was common knowledge in Vijaypur

though no one interfered with her because

she was a Christian woman. Soon Maria

became a mother ,leading to a scandal and

then local population turned against her.

The Hindus avoided her like plague. One day

she was found dead in a well in a nearby

village and Fr. Frederick de Souza was


60/88

accused of killing her. Mr G Ramachandra

Rao D G P started the investigation in

right earnest. There was a protest meeting

by Christian groups that proper

investigation was not being done and the

Palace somehow interfered in this police

matters. Maharana wanted me to probe

further and report to him. Though Father de

Souza was the main accused, there were no

proper witnesses or evidences to prosecute

him. My own knowldege of legal matters was

minimal. I consulted with Diwan Rao also.

Fortunately, one able Prosecuter Mr Virpal

Singh was available from the neighboring

state of Bikaner. I brought him in to the


61/88

case. He ordered a thorough search of

Maria's quarters in 'Gopi Gardens' where

the nautch girls lived. He found a suicide

note written by Maria, a hand-written

letter. The police officials found this

note to be a forged document. The

handwriting analyst matched this note with

the writing of Father Mendonca. When Mr

Ramachandra Rao was proceeding to arrest

Fr.Mendonca, he had already taken a boat to

Portugal. Then Maharana decided not to

import any more nautch girls from abroad.

One nautch girl I remember very

well--Radhakrishna Sundari Bai from Nasik.

She would sing and dance in my chambers


62/88

every friday. She had great musical talent

and would sing hymns of poet-saints of

Maharashtra such as Tukaram and Namdev. I

learned later that she was widowed at a

young age and was living with her maternal

uncle in a poor section of the city. I

organized a small bhajan mandali [singing

group] in the city for her to sing

regularly and get some income. A bhajan

hall was also built near the famous

Lingaraj [Shiva] temple of Vijaypur. This

act on my part would be misconstrued as a

gift I extended to her for her intimacy

with me at the Fort. But it was soon common

knowledge that Judge Keshav Ranade at the


63/88

court was her life companion. She had

committed suicide when her affair with the

Judge was to be exposed in the press. I

had to intervene so that there would be no

police inquiry into the circumstances of

her death and that she would have a decent

funeral.

Vijaypur - a New State

After my return from Sandhurst, Maharana

took the stand for slowly relinquishing

many duties by transferring them to me. He

would spend more time on religious

activities such as building a new Shiva

temple and a choultry [a free boarding

house for pilgrims]. He would also make


64/88

frequent travels to Haridwar where we had a

mansion and to Rishikesh for meeting some

sadhus.

I ,for my part,would focus on the

educational facilities for our citizens. A

'Maharaja's Arts College" , a teachers

college and an Art school were planned. I

would also build a western style

gymnasium.

Rajmata Vasundara Devi , my wife, was

already an expert in teaching music and

would form the first 'Vijaypur Gharana'- a

school with distinct style of music. Ustad

Shikayat Khan, son of my sitar teacher,

became the Pradhan Vidwan or chief maestro


65/88

for the gharana. His sister Ameena Begum

was the chief vocalist .I built a music

hall for the gharana--with excellent

acoustics employing Norman Shields , a

British architect. Soon it would become a

famous center for both Hindustani and

Western music . There was a wild rumour

that Rajmata Vasundara Devi was in intimate

relationship with Ustad Shikayat Khan,

spending long evening hours with him at the

Gharana Hall. The same rumour mill also

spread the word that I was in intimate

contact with Ameena Begum! Both were

baseless.

World war II adventures


66/88

The year was 1939. Hitler was overrunning

European states, with his 'Blitzkreig' of

rolling tanks , starting with Poland. I was

called by the Viceroy to Delhi ---to enlist

my service on tank warfare tactics for

the British Army. My work at Sandhurst was

instantly recognized. I made two trips to

the War Office of Winston Churchill in

London. It was obvious that I would be

inducted into the British army and sent to

front lines to face the enemies.

