Maharani Gayatri Devi
23 May 1919 – 29 July 2009

Vignette…
Born in London as the princess of Cooch Behar (West Bengal), voted by Vogue magazine as one of the ten most beautiful women in the world, third wife of the last ruling prince Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur, a pioneer in women’s education in Rajasthan, an avid equestrienne like her husband, a Guinness record holder for the biggest landslide Lok Sabha victory of 78.25% of the total votes cast during her term in governance in 1962 (C. Rajagopalachari’s Swatantra Party, running against the Congress), brand ambassador of Nakshatra diamond jewellery for their royal princess collection, and the owner of a Rs.2000 crore legacy after her death – are some feathers in the cap of an enigmatic Rajmata of Jaipur, Maharani Gayatri Devi.

A walk down the imperially embedded corridors of royalty…
My first impression of the lady was to see her show up meticulously for each school function. As it happens, I am an alumnus of Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ Public School in Jaipur. The school was founded by Rajmata in 1943 and subsequently the management was handed over to the double tier staff. Like most aged educational institutions, the school started off with just 30 students in the first batch. Overtime, the numbers have increased to encompass about 2500 students studying at the institute at one time.

During my younger days in the renowned institution, I remember seeing Gayatri Devi grace each occasion with her presence. She used to turn up in a convoy of white Ambassadors on both ends and a glistening swanky sedan for herself in the middle. Draped in crisp chiffon sarees, she would wear spotless white pearls for jewellery and cover her head in keeping with the tradition. Others of the royal family, including Rani Vidya Devi, often accompanied her on various occasions. When asked to speak on the stage, she would speak passionately about women, the importance of their role in the society, the importance of good education and the power of knowledge. Citing examples from her personal life, she would speak to us about the struggle of growing up as a woman and would constantly encourage us to take life head-on as it comes. She discussed the challenges of her own life, and would talk to us about her lost husband and son in a ceremonious manner. We would listen to it with unwavering attention.

The one thing that she never spoke about was the valour that she displayed when the Indira Gandhi government locked her up in Tihar Jail for five months in 1971 on charges of tax evasion. Eventually she was released for lack of evidence. Humility and modesty infested her in good measure. Upon her release, she quit politics and went on to write an autobiography. The book was called ‘A Princess Remembers: The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur’ and that’s where we get our knowledge about her days in prison. It also talks about her responses to the several challenges that she faced as a maharani.



The diamond-studded battle for good health…
As part of the privileged lot who got to see her up close on various occasions we also, sadly, bore witness to her deteriorating health. For the first time in the history of the school since its inception, on my passing-out ceremony in 2005, she delivered a sitting lecture out of a chair. That night she explained that this was such because she ‘had no strength to stand for more than a few minutes.’ The end of that farewell ceremony was a detour from tradition too. While the norm was for her to sign each student’s kurta at the close of the night, that day the maharani could sign just a handful before she assessed her health was frail and decided to take off with other members of the royal family. Right then, we knew that something was not right.

The heartbreaking end and a timeless legacy…
The lady who gave us subtle lessons in sophistication by her elegant displays of royalty suddenly passed away on 29th day of July this year due to chronic health troubles and an ultimate lung failure. It would be wrong to say that we didn’t see it coming, but the abruptness of the event took us all by surprise. When the denial mode ended, the vacuum was filled by a deep sense of remorse at the tragic loss.

Along with being a lady of substance who underlined the role of women in the today’s society, she was labeled a rebel in the royal houseold because of her non-conformist behaviour and varied interests. Her rollicking romance with Sawai Man Singh before marriage, her interest in sports, her exceptional work in politics, and her unbound thoughts on the way a modern society should work helped define her as a person beyond convention. When we were in her presence, we shone in the light emanating from her glittering persona.

To walk a golden line of balance after the demise…
The aftermath of her death has been disheartening. A property dispute has broken out in the royal family. The three main claimants to her assets are – her grandchildren Devraj Singh and Lalitya Devi (born to late Jagat Singh and Priyanandana Rangsit) and her step son Bhawani Singh by the law of primogeniture (the eldest son of Sawai Man Singh with his marriage to Marudhar Kanwar). The absence of a real will is causing turbulent waves within the family affairs of the various fighting factions. A public will to be displayed to the media on 9th August never came up. Devraj and Lalitya came up with a corny one-page will of their own recently.

The disputed assets are the Ram Bagh Palace (worth almost Rs.500 crore - leased to Taj Group for running a luxury hotel), Jai Mahal Palace (another Rs.300 crore), Moti Doongri Fort (Rs.100 crore), Lilypool (the palace complex where she lived), City Palace (Rs.200 crore) and Sawai Man Singh’s clubs and investments (Rs.500 crore). In addition several pieces of art, diamonds, jewellery, designer clothes and other personal items are up for grabs too.
(Source for listing assets: India Today, 7 September 2009)

The sooner the dispute gets resolved the better. Firstly, because is brings a lot of disgrace to the blue bloods of Rajasthan. And second, because Gayatri Devi would never have entertained her descendants quibbling over property. It’s a family of plenty, and hence whatever comes out of the battle will be closely watched by the public. Till then, we should focus on remembering the maharani for what she was - a living legend and a voice to many. Count this as my untimely tribute to the lady of grace, poise and personal strength.

29th April 2007 5:30pm: Sitting idle after the exams, the idea of going to the ‘times global village’ hit me as an excellent one. For the uninitiated, this ad in the Times of India should throw some light on what it was all about:

“16 countries. 50 food stalls.
150 dancers. 900 shops.
1 entry ticket.
TIMES GLOBAL VILLAGE
Delhi hasn’t seen anything like the Times Global Village before! A month long extravaganza showcasing the best of the world in Delhi. From Czech crystals to African bead necklaces, from Pakistani cuisine to the best of the Thai fare, from Chinese dragon dancers to African drummers, this mega event has something for everyone. The centerpiece of the Dubai Shopping Festival for the last decade, it gives you food, shopping, dancing, entertainment, music, joyrides, arts and crafts, masti and magic, from all around the globe.
Adjacent to DND flyway, New Delhi
30th March-30th April 2007. 2pm onwards.
TOI, Delhi Tourism”

Being a foodie and shopoholic by nature, I grabbed my jingling money bag and cell phone and we were on our way. As we arrived the destination, the eyes glazed with the shimmering array of cars parked outside the venue. It was a cloudy Sunday evening and it seemed like the whole of the NCR was here to join in the festivities. Clutching the passes, we pushed our way through the crowd into the main grounds. The entrance was embellished with imitations of the many wonders that the world has seen. Taj mahal, Eiffel tower, the Pyramids of Egypt, Petronas towers, et al--- it was all there. “Good job” we say and move on. Right next to the entrance were three humongous stalls called Lifestyle, Interiors and Delhi. ‘Lifestyle’ was stocked with high-end stuff that only the upper strata could afford. The many sub-stalls were actually shops scattered all over the country clubbed together for this mega event. ‘Interiors’ dealt with the complex aspect of interior decoration/designing and some of the pieces, though prohibitively priced, were plain exquisite. ‘Delhi’, as the name suggests, was a huge conglomeration of Delhi’s most famous shops brought together under one roof.

Enough with the merchandize and we decided to eat. The food was a feast for the taste buds with Hyderabadi biryani on one side and Rajasthani food on the other. International cuisines were also available but people’s aversion to try out new food was apparent. I tried ‘tamarind juice’ from outside the UAE stall and the bittersweet taste (more bitter than sweet) lingered on even till the next day! After a whole round of biryani and kebabs and jaljeera and gol-gappas, it was time to check out the international good stalls.

African, Turkey, Czech Republic, Pakistan, UAE, UK, Thailand and China were some of the many countries showcasing their products. Each was trying to cash in on the things that made them unique and gave their country an edge over the others. Due to time constraints we were forced to miss out on a lot of stuff, but of the few things that we saw, something from Philippines caught my eye. The whole filipino idea revolved around customization and tailor-made goodies to please the customers. At Rs.120, one could get a colorful name-plate done with his name on it to be hung outside his private haven (read:room). An idea brilliant to the core… I wasn’t surprised to see the huge flock of ready customers willing to dish out the money and take back this customized piece from the other side of the world to flaunt in their respective homes. I got some name-plates made too… and went on to check out the other stuff. Well, if I go on to talk about the wares that were on display, blogspot would ban me for data redundancy! But in a nutshell, what I deduced was that for anyone with enough money in his hands and sufficient willingness to try out new things, this place was like a dream come true.

The event was laced with joyrides for kids and stimulated cricket pitches for the cricket buffs. Fun and merriment were almost tangible in the air. When we finally had to push off after it was quite late, we entered the mode of self-reprimanding for not coming here earlier. Like always, the blame was conveniently shifted to the ongoing exams. With hands full of shopping bags and tummies full to the brink, we slowly made our way back to our parked car…

Musing:

Though I don’t really like ‘the times of india’, this initiative deserves a virtual standing ovation. With enough advertising in their newspaper and glaring billboards at all major metro stations, the team ensured a heavy visitor inflow and an eventual rollicking success. Hats-off to the times team for a job (very) well done :)