That's 1952. Five years ago, India gained independence by transferring power from the British royal family to the successor countries of India and Pakistan. Singh's mother, Maharani Krishna Kumari, realized a new reality. She sent her son to Cowgiel College in England and then to Eton College. Singh, 68, recently recalled: "She didn't want me to grow up in the palace and be with the palace attendants, thinking that nothing had changed. Singh is a tall man with a beard and hair hidden behind his bed. He usually wears a festive headscarf, holds a glass of champagne at parties and hangs out with famous guests such as mick jagger and Prince Charles. But he looks weak in person. He walked carefully, with a deep and serious voice. He often wears breeches named after his former kingdom. Today, he only wears a green cotton coat and trousers.
Although Singh visited India during the school holidays, he never returned to China permanently until he received a postgraduate degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University at 197 1. At that time, he was 23 years old, and the situation really changed: Prime Minister Gandhi was determined to deprive members of the royal family of their titles and cancel "pocketing" or allowances, because these allowances were provided for them in order to dissolve their monarchy after independence. Several members of the royal family led by Singh's uncle Baroda Maharaja formed gloves to negotiate with Gandhi, demanding that their situation be gradually changed. But Gandhi finally won. "We became bad boys," Singh shrugged, but did not completely hide the sting.
Deprived of his annual allowance of $654.38+$2500, Singh needs to find ways to offset the maintenance costs of palaces, forts, jewels, paintings and cars, including the Rolls-Royce Phantom II, which constitutes his luxurious legacy.
Young and decisive, and equipped with some advisers, he set up a trust fund and penny to protect and reinvest his assets. When he was in Europe, he saw how nobles turned luxury houses into hotels and opened their gorgeous gardens to people who had tickets to travel. Singh said: "This made me think: We can do it, too." . He came into contact with some of India's best protectionists and environmentalists. "I am more willing to take advice than other members of the royal family," he added with a smile. "I seized an opportunity."
Today, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, the opportunities he seized and their rewards can be seen everywhere. This city with a history of five centuries is a fairytale maze, with gorgeous entrance passages, ancient temples and mysterious gated Havelis or mansions, many of which originated from the Singh family. The ancestors of Rao Jodha established this city in 1459 as the home of the wrathall family, a warrior of Rajput. Jorda's son Singh's family still lives here. From the beard on their handlebars, it can be seen that they are Rajput, and the front of the car rotates well. Shiny gold hoops sparkled in their ears. Women wear gaudy and colorful saris, but out of modesty, they cover their faces in public.
Gaj Singh II rests in Umaid Bhawan, a residential palace built by his grandfather. Gold-plated furniture decorated the palace hall with 347 rooms. (Dhruv Malhotra) The royal family in Ummed Bawang turned most of the Mehrangar Castle in the15th century into a first-class museum, where visitors can watch the mahar in Moti or the Pearl Palace. Visitors visit the museum's weapons collection. The staff visited in traditional costumes. At dusk, fruit bats sing over the Palace of Lake Mande in balsa, five miles north of Kodur. It was originally built as a summer house for King Kodur, and now it is a hotel. (Dhruv Malhotra)12nd century (above) The fortifications of the ancient city of Nagor now include a hotel: Lanvas Hotel. (Dhruv Malhotra) Hotel has18th Century ranis or Queens residence rooms. Shivranjani Rajye, princess of Jod Poole, played a strong family leadership role in opening the royal property to a wider audience. Singh is not the first outstanding Indian royal family member to monetize his legacy. Rambagh Palace in Jaipur was converted into a hotel in 1957, with a gorgeous tycoon terrace and crystal chandeliers. The Lake Palace in Udaipur was built in the17th century and is a summer resort for the royal family. 1963 began to accept luxury tourists. This white marble palace was built on a prominent rock in the middle of a sparkling lake, floating far above the water. Twenty years later, it was hailed as an immortal work by Hollywood in James Bond's film Octopus Overlord.
However, India's countless royal property has become a ruin. The Indian Archaeological Survey, an institution, tries to maintain some, and it is not always successful. A report on 20 12 found that even the world heritage was in disrepair and its cultural relics were smuggled out of the country.