After about six months ,in the year 1940

I joined the British Army as a Brigadier.

The affairs of Vijaypur state were

completely in the hands of Rajmata


67/88

Vasundara Devi, my wife, and my eldest son

Vijayendra Singh, a boy of just 20 years

and still in College.

Soon I went back to London and I was sent

to Tripoli to fight against Erwin

Rommel,the desert fox--a real tank battle

that would rage for two years. There would

be heavy casualties on both sides. The high

point of my career was working closely with

Field Marshal Montegomary ['Monty'] to plan

some battles --days that I would cherish

for years to come. I got some photos made

with Monty on my side, poring over some

maps. The photos were enlarged and kept in

our museum in Vijaynagar Palace.


68/88

Life at the battle field was hard and the

only solace I had was a few meetings with

Sally who was back in London after her

posting in New Delhi. Now she was a

permanent attache at the India Office at

Whitehall. Her work was light and she had

plenty of time to spend with me during the

war years. I set up a nice house for her in

Kensington ,close to the War Office. I

could meet her during the lunch time too.

Clara , her mother ,was no more. Sally

leaned heavily on me. She was highly

respected now because she was a close

companion of a Brigadier who was an Indian

Prince. She was invited for many parties


69/88

and social functions.

It was in one of those parties I met a

familiar face--- a woman of thirty five

years and a great beauty ---Mona Wilson. I

did not know at that time Mr Wilson, her

husband, was a major in a tank regiment and

therefore my junior colleague. Soon we

found our bearings ,and Mona and Wilson

would spend a weekend at my mansion. Sally

was introduced to Mona as my present

companion . Obviously Mona was happy in her

life with Wilson. Sometime later I told

Sally about my previous relationship with

Mona at Meerut Cantonment.

I explained to Mona about the proposed


70/88

setting up of colleges in my princely

kingdom. Mona was enthusiastic about such

projects and would love to visit India

again for sometime. I told her that she

always had an open invitation to my

Princley estates.

The war ended in 1945 and I had very

little work in London. The economy of

Britain had collapsed. India was no more

an asset for Britain but a liability. It

was not ' a Jewel in the Crown', but a

thorn instead.

The Labor Party government with Clement

Attlee as PM had come to power and it was

obvious to everyone that soon Britain would


71/88

give independence to India...it was just a

matter of time--may be a year or two.

I promptly left my position as Brigadier

in the British army and returned to

Vijaypur to focus on the development of my

state. The ministers and courtiers were

very happy at my return. There were

religious festivities in Vijaypur temples--

thanks-giving rituals for Lord Shiva and

for 'kuldevi' Bageswari-- for my safe

return from the War Zone.

Vasundara Devi could again concentrate on

her gharana and became a music composer as

well---writing songs on local deities in

Vijaypur. My son would assist me in many


72/88

activities and I could also train him for

industrial developments in the state.

But it soon became apparent to me that my

military skills would be of no use in Free

India--India would develop its own cadre of

military officers. As it turned out, after

1947, the year of Independence, I was

occasionally invited to give a few lectures

at National Defence Academy, Pune and at

Defence Staff College, Quetta, on tank

warfare and the obsolete methods of World

War II. I had become a historic relic in my

own lifetime !

My interest was now restricted to

educational developments in my state. I


73/88

would also build an institution for

educating disabled persons with the help of

two US based charity foundations.

The big change--Loss of Kingship

After independence in 1947, the annexation

of princely states started in earnest ,

merging with the Indian Republic--due to

the efforts of the Home Minister ,Sardar

Vallabhai Patel, praised as "Bismarck of

India". Patel called the princes ,about 600

princes of big and small stamp-size states,

one by one and talked to them to join the

Indian Republic. Many princes joined

without murmur because the princes ruling

small patches of land would be an


74/88

anachronism in modern India. The public

everywhere wanted a democratic system, not

ruled by Rajas or Rajmatas,and their

whimsical courtiers. Some princes,however,

resisted such a merger--for instance the

Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of

Junagadh. Sardar Patel was polite but firm

in handling the princes. It is indeed a big

story how he effected the

annexations in a matter of two years.

