Royalty of the Indian sub-continent

[Kasumi]

Bracelet of Tripura queen recovered - The Times of India
The queen initially thought she had left it in her Kolkata residence. But her manager failed to find it in Tripura House. During probe, police examined all the employees of the palatial house at Ballygunge Circular Road. But nothing suspicious was found. During the investigation, police found Jain was the only outsider who had access to the ornament as the queen used to take off her bracelet during therapy.
"He sold it to a jeweller. Luckily, we managed to get it before it changed hands further. The jeweller could not even destroy the bracelet," said an investigator. Jain will be produced in court on Sunday.

[Kasumi]

Girl sweeps aside patriarchal rite - Times Of India

For the first time in the history of Orissa and of Rath Yatra, the 'chhera pahara', a symbolic ritual cleaning of the chariots, was performed by a female king.

The pathbreaker is a 15-year-old girl named Sulakhyana Gitanjali Devi, a scion of the royal family of Dharakote in Ganjam district. Sulakhyana, who was crowned as the king of Dharakote estate (see post # 76) after the death of her father, the late King Kishor Chandra Singhdeo, became the first female ever to perform chhera pahara on occasion of Rath Yatra on Sunday.

The royal teenager also performed some rituals during Bahuda Yatra, the return journey of the sibling deities, last year. She, however, did not perform the chhera pahara then due to some personal problem.

[Kasumi]

Wife, 3 others get life term for killing prince
A city court on Tuesday sentenced a woman and three others to life imprisonment for killing her husband four years ago. The deceased, Aditya Kumar, belonged to a royal family of Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. The 43-year-old sugar mill owner was the son of Raja Ram Nath. According to the prosecution, Niti Agarwal killed him with the help of the royal family's cook Nandlal, with whom she allegedly had an extra-marital relationship, and two other accomplices. Prosecution lawyer Vishal Gupta said the motive of the murder was to grab property.

[Kasumi]

Kota Maharaja's 'Tiger Car' to go under hammer - The Times of India

The handmade automobile was commissioned by the Maharajah, also known as Sahib Bahudur Singh. Umed Singh II, who ruled Kota from 1889 to 1940, was an avid hunter.

[Kasumi]

Tea with Maharaja of Jodhpur

[...] Dressed in crisp white linen Gaj Singhji was the perfect gentleman, calm, composed and unassuming.

v Umaid Bhawan, one of the palaces of the Maharajah of Jodhpur
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[Kasumi]

South Delhi gets a neuro rehab centre with child unit - Express India
The Delhi Commonwealth Women’s Association (DCWA) launched the neuro rehabilitation centre with a specialised paediatric unit at their medical centre in Zamrudpur in collaboration with the Indian Head Injury Foundation (IHIF).
Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur’s erstwhile royal family, founder of IHIF, inaugurated the facility. On the occasion, a free health clinic with facilities for physiotherapy, neurological disorders as well as orthopaedics was also held.

[Kasumi]

Now Royal family to start divine probe into treasure hunt | TruthDive
The Travancore Royal family has initiated the deviaprasanam (divine probe) to ascertain whether the unearthing of the treasures from its vaults has angered Lord Padmanabhaswamy. The temple chief priest Tharunaloor Parameswaran Namboothiri will start the rituals on Monday morning and will last for three days. On Aug10′th the sacred B vault would be opened amidst objections from the Royal family and Hindu organisations that it would bring bad luck to the city.

Bad omens at Padmanabha temple puja before 'devaprasnam'

[Kasumi]

Royal families of Lucknow nawabs still celebrate Raksha Bandhan | TwoCircles.net
Raksha Bandhan, the festival denoting the love and bondage between brothers and sisters, will be celebrated on Saturday. Living upto its Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, the city of nawabs, Lucknow also has a tradition wherein the royal family of nawabs celebrate the festival with same zeal and gaiety as the Hindu brethren do.

[Kasumi]

Royals too join the bandwagon - Times Of India
Erstwhile maharani of Jodhpur Hemlata Raje led a procession of hundreds of school students, who reverberated the ramparts of the historical Mehrangarh Fort with patriotic slogans. They shouted pro-Hazare and anti-corruption slogans holding placards with both straight and satirical messages.
With this unleashing of patriotic fervour, the royal family of Jodhpur also jumped into the fray, expressing solidarity with the movement launched by Anna Hazare. Sheetal Kanwar, wife of BJP leader Jaswant Singh, also joined the march in between.

[Kasumi]

Oudh’s former rulers flaunt 35 paise pension - India - DNA

The amount of ‘wasiqa’ (pension) for the descendants of the erstwhile nawabs of Oudh has been increased 30 times.
At first sight, this might seem huge, calling for hearty celebrations among them. But it doesn’t even evoke a smile.
For, the fact is that the ‘wasiqa’ can’t even buy the daily bread for the ‘wasiqedars’ (royal descendants) who get paltry sums, the lowest being 35 paise and the maximum Rs100 — that too annually!
The Royal Family of Oudh, an association of the nawabs’ descendants, has been demanding a raise in ‘wasiqa’ since 2006.

[Kasumi]

Indian maharaja accused of stealing gold from £14 billion Hindu treasure trove - Telegraph
The head of the Travancore royal family Maharaja Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma regularly stole priceless jewellery and coins from the temple's treasure trove, which is estimated to be worth £14 billion, according to former temple employees and Kerala's former chief minister.

[Kasumi]

The Penelope Pitstop of the maharajas: Indian royal's £400,000 cartoon-like Rolls-Royce with a colourful brolly | Mail Online
A 100-year-old Rolls-Royce built for an Indian prince is going under the hammer - and is set to fetch £400,000.
The Silver Phantom is customised to include a colourful umbrella, reminiscent of flashy Penelope Pitstop from classic cartoon Wacky Races.
The unusual addition was ordered by Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV, Maharaja of Mysore, to shield his servants from the sun.

