The House of Jaipur

Title: The House of Jaipur – The Inside Story of India’s Most Glamorous Royal Family
Author: John Zubrzycki
Publisher: Juggernaut, 2023 (First published 2020)
ISBN: 9789393986863
Pages: 358

When the British left India in 1947, it was a hotchpotch of 565 princely states that comprised two-fifths of the nation’s geographical area. It was a gargantuan task to integrate them all to the newly formed republic, especially those royals who claimed descent from the sun and the moon. Perhaps this was a great wonder in modern statecraft, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and his secretary V. P. Menon did this in a matter of months and that too, without shedding a drop of blood. Looking back with hindsight, the personal kingdoms had degraded to such alarming proportions that the edifice came crumbling down at the merest touch of Patel and Menon with recourse to nothing other than verbal sophistry. The Kachhwaha Rajput kingdom of Jaipur boasted a history lasting a millennium, but wisely decided to join India without any demur. This put a brake to their high-flying lifestyle who spent more than half of a year in the cool climes of Europe and spent the state's money like water on jewellery, polo, alcohol and women. The king of Jaipur in 1947, Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II, had three wives. Out of these, the most famous and glamourous was Gayatri Devi. This book is the story of this royal couple and their children and grandchildren through the numerous petty bickering among themselves and court cases initiated for appropriating more wealth for themselves. Those who had any reservations against scrapping of privy purses by Indira Gandhi would be forced to reconsider their stand, reading about the decadent and extravagant lifestyle of the royals, even after they were ousted from power. A lot had indeed changed as well. Rajput valour, once tested on the battlefield, is now being played out in the political domain, in corporate boardrooms, in courthouses and in the sporting field. John Zubrzycki is an award-winning journalist and acclaimed author specialising in South Asia. His book 'The Last Nizam' was reviewed earlier here.

The author notes the ease with which the native princes got inveigled into serving their British masters after the Mughal suzerainty collapsed. Especially after the 1857 Rebellion, the British also trod carefully. Court ritual was one area the British did not intervene in, but they controlled the administration of the state. British officers served as the state's chief ministers, headed the departments of revenue and public works, commanded its army, managed its railways and directed its educational and medical services. Even then, the princes followed an immensely extravagant lifestyle and shamelessly appropriated public resources for their jewels, hunts, polo matches, European travels and sexual escapades at home and abroad. These royal leeches sucked the blood up from poor subjects who were already half-starving. In India, the princes were bound by tradition-bound strictures that governed their behaviour but they lived on the wild side whenever they were in Europe. Sawai Man Singh II, affectionately called Jai, would leave for England in May every year and return in October. Their European friends visited their princely states in the remaining months, for more parties, more polo and more hunting and dating. The British did little to rein in the princes' extravagant routine or peculiar fetishes. Only the most debauched or corrupt feared dismissal. The rest were left to maintain their feudal traditions.

The book contains several sleazy episodes of Jai when he was in power and how he gracefully vacated the throne to the newly formed Indian republic. He was a philanderer at heart who thought marriage was a necessity and to produce children a duty to the state and to the House. He was so morally weak that his American actress-lover met his second wife in the palace at Jaipur and offered her tips on how to satisfy her husband so that he would visit her more often! Jai had a special rapport with Mountbatten and was the only Indian ruler who called the viceroy by his pet name 'Dickie'. So he signed the Instrument of Accession to India with little demur. Moreover, in March 1948, nine smaller states headed by Kota agreed to merge with the Indian dominion. Udaipur and Jaipur yielded thereafter. The author claims this was achieved by the 'diplomatic skills and subterfuge' by Patel and Menon. Jai relinquished his powers as maharaja in favour of the largely ceremonial office of Rajpramukh. His duties involved presiding over the state legislative assembly sessions and swearing in of ministers.

The royals' eviction from power was swift by comparison with similar events worldwide. With a vengeful Indira Gandhi close on their tail, even the symbols of power were gradually taken away from them. In 1956, Jai was removed as rajpramukh without being consulted or warned. He quickly rose to the occasion and ensured a steady and opulent source of income. The Rambagh Palace was leased out to operate as a hotel. In 1957, Jai considered entering politics. His ancestors had always forged alliances with whoever occupied the throne in Delhi whether it was the Mughals or the British. By going directly to Nehru, he was merely following Jaipur state tradition believing that a political alliance would protect him and his family. His wife Gayatri Devi, referred as Ayesha in the book, actually joined politics and won the 1962 election to Lok Sabha from Jaipur with a margin that found its way into the Guinness Book of World Records. They continued to live a high-profile life with VVIPs visiting them at home. Queen Elizabeth II and Jacqueline Kennedy visited them in the early 1960s, eclipsing government functions which snubbed Nehru. However, the entry into public service did not change the royals' mindset substantially. They always maintained their snobbish disregard to reformed concepts of egalitarianism. While posted as India's ambassador to Spain, Jai employed servants from Jaipur who would touch their foreheads to the ground when they went to receive their master at Madrid airport. Having three wives and numerous affairs served him well, but not for the women. Lonely and with no real role to play in Jai's life, both his surviving wives succumbed to alcoholism before they reached their mid-40s.

