The scion of Mysore Royal family Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar today conducted private Durbar at the Amba Vilas Durbar Hall in the Mysore Palace premises as part of this year's Dasara celebrations. [...]
Wadiyar then visited Someshwara temple where he performed puja to the royal elephant, royal horse and royal cow, besides offering puja to elephant Balarama (who is assigned to carry the golden howdah in the Dasara procession) in fornt of Krishna temple.
Later, Janardhana Bhat, Head Priest of the Palace, conducted the rituals of performing Navagraha puja at Durbar Hall at Amba Vilas, after which Wadiyar ascended the Simhasana (the golden throne) to mark the commencement of private durbar.
1 & 2: HH The Maharajah of Mysore,Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar
3. The Mysore Palace (Ambar Vilas)
The land belongs to the Jamnagar royal family and ownership of the land remained with the family. The land was given only for educational purpose to Gulab Kunverba Ayurvedic Society. But at present, the members of society have been using it for commercial purpose.
Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, scion of the Mysore Royal Family, led the grand Dussehra celebrations here on Thursday.
A large number of people, including foreign tourists, thronged the Mysore Palace to participate in the revelries.
The procession, observed in the style of the erstwhile Maharajas, winds its way through the city`s streets and ends at the local palace. - Full article
Thousands of people carrying the palanquin of Goddess Hadimba left for Kullu from her shrine in Manali on Wednesday to kick-start Dussehra celebrations. The deity is considered the grandmother of the royal family of Kullu as she gifted the throne to Raja Bhangmani Pal. - Times of India
Asfia and Waliuddin Khan celebrated their daughter Aisha's first birthday at a club in Secunderabad on Sunday night.
The big bash saw close friends and family in full attendance to wish the birthday girl. Great grandparents Halima Begum and Nawab Firasath, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, were present at the do along with other members of the royal family. - Times of India
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is set to reveal an extensive and lavish collection of Indian art from the evocative era of the maharajas. “Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts”, opening Oct. 21 and running through April 8, 2012, will present nearly 200 important artworks from the intriguing world of India's rulers over three centuries.
The collection was organized by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and makes its U.S. premiere at this exhibition.
The exhibition will feature a throne room in its ceremonial splendor; an array of ceremonial regalia, turban ornaments, swords, and other symbols of Indian royalty; and many rare paintings in watercolors and gold.
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Abducted girl from Mandi's royal family - Times Of India
A 16-year-old girl student of a leading convent school, who was abducted on October 11, belongs to a royal family from Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh.Cops failed to make any headway in her search nine days after her abduction.
Sources in police told TOI, "She is a princess and investigators have speeded up efforts to trace her after getting to know her background."
The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories
Investigations revealed that the girl’s name was Durgeshwari Kumari (born 13-04-1995) and she was a princess of the Kutlaher province in Himachal Pradesh.
Gitanjali Group picks Sharmila Tagore & Soha Ali Khan to promote Nizam
The Nizam Collection, coming from the house of Gitanjali Group, boasts of exquisite jewellery crafted in classic gold and set with uncut diamonds and coloured stones inspired by the rich cultural heritage of the golden era in the history of Indian art, craft and culture during the Mughal, Rajput and Nizam periods.
Reflecting grandeur in all its glory, the brand unveiled its new campaign with the elegant, graceful and beautiful women of the royal Pataudi family - Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan as their new brand ambassadors. Regal in their own ways, the mother-daughter duo truly reflect the charm and royalty of this brand, with their charisma and aura!
Mysore Palace rankes second on NY Times list of 31 Must-seeplaces of the world
The Mysore Palace also called as the Amba Vilasa Palace is the official residence of the Wodeyar royal family. Situated in the middle of the city, the number of tourist visiting the palace has been steadily increasing every year. According to the Karnataka tourism department officials, going by the growing tourist footfalls at the palace, it could be the numero uno soon.
[...]
