From Pre-Independence ‘Maharaja’ to modern day ‘royal families’ With ornately jewelled headgear, lavishly adorned elephants and pearl-encrusted carpets, India’s maharajas made an art of opulence. Maharaja literally means the ‘great king’ and conjures up a perception of splendour and magnificence. One can imagine the image of a maharaja as a turbaned, bejewelled ruler with absolute authority and immense wealth. In those days, the maharaja controlled vast tracts of land from their splendid palaces and their power was displayed most flamboyantly in the grand public processions that celebrated royal events and religious festivities.
Riding a richly caparisoned elephant or horse or camels, the maharaja was lavishly dressed and jewelled and surrounded by attendants bearing symbolic attributes of kingship. India’s royalty lost their official powers when the country gained independence on 15th August 1947, and the title of maharaja was not official anymore, yet we have royal families, still wealthy and influential leading an opulent lifestyle with an impeccable taste for Rolls-Royces, jewelled swords and couture saris and some of the world’s finest jewellery.
One such example is from 1882 where Saddiq Muhammed Khan Abassi IV, the Nawab of Bahawalpur, ordered a silver-encrusted bed with 290 kgs of silver used. The design of the bed was developed in Paris and it was a dark wood decorated with sterling with gilded parts, monograms and arms, adorned with four lifesize bronze figures of naked women who were painted in flesh colour with natural hair, with movable eyes and arms, holding fans and horse tails. The four figures were European, representing women of France, Spain, Italy and Greece.
Through ingenious mechanics incorporated in the mattress, the Nawab could set the figures in motion where they fanned him while winking at him, against a 30-minute cycle of music from Gounod’s Faust thanks to a music box built into the bed.
The extravagance of the Indian princes was displayed in Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in the year 2010 where a lot of enticements from Indian Royal courts were displayed in an exhibition. For instance, a vast banqueting table with a diamond-studded train set from Mr Scindia’s palace in Gwalior for ferrying the port and wine to diners. Besides this, a host of thrones, howdahs, palanquins, gemencrusted weapons, court paintings and fine jewellery were shown in the exhibition. Anna Jackson, the V&A curator behind the exhibition, said: “The important role played by India’s kings in the political, social and cultural history of the subcontinent, from the early 18th century to the mid-20th, has often been marginalised by more dominant narratives of the Mughal and British empires. The exhibition was aimed to redress the balance by re-examining the world of the maharaja, particularly through the extraordinarily rich culture of kingship.”
If there’s one thing that all the Indian royal families are well known for is organizing lavish, fairy-tale weddings. They don’t bother about the cost in matters like this and rather stretch resources to put on a grand spectacle. For example, in 2015, the wedding between the 23-year-old son of Prince Mandhata Singh Jadeja of Rajkot – Prince Jaideep Jadeja and Princess Shivatmika Kumar is possibly the most opulent wedding in the history of independent India, and certainly an overwhelming scene where the guests spent a whole week before the actual wedding in the town of Rajkot. The magnificently decorated Ranjit Villa, the 100-room home of the royal family of Rajkot built in 1870 was decorated and gave a new meaning to the term “spectacle”. The wedding was a grand 8km procession of 5,000 people, including 30 princes in their regal attire who walked alongside the camels and elephants, one of which carries the groom in a golden throne. After a week of traditional festivities in Rajkot, more than 600 guests flew thousands of kilometres to Bangalore, the home city of the bride’s mother. The wedding venue was the magnificent Bangalore Palace, modelled on Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of Queen Elizabeth II. A scene perhaps as straight out a film – the glitter, the excitement, the crowds cheering. Yet it’s a social event as the royal family included every section of society in the celebration. According to Prince Mandhata Singh Jadeja, royal families have a responsibility to contribute to the local community and in his son’s wedding he ensured that about 17,000 people in orphanages and hospitals are fed. (For images, please refer Appendix A)
After a great understanding of the Indian Royalty’s opulent lifestyle and diverse cultural heritage, I came across the tales of royal repast that mentioned secret recipes, family favourites and a rich culinary repertoire. One such instance was in October 2017 where a three – day grand event called ‘Dine with Royalty’ was organized in New Delhi – capital of India by the group Eat with India who is synonymous with promoting regional Indian cuisine by curating unique dining experiences, mostly at homes of people who are proud to showcase their family food. To maintain the intimacy of the experience all the event tickets were to be pre-booked, and no walk-ins were entertained. As part of the event, 20 royal families presented their cuisines. Six luxury tents were set up, each representing the heritage of a princely state where members of different royal families played host during the meal. Each tent served 35 guests at a time, for lunch and dinner. The event also saw special performances by local artistes of each region to make the entire experience more special. (For images, please refer Appendix B)
In India, the famous Royal Forts, Places, Havelis are testimony to centuries of Indian Royalty. Though the era of Kings, Maharajas, Nizams and Nawabs are long gone, the relics keep the olden days alive. The fables of India are not just restricted to the books, one can also experience the lifestyle in their very own palaces and forts which are open for guests to enjoy a first-hand experience. Gradually after India gained independence in 1947, the palatial properties of the royalty were abandoned and fell in ruin. Because the royal heritage was slowly being lost and forgotten, the royal families, hotel groups and enterprisers together came upon an idea of restoring and refurbishing these heritage residences into heritage hotels. Conceptualised from as luxury 5-star hotels, heritage hotels in India offer experience of the royal lifestyle. Many palaces, forts, mansions and hunting lodges of royal families in India have opened their doors to visitors One such example is the splendid Umaid Bhawan Palace of Jodhpur where Liz Hurley and just recently Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas got married. A way to re-live history with modern luxuries, heritage properties of India retain the royal touch, memorabilia, traditions and the way of life in addition to 5-star luxuries. One gets to spend time in their homes, get ready for kingly dinners and enjoy the same passions of royals. The guests are welcomed with open arms by the generation of the royal families still reside in their ancestral homes. Ideal for an international traveller. The guests can experience the lifestyle of royalty with horse riding, polo races, vintage car rides, horse carriages, spa experiences and other such regal pleasures. If one talks about conspicuous consumption, then I believe the maharajas of India have flaunted their wealth with an abandon.
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