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Maharaja: The Spectacular Heritage of Princely India
In the annals of world history there are few more striking tales than those of Princely India. The Maharajas became bywords for excess, for lifetimes spent in extravagant expenditure and splendour on an almost unparalleled scale. The Princes, their palaces and feudal loyalties live on, and the full gorgeous spectacle of their life-style is captured for perhaps the last time in the pages of this book. This is very much a visual story, full of dazzling a story of throne rooms with gilded and painted ceilings, crystal fountains and peacocks in terraced gardens, gold and silver treasures, of weddings, celebrations and festivals, and of the Maharajas themselves and their families, in public and in private.
160 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1988
16 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Robinson
506 books76 followers(William) Andrew Coulthard Robinson is a British author and former newspaper editor.
Andrew Robinson was educated at the Dragon School, Eton College where he was a King's Scholar, University College, Oxford where he read Chemistry and finally the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He is the son of Neville Robinson, an Oxford physicist.
Robinson first visited India in 1975 and has been a devotee of the country's culture ever since, in particular the Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore and the Bengali film director Satyajit Ray. He has authored many books and articles. Until 2006, he was the Literary Editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement<?em>. He has also been a Visiting Fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge.
He is based in London and is now a full-time writer.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
Andrew Robinson was educated at the Dragon School, Eton College where he was a King's Scholar, University College, Oxford where he read Chemistry and finally the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He is the son of Neville Robinson, an Oxford physicist.
Robinson first visited India in 1975 and has been a devotee of the country's culture ever since, in particular the Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore and the Bengali film director Satyajit Ray. He has authored many books and articles. Until 2006, he was the Literary Editor of the Times Higher Education Supplement<?em>. He has also been a Visiting Fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge.
He is based in London and is now a full-time writer.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 4, 2018
A beautiful book with 100 or so full colour illustrations. Many of them full paged!
The book opens with the reminder of what these ancient and noble people once were and the opulence and excesses once associated with them. Who were the Maharajas?
In the days of the British colonial rule in India, there were 565 states in the subcontinent. They were organised into quarters. 1/5 ie 118 states were ruled by Div 1 rulers and 117 states were ruled by Div 2 rulers. 3/5 of the states were owned by hereditary owners. Div 1 rulers had absolute power while Div 2 rulers had limited power. The Div 1 rulers again were put in a packing order and accorded the honour of a graded gun salutes during formal ceremonies. These were the Maharajas. Their gun salutes ranged from 13 to 21. Such an arrangement caused a lot of bickering amongst the Maharajas as some thought they were under-gunned! The original plan was indeed to encourage the Maharajas to expand their energies away from British rule's true interest
The Div 2 rulers were just Rajas.
The book gives an insight into the lifestyles of the Maharajas and their families.....their palaces, heirlooms, elephants, horses and then cars, games they played and most of all their culture.
It is said that a castle like Laxmi Villa is 3 times the size of Buckingham Palace. Some source say even 4 times. The dining room is about 2 miles from the kitchen. The Maharaj would ride a scooter from his bedroom to the dining room for breakfast.
Mayo College was built for princes. It was quite a sight to behold when some of them paraded on their elephants on their arrival.
Marriages were very much arranged. Some realised how very young they were on their wedding night.....and called it quit.
Folks loved their jewels and oftentimes the jewels brides wore on their wedding weighed more than them and they needed to be helped up......and many more interesting stories.
A very readible book but ....... it is a big book. So watch those arms
The book opens with the reminder of what these ancient and noble people once were and the opulence and excesses once associated with them. Who were the Maharajas?
In the days of the British colonial rule in India, there were 565 states in the subcontinent. They were organised into quarters. 1/5 ie 118 states were ruled by Div 1 rulers and 117 states were ruled by Div 2 rulers. 3/5 of the states were owned by hereditary owners. Div 1 rulers had absolute power while Div 2 rulers had limited power. The Div 1 rulers again were put in a packing order and accorded the honour of a graded gun salutes during formal ceremonies. These were the Maharajas. Their gun salutes ranged from 13 to 21. Such an arrangement caused a lot of bickering amongst the Maharajas as some thought they were under-gunned! The original plan was indeed to encourage the Maharajas to expand their energies away from British rule's true interest
The Div 2 rulers were just Rajas.
The book gives an insight into the lifestyles of the Maharajas and their families.....their palaces, heirlooms, elephants, horses and then cars, games they played and most of all their culture.
It is said that a castle like Laxmi Villa is 3 times the size of Buckingham Palace. Some source say even 4 times. The dining room is about 2 miles from the kitchen. The Maharaj would ride a scooter from his bedroom to the dining room for breakfast.
Mayo College was built for princes. It was quite a sight to behold when some of them paraded on their elephants on their arrival.
Marriages were very much arranged. Some realised how very young they were on their wedding night.....and called it quit.
Folks loved their jewels and oftentimes the jewels brides wore on their wedding weighed more than them and they needed to be helped up......and many more interesting stories.
A very readible book but ....... it is a big book. So watch those arms
June 27, 2015
Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous photography, and wonderful stories of modern and Raj-era royalties. If you can find it, you must at least flip through it for the pictures.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews