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| RR,Indian ruler. customized for luxury tiger hunting!maginelifestyles.com |
In the colonial days, the British introduced luxury cars to the status - conscious Indian rulers for fun, relaxation and travel in regal style. Under the British Raj, the Indian rulers, who lost much of their affluence, became materialistic, however, had enough dough to spend lavishly for their families' extravagant living such as costly jewelry, diamonds, valuable gem stones, etc. Their passion for literary work, arts, etc took a severe beating and saw a decline. As far luxury cars in the late 1920s and 1930s, they were a novelty for the Indian rulers. No other car had ignited the curiosity of rich Indians more than the Rolls Royce cars of England. The RR car's majesty and stunning look added zest to its aura which is irresistible. When it zips past us it never fails to leave its opulent trail of elegance. RR cars were synonymous with royalty and aristocracy, so they were tagged as the symbol of status and regal power. Obviously, RR had a special place among the elite who simply loved this car. Rolls-Royce had been the marque of choice.
The story of Indian Maharajahs and rulers is the story of excess and extravaganza, one may say publicity bonanza for them. Maharajahs and Nawabs were impressed by their sturdy and stately look, engineering excellence, luxurious interiors, and decor, and bought them for ready cash, not a single
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| Rolls-Royce built in 1934 for the Maharaja of Rajkot iThe Telegrap |
No doubt there were other luxury cars like the May Bach and Porsche, but the Rolls Royce commanded a unique place among the Indian Princely rulers. There existed a perfect match between Indian rulers and the RR car company who were flexible and be ready to customize the new car according to their whims and fancies. This business approach plus flexibility made the car company a popular one among the Indian rulers.Indian rulers were equally responsible for the popularity of RR cars.
Indian Media commented that eccentricity and ludicrous extravagance was a hallmark of India's erstwhile royal families.
The following are the gripping facts about Indian Maharajahs', quirks and their passion for Rolls Royce cars:
01. The very first Rolls-Royce bought by a "native Indian prince" was the "Pearl of the East". Quite satisfied with its performance in various terrains it was purchased by the Maharajah of Gwalior after its record breaking trans-India runs in 1908. He himself drove the car. Soon the Indian rulers began to follow him and ordered exotic versions.
02. According to writer Murad Ali Baig, who wrote a book"Rolls Royce and the Indian princes"more than 20,000 Rolls-Royce cars were built before the First World War and about 20 per cent of them were for India; it has been estimated that, on average, each maharajah had 3·5 Rollers". French Author Lapierre in his book 'Freedom at Midnight' pointed out the same figure - on an average an Indian Maharajah owned 3.5 Rolls Royce cars.
03. There were about 230 ruling maharajahs (excluding the minor ones), that meant they owned about 900 cars between 1908 and 1939.
04. The Hyderabad Nizam (one of the richest men, but was a miser) with 12,000 employees in his palace had a fleet of 50 RR cars (citation needed). He had a sort of throne car richly painted with gold mountings and and upholstered in gold silk brocade with matching curtains.
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| RR for tiger hunting, used by Indian rulers. Narthaki |
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| Bhupendar Singh driving Edward VIII,in.pinterest.com |
Above image: Maharajah of Patiala, Bhupendar Singh driving Edward VIII, Prince of Wales in his Rolls-Royce during the 1922 Patiala Visit ............
05. Among the Indian rulers, the Maharajah of Patiala whose craze for women was well-known (some one mentioned that he outshone the God of lust - Cupid) was the most famous patron of RR and owned nearly 27 of these luxury cars.
06. The Patiala ruler also had a German car May Bach that was donated to him by Adolph Hitler himself when the Punjab ruler was on a visit to Germany in the early 1930s. When there was a royal outing, the RR cars would follow the ruler in a procession with pomp and show, carrying his ten wives in grand style.
07. This princely state in Punjab lost the Kohinoor diamond and the world's largest red ruby to the British Crown when the latter took over the control of the state under the doctrine of subsidiary alliance. It was billed as an unjust move by the colonial power by the media as the ruler was a minor then. .
08. Here is yet another scoop about the flamboyant Maharajah of Patiala. Once he had 27 RR besides other cars in hundreds. Unlike other rulers, he had to have extra security guards on duty while his RRs went for tune-up or overhauling because they were decorated with (hold your breath!!) precious stones and diamonds.
09. The credit goes to the Maharajah of Baroda who was the first one to take delivery the first RR car came out of the assembly line after WWII.
10. The Maharajah of Mysore, then the 2nd richest man in the world, when placing orders for RR opted for multiples of 7 or 14 and even 28 at a time. From this, one can understand his vast wealth and money power of rulers like Mysore Maharajah. “Doing a Mysore” became the RR company's jargon meaning burying in bulk.
11. The Maharajah of Kashmir also owned a special gold plated car that took him around the capital city Srinagar.
12. Believe it or not, Indian Nobel laureate
Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali poet and philosopher owned RR; the car is now kept in the Calcutta Museum.