The author remarks on the infighting among Rajputs and the divergent political alliances among them. The Kachhwahas of Jaipur was subservient to the Mughals while the Sisodias of Mewar bravely stood their ground. When Aurangzeb took the hands of an 8-year old Jai Singh of Jaipur and playfully asked what he will do, the crafty boy replied that he'd do nothing because he was in secure hands. Impressed by his 'intelligence', the emperor granted him the title 'Sawai', meaning he was as good as 'one-and-a-quarter' men. Three centuries later, when Jai’s funeral procession in 1970 was led by a mahout on an elephant, it carried the Mah-e-Muratib, the ceremonial rod gifted by the Mughals as a token of distinction. This fickleness in pursuit of an ideal was carried into the political space as well. Even though the Congress was staunchly against the royals, they still tried to befriend them in order to gain a share of power. Many voters in Jaipur did not forgive Congress for incarcerating their rajmata and their maharaja during the Emergency. The maharaja in question, Bhawani Singh, stunned them by joining the same party in 1988. The author then wryly comments that the Jaipur rulers always secured their interests. The closing chapters of the book are dedicated to keep track of the innumerable legal disputes brought on by one family against another. The Rajputs continued their cursed internecine warfare, but no blood was being spilled and the arena of conflict had shifted to the law courts, but the same tropes of usurpation, betrayal and dishonour remained.

Apart from the story of the House of Jaipur, the author makes some overarching remarks about India’s judicial system and personality quirks of its top politicians. Indira Gandhi reportedly harboured a visceral contempt for India’s princes and especially despised Gayatri Devi. Noted journalist Khushwant Singh once said that Indira could not stomach a woman more good-looking than herself. Gayatri Devi was arrested a month into the Emergency for violating the draconian COFEPOSA act which was put into force to conserve foreign currency. A few months back, the sleuths had discovered 19 British pounds and a few coins during a raid at her home. This was nothing unusual for she visited England every year, but its possession fell afoul of the law. She was lodged in Tihar jail; in which it is said that an open drain passed through her cell. She bore the hardships stoically for some time, but after five months, wrote a grovelling letter to Indira promising to end political activity and she was subsequently released. Gayatri Devi was a devout anglophile. She donated a large collection of her jewellery to the British Museum in the mid-1990s. Commenting on the never-ending legal wrangles, the book notes that ‘there is no such thing as a closure in India’s labyrinthine court system.’ The House of Jaipur still remains a house divided. The royal family now employs a PR agency to ensure that any public appearances serve to enhance rather than detract from the aura they strive to maintain.

Gayatri Devi is throughout referred as Ayesha in the text which was her pet name given by her mother. This was due to a literary inspiration that caught her mother’s imagination and not at all related to its Islamic namesake. At the time of Gayatri Devi’s birth, her mother was reading the popular adventure novel ‘She: A History of Adventure’ by H. Rider Haggard. The protagonist of the novel is a powerful, eternally beautiful, and mysterious queen named Ayesha and the name stuck. The book follows a gossipy style of reporting. It dedicates several chapters for Gayatri Devi’s licentious mother Indira Devi, who is not related to the House of Jaipur by blood. Her frequent running after paramours and illicit child are given unwanted prominence. In 1929, she threw a party at Cannes in which the centre of attraction was a glittering fountain filled with fifty cases of expensive champagne. Zubrzycki appears to be paranoid about criticisms levelled against Muslim functionaries in princely states which he could have dismissed without comment or even ignored. Instead, he passes judgment on the complaints without going into the merits of each case. He portrays the opposition to officials such as Khusrau Jang and Sir Mirza Ismail as ‘opposition to a Muslim holding a high office in a predominantly Hindu state’. In fact, this finds mention in this review because he does this on three occasions with the exact same words. This may cement his stature as a liberal, but what he loses in the bargain is his credibility.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star