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King size life

"Made for Maharajahs: A Design Diary of Princely India" is a peek at the life our royals led

RESPLENDENT Stills from the book showing Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda

There have been more than a handful of kings and queens, princes and princesses who wore riches on their sleeve. They were the men, and women, for whom indulgence was no sin, but a way of life. We now get a glimpse into their materially rich, culturally eclectic lives, courtesy, "Made for Maharajahs: A Design Diary of Princely India" by Amin Jaffer, a curator with the Asian Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

He got ample help from young Priya Kapoor, the lady behind the scenes who researched on the photographs in places as diverse as Bikaner and London for a little under three years to put together the 30,000 words, 275-page essay with 300-odd pictures brought out by Roli Books.

Says Jaffer, "It was challenging to get the images together. I had been working passively on this book for 10 years and actively for almost three years with Roli." Kapoor, meanwhile, undertook special trips to London, Bikaner, Baroda and a number of places to put together the images.

So, what did their research yield?

European influence

"Right from the time of Akbar in the 16th Century, Indians were fascinated with European luxury goods. For instance, the much-acclaimed practice of enamelling came from Europe, the technique of stone inlaying, ordinary glass blowing, gun blowing. Not just the kings and queens of the 19th and early 20th centuries, but even the courtiers wanted European mirrors, shoes, apparel and all the accessories. They would undertake long trips with a big entourage to London. They would take their cooks along because some of them still observed caste distinctions. Some even carried the Ganga waters. But I would take the trip of the princesses as a mark of women's emancipation. They were well received in Europe, and some of them like Sita Devi were better dressed than their foreign counterparts. It must have been a shock for many Europeans too to find Indian women coming out of purdah, mixing with men and moving around freely."

Chips in Kapoor, "There was no feeling of guilt among the royalty. They would hire a foreign agent, art connoisseurs to help them make the purchase. There was awareness of foreign art, not just indulgence but appreciation.."

Incidentally, reveals Kapoor, "Fashion comes around. Some of the royal women were big commissioners of works of art. In fact, a maharani even ordered cigarette holders under a pseudo name."

But were they never hit by pangs when they saw the struggle for freedom? Admits Jaffer, "Some of them did see a contradiction between emerging polity and their culture. Many of them relinquished symbols of imperialism."

ZIYA US SALAM

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