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All rise
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She is the daughter of the Maharaja of Cooch-Behar, and the widow of the Maharaja of Jaipur. Raised in sprawling palaces, she shot her first panther when she was twelve. Later in her life, she won a seat in the Indian Parliament with the most staggering majority that anyone has ever earned in an election.
Much prettier than today’s alleged beauties, in her heydays she, was considered by Vogue to be amongst the Ten Most Beautiful Women in the World. She is also chosen as the fourth most beautiful woman of the century
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A Princess Remembers is the autobiography of Maharani Gayatri Devi, Rajmata of Jaipur.
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Part 3, 4-the best section of her story
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Post Indian independence, she makes a transition from a simpering purdah clad bride to a more in the forefront Maharani and her story becomes engaging, The Maharani has her readers hanging on to each word, eagerly awaiting the next twist of fate and turn of events
Independence brought in a severe change in her lifestyle as of many other princes in India
(Stripping of a king’s powers, the disbanding of his armies, knocking off of titles from passports, curtailing of expenses) which came difficult to the Maharani. Each blow the Rajmata dealt with resilience and stoic courage
Particularly riveting is the part in which she has to speechlessly watch her home being transformed into a luxury heritage hotel. The hotel she says became
‘a concrete symbol of our vanishing ways of life’.
For a long time she could not accustom herself to the fact that all and sundry could walk freely in and out of to what was once her house.
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Party politics
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In 1962, her entry into politics was as glamorous as any aspect of her life. Her tumultuous election campaign was followed by a landmark win by a margin of over 1,75,000 votes, the biggest margin yet recorded in a democratic election. She in fact, performed a hat-trick by retaining the seat twice more.
The Maharani is candidly frank about her lack of awareness of India and its problems. But as an MP she added in her bit by running grain shops at cost prices, building educational institutions in rural Rajasthan.
Otherwise politically, the Maharani was more of a novice getting her grips in Parliament often slighted (for her royal background) during Parliamentary proceedings by seasoned veterans like Jawaharlal Nehru.
Subsequently she also narrates the horrors of emergency and her imprisonment for 5 months in Tihar jail when Madam Prime Minister lost her head.
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Pomp & Splendor
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In the earlier two parts of her autobiography, get a fascinating insight on how Indian royalty lived it in ostentatious style. Witness the festival celebrations, weddings, hunting expeditions, train journeys, holidays, or even routine days. Blinding pomp. The Rajmata tells it all(Dogs drinking and even bathing in imported Evian mineral water)
She boggles her reader with detailed accounts of palatial life, sweeping descriptions of palaces in terms of the number of rooms, the furnishings, the gardens,jewelry and what have you.
Page after page astonishes you with the sheer luxury with which life progressed for these blue bloods.
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Her marriage to Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur
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The princess was love-struck and gooey-eyed, almost hero worshipping the internationally renowned polo player Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur right from the age of 12. Her six year courtship with Jai is the sort of stuff romantic novels are made of, awash with parental opposition and clandestine meets.
She strives to paint a picture of the Maharaja of Jaipur other than a polo playing glamour boy. She focuses instead on the loving relation he shared with his people and his dealings with them.
The love for her husband slowly grew into fierce pride in all his deeds. When she narrates the loss of her husband you can almost hear her choke.
The Maharaja's liberating influence, combined with Gayatri Devi's own strong character, took her well beyond the traditionally limited activities of a Maharani. She abolished purdah in calculated steps, started a school for girls which may seem simple today but wasn’t so in Rajasthan in 1940.
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The Rajmata today
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Though in her recent years the Maharani has had to face tragedies as great as her former triumphs, all visiting dignitaries to Jaipur still visit her as the Queen of Jaipur.
She has been instrumental in setting up a museum in the city palace showing the cultural heritage of a vanishing royalty. She has also been the chairperson of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation.
She carefully avoids any mention of the alleged hidden treasures and her being locked in a legal battle with her step-son over assets worth millions.
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The Maharani as a writer
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She marks everything with a dry droll humor. I heard somewhere that her memoirs have been penned by Santha Rama Rau, but didn’t see the name mentioned in the credits
Particularly arresting is the Maharani's camera-like eye for details, she remembers the furnishings and embellishments in each and every room that she stayed in be it in Cooch-Behar, London, Jaipur, to Ooty, Sri Lanka, France on holidays, right from her childhood. Sepia toned photographs of her childhood, till date makes the reading more enjoyable. She is a breathtaking beauty.
She displays a royal snootiness in her writing, very stiff upper lip. She had to have written about herself as she was only known as a mere Glamour Queen, but her life has been pretty much eventful.
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From a brattish royal princess, to a shy bride terribly in awe of her husband and his life, to becoming an independent and politically active woman, her’s is quite a yarn and reasonably well spun.
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