[Zahrah]

Photography exhibition on late Gayatri Devi to be held in her home town Cooch Behar...Show will be taken to London too....

Full link

[Biri]

On the "Royal Pregnancy Announcements" thread, therei s written that Shivraj Singh and Gayatri Kumari of Jodhpur are expecting their first child. Anyone knows when is she due?

[Kasumi]

Maharaja Narendra Singh of Sarila
died July 8th, 2011, in Switzerland after prolonged illness aged 84.

Obituary - Indian Express

A familiar figure at New Delhi’s India International Centre, Narendra Singh Sarila (born 1927), who died in Switzerland on Friday morning after prolonged illness, straddled many worlds with considerable charm and quiet competence. Diplomat, author, industrialist, part of India’s erstwhile royalty and a Ranji cricketer to boot, Raja Sahib was the veritable Renaissance man — who also adapted to social media.

Born in what was then the princely state of Sarila in central India when the British Raj was, like a dying candle, at its brightest flicker, the young Narendra Singh — or NS — grew up in a world that is now part of Indian history and legend. In his wry and self-effacing autobiography, "Once a Prince of Sarila: Of Palaces and Elephant Rides, Of Nehrus and Mountbattens", NS reveals his natural talent for insightful personal recollection, and an empathetic connection to the larger historical context — leavened with a sense of the turbulence of the moment.

He was chosen to be ADC to Lord Mountbatten in early 1948, for a very brief period. Soon thereafter NS joined the Indian Foreign Service and had an eventful tenure where he was part of the Indian team at the UN in New York; OSD for Kashmir affairs and joint secretary dealing with Pakistan from 1968 to 1972, during the crucial period of the Bangladesh war. Subsequently appointed ambassador to countries including Libya, Switzerland and France, NS retired from government service in 1985 and moved to the next phase of his career: the corporate world. Joining Nestlé India, he later became its chairman emeritus, and was well-known in Europe for his political and business acumen.
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[Kasumi]

In search of Kodagu’s lost princess
C P Belliappa locates the tombstone of Victoria Gowramma, the favourite daughter of Chikka Veerarajendra, the last king of erstwhile Coorg, at the Brompton Cemetery in South West London.
The story of the princess is a heady cocktail of colonial power, politics, greed, romance and disappointments.

[Kasumi]

Royal family defends Ramgarh properties - The Times of India
The erstwhile Jaipur royal family member Prithviraj Singh has countered the allegations that the former ruler's land and lodge/hotel near the Ramgarh Dam were encroachments in the dam basin.
Singh has written to chief secretary Salauddin Ahmed and other government officials defending the family properties that have been reported as encroachments to the high court.

[Kasumi]

The Hindu : Arts / History & Culture : Writer with a royal lineage
The palatial building, with its gigantic pillars and imposing veranda, lies in the heart of Adyar. In a city whose physical and cultural contours are changing every hour, the structure, showing signs of age, is a reminder of a past era.
I am here at the palace to interview Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi, niece of the late Maharaja Chithira Thirunal Rama Varma and his brother, Sri Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the present head of the royal House of Travancore.
Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi has authored books on the Padmanabha Swamy and Travancore temples, culture and heritage.

[Kasumi]

An interview with HRH the Princess Vaishnavi Kumari of Kishangarh who had married HH Prince Kumar Saheb Padmanabh Singhji of Gondol this year (see post # 110 in this thread).

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/l...ow/7436236.cms

[Kasumi]

The Nawab of Pataudi - Telegraph

HH Mohamed Mansur Ali Khan, 9th Nawab of Pataudi, who died on September 22 aged 70, captained India in 40 Test matches and scored six Test centuries – all despite having only one functioning eye.

The son of the 8th Nawab of Pataudi, he was born Mohamed Mansur Ali Khan on January 5 1941 at Bhopal, of which his maternal grandfather was Nawab. Pataudi, some 30 miles south-west of Delhi and about the size of Rutland, had been granted to a forebear who supported the British during the Indian Mutiny. The boy grew up in a palace boasting 150 rooms, run by well over 100 servants — eight of whom were employed as personal attendants to the son and heir, known from infancy as “Tiger”. There was also a personal tutor, who ensured that he could speak English as well as Urdu.His father ruled his tiny state as absolute monarch, albeit ultimately under British supervision.

His father died in 1952, aged only 41, so that Tiger, aged 11, became the 9th Nawab of Pataudi. In 1954 he went to Winchester. It is said that Pataudi senior, filling in an early application form for the school, had answered a question about the boy’s “other aptitudes” with just two words: “My son”.

Though stripped of his title, Pataudi retained a certain regal bearing, notwithstanding his affability and laconic humour. After retiring he undertook some work in journalism and television, and even dabbled briefly and unenthusiastically in politics. More recently he had been on the council of the Indian Premier League. On the whole, though, he preferred playing bridge and trying his hand as a cook; at his house in the centre of Delhi he was a most generous host. He also kept an apartment in London.

The crux of his life, however, was his family. In 1969 he married the film star Sharmila Tagore, the great-grandniece of the poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore. A rare beauty, and charming with it, she had made her name in Satyajit Ray’s The World of Apu (1959). When she married Pataudi she converted from Hinduism to Islam. Their son, Saif Ali Khan, born in 1970 , has become one of the heart-throbs of Bollywood. Of their two daughters, Saba is a jewellery designer, while Soha is a film actress, recently seen in Mumbai Cutting.
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