13. By late 1920s, there were hundreds of RR owned by the princely Indian rulers, for whom money was not a matter of concern, rather, their position among his counter parts. Their obsession for the luxury car went up so sky high, there was almost no Indian ruler who did not own a model or two of RR. In order to mark them out and to establish their status and rank, they went for extravagant customization of RR.
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| Ruler of Nabha, Punjab. Swan Rolls Royce Narthaki |
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| Mewar ruler. Rajasthan RR 20 HP Autocar India |
14. Maharajah of Nabha, Punjab had his RR customized to look like a swan at the front of the car to get publicity and admiration. When the ruler rode the car, it gave a thrill to the locals.
15. Most expensive RR ever built was RR in 1934 for Maharajah of Rajkot (Gujarat) Dharmendra Sinhji Lakhajiraj. It was repossessed by his grandson Prince Jadeja in 2010 by paying a huge price - whopping Rs. 3.2 crores.
16. Some rulers could assemble extra-fittings like foot board for servants, high power light lamps (to dazzle and blind the tiger to make the hunting easier), rifle holders or hand-cranked machine guns etc., to use RR for hunting with English gentlemen.
1925 Rolls-Royce New Phantom “Tiger Hunter” built for for Sahib Bahadur, the Maharajah of Kotah, and has a rifle stand, Lantaka cannon, nickel-plated snake horn, two brass searchlights, and a machine gun. Wealthy maharajahs by buying exotic cars in large numbers kept the British automobile industry going.
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| A rare RR Phantom-for tiger hunting, ruler of Kotah in.reuters.com |
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| Rolls with hunting rifle .narthaki.com |
18. Umed Singh II, Maharajah of Kota, who was well-known for royal hunting with the British had his 1925 Rolls-Royce New Phantom fitted with guns and cannons, searchlights and safes to be used for royal hunts.
19. Maharajah of Jamnagar went one step ahead and wanted the company to paint the car in pink color. Besides, he had sent one of his wife's pink slippers to the company so that his Phantom II was painted in exactly the right color shade to avoid his wife's fury.
20. One Maharajah preferred better physical exposure while going on a royal tour of the town. He wanted cabriolet versions to enable him to sit on a raised seat in the back of the car. This would help his subjects take a good look at him and his extravagant regal regalia.
21. Other rulers preferred privacy in public while travelling with their Maharanis. They had the curtains installed inside the car so that the beautiful Maharanis would avoid the roadside Casanova's curious stare while in the Purdah model car.
22. The Maharajah of Bharatpur is believed to have owned as many as 200 Rolls-Royce cars at one point (citation needed). It is said that when RR mechanics failed to give service as per his wish on time, the ruler would, in rage, turn some of his Rolls-Royce cars into garbage vehicles. So that RR company wont make the mistake again.
23. Writer Murad Ali Baig has another interesting story and this about the Travancore Princely state, S. India."A 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/30 (Sedanca de Ville) that belonged to Maharani Sethu Parvati Bai of Travancore had a small stool on the floor. On it sat a dwarf who massaged the queen's legs," So, occasionally the servants had to be kept invisible to the curious media and public.
24. The Maharajah of Darbhanga, a teetotaller chose a novel way to please his better-half. Upon his wish, Roll-Royce Phantom 1927 was converted into a “drinking car” for his Maharani. Fitted with bar accessories like crystal glasses and decanters, it was meant for her to be chauffeured around the town while she freely indulged herself to burp up frustration and ennui caused by royal gossips and surmises. outside of the palace premises and royal gossips.
25. Sometimes, though, it was servants who needed to be invisible. "A 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/30 (Sedanca de Ville) that belonged to Maharani Sethu Parvati Bai of Travancore had a small stool on the floor. On it sat a dwarf who massaged the queen's legs," writes Baig.
26. John Fasal, Rolls-Royce historian and restorer based in the UK, had close a contact with Indian rulers and aristocrats for a few decades. The 70 plus year old man visited India 25 times to supply spares to RR cars. According to him, Indian rulers' quirks fascinated him and gave him a good laugh. He mentioned, "In the 1930s, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala had the largest RR fleet in India, a total of 44 cars", not the Hyderabad Nizam. The Nizam "possessed only one and it was driven for just 300 miles".
27. John M. Faisal further mentioned that in all, before 1947, a total of 900 Rolls-Royce cars were sold to Indian princes to take care of their various needs.
28. RR company could take care the needs of handicapped Maharajah as well, if he was ready to pay extra money. The Maharajah of Udaipur, Arvind Mewar, mentioned that his physically handicapped grandfather, ordered RR with the controls set in the steering wheel so that he could drive comfortably. Ruler of Mewar said his family in the 1940s had 10 of them.
29. In India Mumbai-based Pranlal Bhogilal, a mill-owner is believed to have the largest number - about 65 in his collection of some 200 cars plus cars. His collection attracts lots of people.
Ref:https://www.gqindia.com/content/cars-maharajas-drive-gq-india/#lagonda-v12
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Royal-Royce-tales/articleshow/46810553.cms
http://www.narthaki.com/info/bn/bn31.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/4193893/Bejewelled-carriageways.html