I gladly signed the annexation papers at

Delhi and offered whatever help that was

needed for the new republic.

Some princes became governors of nearby

states ,like Maharaja of Mysore and


75/88

Maharaja of Bhavnagar. Some were appointed

as Ambassadors to distant lands like the

Maharaja of Patiala and Raja of Aundh. I

became an advisor in defence planning cell

at New Delhi for three years. After that, I

had very little to do with the national

government.

Things moved swiftly in the transfer of

power from me to the Rajasthan state

government . Vijaypur became a small

district in Rajasthan state. The collector

[commissioner] appointed by the state

government was one Mr Samba Sadasiva

Venkata Krishna Rao, I A S, a thin, dark

skinned, short gentleman from Andhra. Mr


76/88

Samba Rao, for short, ordered the

disbanding of Vijaypur army, of nearly

10000 troops [one division], nurtured with

great care by my father Maharana and myself

for the past sixty years. The arms and

ammunitions were collected, labeled and

sent to Ajmer Garrison in a convoy of

trucks. As per the orders of Sardar Patel,

I was allowed to keep only five platoons

,that is about 100 troops, as 'Palace

guards'.

I was answerable to Mr Samba Rao; the Law

and Order machinery went into his hands--

Samba Rao was also the Chief Magistrate of

the district. I did not have even the


77/88

powers of a village munsif or city

magistrate.

Much had to be done in the durbar or court

of my kingdom. The nautch girls [ dancing

girls] who used to entertain Maharana were

sent out of the palace. The ghazal singers

with their tradition of soulful Sufi

melodies, were also asked to leave ,except

three of them who would join the Gharana.

My children would start attending the

Rajasthan University at Jaipur--no more

private tutors for any of them.

The Palace had 28 horse-drawn chariots and

62 horses in the stables. I kept three

chariots for the use of Rajmata. The rest


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were sold in Delhi auctions. 58 horses

were sold in Mumbai and Kabul.

The changes in a span of four months were

heart wrenching to me. I had a nervous

breakdown with frequent spells of

dizziness. The Palace physician Dr T Gopala

Rao FRCP advised me to move out of the

Palace and rest in a hill station for two

months. After giving the responsibilities,

including answering petty state officials,

to Vasundara Devi, I left for Shimla

accompanied by Ameena Begum and her

children. Ameena nursed me back to health

with her gentle music of ghazals and

herbal medicines; I called her "my


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Nightingale". The hurts in my mind slowly

healed.

A modern Maharaja with a tight budget.

I kept visiting Britain once a year to

promote some business interests in Vijaypur

besides some tourism prospects. On each

visit I would spend a few days in the

company of Sally.

It transpired that in the year 1951,

Wilson was involved in a terrible car

accident in London and died after prolonged

hospital stay. Mona was distraught; she

had two children to bring up. I invited her

in 1952 to come over to Vijaypur and assist

me in the colleges run by our funds. She


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accepted this proposal and landed in

Vijaypur next year. I had built a bungalow

[ cottage with a small garden] for her

adjoining the Maharana's Arts College near

the Palace grounds. Mona was in her forties

and became very active in running the

colleges.

Mona's return to Vijaypur was a pleasant

turn in my life. With her support, I took

part in western style sports--horse riding,

Polo, billiards and so on, now that my

military activities were a thing of the

past. I also taught Polo to a few princes

from nearby states. Mona would be my

regular companion for stay in hill resorts


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in summer--like the stay in Shimla in our

Vijaypur mansion--which was loaded with

fond memories of the past . Mona was

charming in long thin gowns with open back

and sweet talk. Mona would soon become

pregnant in 1953 with my second child. In a

sense, life seemed to have come around a

full circle for me.

