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This book evokes the romance of the rugged desert kingdom of Bikaner and its Rajput royal family. It is a richly woven tapestry encompassing five generations of an aristocratic family's past and present. Tales of valour, battles and coronations, the splendour of the royal courts, the culture and traditions that made this Rathore state preeminent in the world, all set against the backdrop of imposing palaces, rugged forts and hunting lodges, the magnificence of the gilded age of the Maharajas. The author describes her formative years during the sixties when seismic changes in the world were taking place and which were to take her on an adventurous journey from her home in Bikaner to life in London. The author brings to life a treasure trove of anecdotes and introduces us to a world of elegance, sportsmanship and cosmopolitan culture.
This book evokes the romance of the rugged desert kingdom of Bikaner and its royal family. In the midst of the large and mysterious sands of the Thar Desert rises the imposing beauty of the Lallgarh Palace, Bikaner. Stories whispered by the wind as it frolicked and raged over the long caravans that crawled across this mighty desert, have been caught and penned by Princess Rajyashree Kumari of Bikaner. Built in 1902 by architect Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, as residence for Maharaja Ganga Singh, Lallgarh Palace is one of the best examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture amalgamating the best of Rajput, Muslim and European styles. Built by local craftsmen in Dulmera red sandstone, its carved arches display the mastery of the local artisans. This book is an enchanting tale by Princess Rajyashree Kumari of her royal family as they lived and played over five generations in the backdrop of the imposing beauty of Lallgarh Palace. In this intriguing story of a princess, Rajyashree recounts her life growing up in the Lallgarh Palace. The little known customs and traditions that prevailed in the Royal House of Bikaner and yet untold episodes from the lives of the great Maharajas in her family. Now converted into a luxury Heritage Hotel, her story holds you spellbound as you relive the days when the grand courtyards and imposing lawns rang with the pomp and pageantry of royal durbars. The magnificence of the gilded age of the Maharajas, the sheer luxury and laughter of its resplendent visitors, men from the pages of history, Lord Curzon, its first visitor, King George V, Lord Mountbatten all come alive as she recounts their visits bringing it to the present day. The secrets and mysteries of the House of Bikaner long since buried in the shifting sand dunes are brought to life by Princess Rajyashree Kumari, who has actually lived them. Rajyashree Kumari of Bikaner was born in Bombay on June 4, 1953 and spent her childhood between her family homes in Bikaner and New Delhi. She is the daughter of Maharaja Dr. Karni Singhji and Maharani Sushila Kumariji. Maharaja Dr. Karni Singhji taught her to shoot at the age of six years and she won her first medal in 1960 aged seven. During her sporting career spanning 20 years, she represented India in the World Shooting Championship at San Sebastian, Spain where she was placed 8th in the world and was awarded the silver badge and the Second Asian Shooting Championship at Seoul in Korea where she won a bronze medal in the team event. She was awarded the “Arjuna Award†in 1969 by the then President of India Shri V. V. Giri. Her other interests include the preservation of heritage properties and ancestral forts and palaces that belong to the Bikaner family. She is a Life member of INTACH, and is the chairperson of the six public charitable trusts set up by her late father Maharaja Dr. Karni Singhji that carry out numerous charitable and other philanthropic works in Bikaner. In 1999 she founded Maharaja Dr. Karni Singhji Memorial Foundation in the memory of her late father. Contents Foreword. Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. Junagarh Fort the ancestral home of my family. 2. Lallgarh Palace. 3. Laxmi Niwas the South Wing of the Lallgarh Palace. 4. Sadul Niwas the West Wing of the Lallgarh Palace. 5. Karni Niwas the North Wing of the Lallgarh Palace. 6. Shiv Villas the East Wing of the Lallgarh Palace. 7. Lallgarh Palace complex. 8. From one doll's house to another. 9. Family members who lived in Lallgarh Palace. Glossary. Bibliography. Index.
Rajasthan- the land of rajas and maharajas, forts and palaces, deserts and ballads, the book covers a wide spectrum encompassing the political, socio-culural and economic history of Rajasthan from the earliest times up-to the middle of the twentieth century, in a comprehensive yet easy- to- read text. A History of Rajasthan uses various archival, epigraphical, numismatical, architectural, archaeological and arthistory related information as well as the traditional narratives and oral and written chronicles to provide a general overview of the city
"In Rajasthan" takes readers behind the exotic facade of India's most colorful and fabled destination through the eyes of an insider. Royina Grewal, a native of India, focuses on the people of Rajasthan--from maharajahs to camel trainers, to the hidden lives of Indian women.
Conquering the maharajas demonstrates that the political and military clashes between the Indian and Pakistani governments and the princely states, a legacy of the layered sovereignty of British indirect rule in India, was a product of the competing ideas of state sovereignty leading up to and following the transfer of power in 1947.
A fascinating study of the role played by the Indian princes in the devolution of British colonial power.
One summer evening in 1918, a leopard wandered into the gardens of an Indian palace. Roused by the alarms of servants, the prince’s eldest son and his entourage rode elephant-back to find and shoot the intruder. An exciting but insignificant vignette of life under the British Raj, we may think. Yet to the participants, the hunt was laden with symbolism. Carefully choreographed according to royal protocols, recorded by scribes and commemorated by court artists, it was a potent display of regal dominion over men and beasts alike. Animal Kingdoms uncovers the far-reaching cultural, political, and environmental importance of hunting in colonial India. Julie E. Hughes explores how Indian princes relied on their prowess as hunters to advance personal status and solidify power. Believing that men and animals developed similar characteristics by inhabiting a shared environment, they sought out quarry—fierce tigers, agile boar—with traits they hoped to cultivate in themselves. Largely debarred from military activities under the British, they also used the hunt to establish meaningful links with the historic battlefields and legendary deeds of their ancestors. Hunting was not only a means of displaying masculinity and heroism, however. Indian rulers strove to present a picture of privileged ease, perched in luxuriously outfitted shooting boxes and accompanied by lavish retinues. Their interest in being sumptuously sovereign was crucial to elevating the prestige of prized game. Animal Kingdoms will inform historians of the subcontinent with new perspectives and captivate readers with descriptions of its magnificent landscapes and wildlife.
In August 1947 the British ended the 'Raj' and left India. Some stayed on; others who had grown up in India shortly returned there. Over the next sixty years they adapted to modern India while always being conscious of their legacy, the inheritance of the Raj. This is the story of the very last of the stayers-on. Through their eyes we see how the legacy has withered over the years but, with their help, also how it has evolved in a new millennium: from post-imperial hangover to heritage industry; from the singing of Victorian hymns in neo-Gothic churches to a new Christian evangelism; from Shakespeare wallahs to multimedia English language teaching and call centres. Tea planter, missionary, tiger hunter turned conservationist, club manager, 'box-wallah', antiques dealer, single mother in the ghost town of McCluskiegunge - they all have remarkable stories to tell. And now there are fewer than a dozen of the stayers-on left. Hugh Purcell's After the Raj is the haunting, uplifting, unexpected story of the very last remnants of British India.