The Princess Remembers

Lately I have been reading a lot about princess and that means reliving my middle class princely life by failed attempts at wearing uncomfortable clothes and jewellery. See my pearl necklace and chabi ka gucha. Royal nahin sahi but I have family heirlooms. 

I wonder how these women could adorn all these all the time. Anyways I am no princess, I love my pyjama life too much. They were not exactly Disney Princess that I read about. 

Well Mata Gayatri Devi probably had a life close to a Disney prince, with a royal love affair with a prince, with best of things to wear, balls to attend, maidens and service men, with horses to ride, an education in London, featuring on page 3 tabloids, host international celebrities and be famous for the beauty and grace. I have always been fascinated by her chiffons, Pearl necklace and the grace with which she carried herself. Well now I know it was designed to fit her political image. But still keeping up an image is a lot of effort. That’s what a princess job is to keep up the pretences. However Gayatri Devi was a smart woman who lived a good life on her own terms. 

<The Maharaja Jai> 

The most dreamy part of her story was her fairy tale romance with her husband the Maharaja. It’s just amazing how their love was that of respect and trust. There are parts which show how she wouldn’t do anything without his permission. Which the feminist in me was slightly appalled. May be it was his age and her appreciation for his advise. It’s understandable in a husband wife relationship of those times. 

<The husband’s permission to wife> 

He was not only her love, but her king and someone whose acceptance meant much for her. Once he dies she lives her life like a single rose in a vase next to the window in the corner, seeming looking far but living in the shadows of the past. 

<The hunting and killing> 

The book is a simple memoir designed for the foreign readers and all the problems first world. There were many times I was appalled by her views - the privileges of chance of birth, the accepted power over people, the hunting and ruthless killing of animals, the privy purses, the larger than life titles, the assumption that country was better under the princely states or how the princes were the architects of democracy. 

<The Title Theory> 

There was a particular debate on titles. Maharaja, Princess, emperor or Raja. It’s true we call the gods and the royals by their titles. But why are we sticking to them. Why aren’t we all equal. But no one can deny the accident of birth, it exists. Past existed and so did the kings. So did the slaves and subjects. We all existed in a past which we can’t simply whitewash. Can we respect it and give it the dignity to the relevance of times. Now we know better but because we had a not so good past. Can we give it the respect that it existed. Some were good and some were bad, but they lived with what they lived. I wish that we are better with self governance. We seem to be divided but I still can’t vote basis accident of birth but merit. 

There was much discussion on the type of politics and political parties of the 60s to 80s. I learnt about the socialist idealist of Nehru, Gayatri Devil’s issues with Indira Gandhi, the origin and end of Swatantra party, the corruption and the emergency. We can say she tried but then again the princess was not designed for the ugly world of politics. I wondered how the kings could just get up and go to Europe from May to October. They really didn’t have any work they were so rich to go away when they couldn’t bear the Indian heat. A part of me was jealous and happy that we abolished the Raj, and a part of me wanted to be born a princess in my next birth (the lazy I am, I do think that I might have been one in my previous birth. But I am also not proper) 

<The accident of Birth> 

The book was a pleasure to read. I found it in hotel at a highway on our Bombay- Bangalore road trip. It lay there on the book stand and I grabbed it in exchange for another book of short stories - The primal woman. I think it was a fair exchange and I wouldn’t mind doing another exchange for it. It’s ghost written but I can feel the language and grace of Maharani Gayatri devi. She was a good woman. 

Much in contrast to the Last queen. Another queen, however she was the dog trainers daughter who reached the heights and her son became the heir apparent. Both their lives couldn’t be any more different, but they also have similarities. Both figures of strength and standing in a man’s world. Both husband’s favourites and toiling in politics. Both in awe of their husbands and close to their brother. One had a life full of parties the other spent in custody or exile. One lived a full life with love of her husband, one lives a life full of traitors and treachery, surviving every slash of knife. But both enhancing my joy of being a woman. Both great examples of beauty with brains and strength.