In 1954, I visited London for business

negotiations to set up a paint factory for

my second son , Gajendra Singh in

Vijaypur. I met Sally and spent a week

with her.

I was keen on her coming to India, which

would be her first visit --to see the pomp


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and glory that was still left in Vijaypur.

Sally gently declined saying that for her

India was a remote land, difficult to

understand ,though she loved me so much.

The best I could do for her was to take her

for a vacation in Switzerland for two weeks

and gift her a valuable diamond-emerald

necklace with pea-cock design ,of Persian

origin which found its way into Mughal

courts and later into Vijaypur. She did

not say anything about a terminal illness

that was consuming her muscles. On my next

trip to London in 1955 , I learned from her

daughter that she was no more.


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Government of India offered an annual

privy purse, a sort of pension, to each

prince depending on their land size. For my

small kingdom, it was just 5 million rupees

a year-- a pittance whose value would

decrease with increasing inflation. This

pension would be given only upto my

lifetime .

Myself and my son Vijayendra Singh Bahadur

planned for future financial security in

consultation with experts in Mumbai. We

divided the large palace into three parts;

one part would be a modern hotel of 5-star

category ,mainly for foreign tourists--this

would be the central part.

The Left wing would house quarters for

the Maharana family. Maharana , who was in


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his eighties, would get a large suite of

20000 square feet on the top floor, with a

large open terrace from which he could get

an aerial view of Vijaypur, his former

kingdom. I had three large suites of 10000

square feet each in the second floor . My

children would occupy six suites in the

first and ground floor. The right wing

would be a museum with Rajputana exhibits

and would be open to public for a small

entry fee.

When the architects from Mumbai moved in to

make the changes in the palace, Rajmata was

distraught and refused to talk to them.

My father Maharana had twelve [12] Rolls

Royce cars and an assortment of other

cars--Feraris, Bentleys and Porsches. I

decided to sell all the RR's except one and

sell other cars as well and buy a few


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Cadillacs and BMW's of recent models. This

sale of cars fetched some liquid cash,

about 10 million rupees, which I could

invest in chemical firms based in

Rajasthan and Gujarat. One of my sons would

also become a director of a chemical unit

making nylons.

Vasundara Devi, the Rajamata, for her

part ,sold many diamond jewels in

international auctions by Sotheby's and

Christie's in London. The crown jewels were

kept in a London bank for safe keeping.

The expensive lamps, large silver jars in

which my grandfather used to keep Ganges

water ['Ganga jal'],bronze statues and

chandeliers went into the museum, as well

as numerous paintings bought from Europe.

I chose not to enter national politics and

declined to contest in elections for


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becoming a member of state legislature or

the Parliament. I am glad that I made this

wise decision.

I did not send my first son Yuvaraj [Crown

Prince] for military training. Instead he

would study technology at the University of

Mumbai [Department of Chemical Technology]

and learn to set up chemical plants. My

second son Yuvaraj Gajraj Singh would

become a lawyer because I could foresee

many legal battles ahead for princely

families with the national government. My

first son with Mona would later become an

import-export businessman at Mumbai.

Epilogue

My time for the most part is spent in

educational projects, ghazal music and

horse riding in the woods of Bharatpur.


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My father Maharana was keen on changing the

image of Indian Princes as play boys and

big spenders. He wanted them to respect

our traditional values ;at the same time

serve the nation in constructive ways.

My service with the Army and my role in

World War II and later work for education

and social welfare had largely fulfilled

that vision of my father,Maharana.

My romantic life had become distant dreams

of bygone years.

India itself was undergoing vast

changes---from a

feudal , agrarian society with aristocrats

to one of common people wedded to

democracy.

Indian princes were part of the process of

this transformation. I am glad that I


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played my part.

Though Vijaypur does not exist as a

Princely Rajput state on the map of

India,it remains a 'mani'

a gem or jewel in my mind and in my heart.

I thank God and our kuldevi Bageswari for

great opportunities laid before me in

this life as a Rajput prince.

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the romantic life of a rajput prince

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