An eye for aesthetics
R. KRITHIKA
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A well-written book with sumptuous visuals that bring alive an opulent lifestyle.
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Made for Maharajas: A Design Diary of Princely India, Dr. Amin Jaffer, Lustre Press/Roli Books, price not stated.
INDIA'S royalty continues to fascinate though most of the princely families never quite recovered from the body blow of 1971 when their privileges were revoked by an act of Parliament. Their extravagance was legendary — whether it was clothes, jewellery or accessories.
Beyond jewellery
When one thinks of maharajas, the immediate connection is "jewellery". But Dr. Amin Jaffer's Made for Maharajas: A Design Diary of Princely India shows that the Maharajas did think beyond jewellery, though that did play a rather large role. Their interests extended to painting, clothes and accessories, items of personal use, cars, guns and even architecture.
Obviously, a book like this depends largely on photographs for impact and, in this case, these are sumptuous. In fact, so startling is the impact that the reader almost forgets the eminently readable text.
Dr. Amin Jaffer, curator in the Asian Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, treats the princes with a sympathetic hand. The Introduction sets out how the relationship between the royals and the English changed: from being traders who needed to keep the local king happy by giving him gifts, the English slowly grew to be the dominant power in the subcontinent. But clearly, the Indian kings were aware of and interested in European products even before it was politically expedient to do what your masters did. The Introduction continues to chronicle the trajectory of the princes till the 1971 debacle.
With the first chapter, "The Royal Image", the book gets into its stride. Although India did have a tradition of portraiture, the kings quickly took to the Western style of portraiture and commissioned leading English painters and photographers to project themselves.
Excellent visuals
No matter which chapter you turn to, your eye is drawn to the superb pictures. Drool over the jewellery and cutlery; gasp in awe at the clothes and shoes; gaze in wonder at the linen and bathroom fittings, architectural plans... Names like Baccarat, Boucheron, Cartier, Louis Vitton, Coco Chanel are strewn around rather casually. Bills that the maharajas ran up are reproduced — £3,000 for shoes from the Maharaja of Bikaner, a £200 dinner service for the Maharaja of Bhavnagar ... Another one is a letter from the Palace Engineer's office, Baroda, dated 1957. Listing out the costs of building the Laxmi Vilas Palace, it mentions the year of construction and the approximate cost. The main building was constructed in 1888-1890 and the approximate cost was Rs. 59,21, 270, an eye-popping total whether in 1957 or 1890. Designs for personal items like tongue scrapers, purses, card cases got as much attention as did bigger items.
Dr. Jaffer traces how the princes got their taste for Western luxury. After 1857, the princes became more Westernised in an effort to prove their loyalty to the British crown. And the British government encouraged them, with the result that some Indian princes were more at home in England than in their home States. The British also evolved a new system of orders to bind the princes to them.
Minor quibbles
There are a few quibbles about this obviously expensive book, though the price is not mentioned. One is the binding, which begins to slowly come apart as you keep flipping through. A book of this size definitely needs to be bound better. Another point is that the text deserves a better display. Yes, a coffee table book of this nature needs great pictures displayed brilliantly, but not at the cost of the text. And definitely not when the text is as well written as it is here. A more in-your-eye font would have helped. Right now the text looks quite washed out.
At first look, the carefully researched book overwhelms with its opulence and luxury but it underlines one thing: say what you will about India's royalty, you can't deny they had style and an eye for beauty.
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