Author: Sharada Dwivedi
Publisher: Roli Books
Year: 2000
Language: English
Pages: 156
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8174360816
Description
This art-book captures the lives and times of the privileged few, and is perhaps the last visual record of princely India.
The coveted Jacob Diamond - all of 62 carats and used as a paperweight; the mind-boggling beauty of the diamond necklace of Maharaja Pratapsingh Gaekward of Baroda in which sparkled the famous 'Star of the South' and 'The Star of Dresden'; the crystal collection at Shiv Niwas Palace in Bikaner - the largest in the world; the 27 Rolls Royces owned by the Maharaja of Patiala; the dog kennels in Harasar which were fitted with electricity and telephones; the car collection in Udaipur which was used for ceremonial processions and The Jauhar committed by 40,000 women in Jaisalmer and Chittor - an unparalleled landmark in the annals of history.
The mirage becomes a reality when the reader recreates the awesome magic and scintillating wonder of a word gone by . . . The stuff that airy tales are made of - tales of heroism and valor, the pulsating excitement of secret liaisons, the dark intrigues of the Zenana, the opulence and sheer beauty of princely treasurers - the world of the Maharajas - a world immortalized by poets, painters and musicians, a life away from the common lives that was no near its subjects and yet, so far ...
That world is no more. But its romance lives, indelible and dreamlike. Nostalgic memoirs of the passions, idiosyncrasies, visions and lifestyles of the princely order still fascinate and enthrall.
This volume captures the lives and times of the privileged few - those who were 'born into greatness'. Even though they no longer wield the royal sceptre and have merged their heritage into the well-spring of democracy today, they remain 'living legends' of the exoticism of the India that was!
This book is perhaps the last visual record of princely India. A cross-section of old and rare photographs juxtaposed with contemporary cameos make it a collector's pride.