The original Mysore Palace refers to the palace within an old fort and built by the Wodeyar king in the 14th century. Thereafter over the years the palace was once burnt down when a massive fire broke out and it was demolished and constructed a multiple number of times. The current palace construction was commissioned in 1897, and it was completed in 1912 and expanded later around 1940.
The Mysore Palace will celebrate its 100 years of completion next year.
The Hindu : Remembering a warrior regent Pazhassi Raja is remembered in the history of Kerala as a brave warrior king who led battles against the intruding Mysore army and the East India Company's army much before the rebellion of 1857.
The participation and assistance from people of different communities and tribes in his battles against the British army made them important in the Colonial history of South India.
Cursed royalty | Deccan Chronicle
[...]
Since it is impossible to please everyone, curses would have been part of the job as Princess Deepshika Singh Deo, who is married into Orissa’s royal family says, “In India and Nepal royal families historically were prone to getting cursed because of their role as protectors of their people.
When rulers failed to meet expectations, ire was vented by way of a curse. Maybe if Marie Antoinette or the Russian tsars had been Indian royalty, they too would have been cursed instead of being executed.”
[...]
Former Karnataka minister M Y Ghorpade passes away - Hindustan Times
Sandur Royal family scion and former Karnataka minister M Y Ghorpade passed away at a private hospital in Bangalore on Saturday following a brief illness.
Ghorpade, who also an acclaimed wild life photographer, was 80.
He is survived by wife, three sons and a daughter.
Police nab woman in connection with princess kidnaping case
A team of Chandigarh Police arrested a woman in connection with kidnapping of princess of Kutlehar erstwhile princely state.
The princess, grand daughter of Mahinder Pal Singh of the Kuttlehar Royal family in Bangana tehsil of Una district, was kidnapped from Chandigarh on 20th October.
The teenager princess is saved! Man sent to three-day police remand for kidnapping girl
A local court today remanded a man to three days' police custody for allegedly kidnapping a teenage girl belonging to a royal family from Himachal Pradesh. Police had arrested Inderjit Singh Malik and rescued the girl from a village in Bathinda late last evening.
Saif Ali Khan officially installed as 10th Nawab of Pataudi.
It was widely reported that Saif wanted to push his career in Bollywood and said his late father (see post # 159) to be the last Nawab.
But then Saif has changed his mind since the royal family and the local villagers were asking him not to break the tradition.
The Hindu
Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was on Monday anointed the tenth Nawab of Pataudi at a ceremony at his ancestral palace here over a month after his father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi passed away. The 41-year-old actor was made the Nawab at a pagdi ceremony this morning at the Ibrahim Palace here, where heads of 52 villages tied a white turban around his head as mother Sharmila Tagore, sisters Saba Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan looked on. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was also present.
As the newly appointed Nawab, Mr. Khan will have to take care of his father’s estate, their ancestral home, eye hospital and other charitable institutions.
Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, whose mother was the daughter of the last Nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan, was born in Bhopal and was the mutawalli (patron) of the Auqaf-e-Shahi, the body managing the religious and charitable endowments of the erstwhile princely State.
The late Pataudi took over from his mother as heir in the Bhopal royal family, allowing him to become the mutawalli of dozens of shrines, orphanages and religious trusts that are part of the princely Waqf properties of Bhopal.
As mutawalli, the late Pataudi governed religious properties worth over Rs 2,000 crore, including Bhopal’s Jama Masjid. He also enjoyed special discretionary powers to sanction free lodging at the Rubat (building) at Mecca and Medina.
The Pataudi palace in Gurgaon, built in 1935, is sprawled across 25 acres and is divided into two parts, a main building and an annexe. One part of it has been turned into a heritage hotel where a number of English and Hindi films have been shot.
v Saif Ali Khan being anointed as the tenth Nawab of Pataudi
"Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s death on Thursday brought an end to an enduring romance" 
(September 23rd, 2011):
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