India nationalized historic sites after independence, partly because many members of the royal family could not keep their heritage. Some people lack foresight; The long lawsuit discouraged others. After the attractive Maharani died in Jaipur in 2009, Gayatri Devi's family filed a lawsuit against her property worth $400 million, including Rambagh and many other palaces, a large jewelry collection and an apartment in Mayfair, London.
Property disputes sometimes become the final conclusion of their heritage, tarnishing the reputation of the Indian royal family. However, these problems began only after independence, when it was obvious that the royal wealth was built on the hard slave labor of the poor. Even though members of the royal family rule as many as 500 servants in the palace, their subjects still live in poverty under the inhuman caste system, which determines their residence and work. In India's struggle for independence, members of the royal family were also defiled and stood on the side of Britain. Unlike their British counterparts, they are neither widely accepted nor widely respected today.
It is commendable that Singh did not ignore the views of people like him then and now. "What a pity," he said. "The situation is changing, but we are suffering from it."
Unlike some members who criticized the royal family, Singh devoted himself to his work. He first turned his attention to Fort wrangell, or Fort Sun, which was faintly visible 400 feet above Jodhpur. For decades, bats were the only permanent residents of the fortress. In the early 1970s, Singh's first route from Mehrangarh was to sell their excrement. His Mehrangarh Fort Trust sells bat dung to pepper farmers as fertilizer,
There are palaces, courtyards, dungeons and shrines in the sand belt of the fortress. Climbing to the top of the mountain and having a bird's eye view of the city is breathtaking. Just below, Bramhapuri, a part of the old city, is displayed in the blue ocean. According to some people, this is the color that Brahmins paint houses to distinguish them from others. In addition to temples, lakes and distant Thar dunes, or the Indian desert,
Singh donated nearly 65,438+05,000 items from his personal collection to the trust fund to build a museum in the fortress. 1974 opened, dazzling and appealing. Young people use shiny swords and daggers in the weapons exhibition hall. Couples are interested in the rocking royal baby cradle. The tourists gaped at 16 exquisite Haoda carriage, ready to ride an elephant. A little guy named Vodka, the grandfather of "KDSPE" Singh, and the father of Umed Singh and Hanwante Singh laid the cornerstone of the palace on a mountain hundreds of feet above sea level 1929. Giles Tillotson wrote in one of his books about family that in the obituary of * * *, he deeply recalled that he had taken four wives, seventy ponies and one hundred servants to visit the polo season in England, and Umaid Singh entrusted the palace to "show the prestige of the country". Gaji Singh stressed in an interview that Umed Bawan was built for charity and provided employment opportunities for the poor to avoid famine during the drought. Designed by British architect Henry Lanchester, this palace is a miracle of marble and sandstone. Its style is sometimes called Hindu decorative style, surrounded by 26 acres of gardens. It has a central hall and beautifully carved columns with a delicate dome at the top. Visitors who walk through the hall often encounter something because they can't take their eyes off the ceiling. The room is fan-shaped in all directions. There is a sofa in the elevator, and young members of the royal family will sneak in for a cigarette and take the hotel guests to the top floor, which is a mural by Polish artist Stefan Nablin. The penthouse suite where the king and queen originally lived had pink marble, silver decorations and a sunken bathtub.
On a recent visit, the British director Gurinder Chadda was filming for eight weeks for her film The Governor's House, which starred gillian anderson and Hugh Bonneville and was famous for playing the patriarch of another luxury hotel in Downton Abbey. It is said that movies are often shot in the palace, so the singer's visiting friends are often invited to board as extras.
Although the final decision on family property issues rests with Singh, he has involved his 4 1 year-old daughter Shivranjani Rajye in this business. They were very close, but she was the first to say that her new role was not planned by them.
Singh also has a son, Shifraj. Although she is one year younger than her sister, as a male heir, Shifra will inherit her father's title and all her property. Therefore, he also received training to take over his father's job. Until 2005, at the age of 29, he suffered a head injury while playing polo and slipped to A. Gaj Singh sighed and said, "It's pleated." . "This is an emotional and organizational derailment." Singh said that although his son is "in good shape" now, she is Shivranjani, petite, with a quick smile and thick black hair hanging down her shoulders. She participated in the museum trust. She also runs Jodhana Properties, an umbrella company that manages homestays and oversees the music festival currently held in forts.
Shivranjani is the least famous in the royal family. Unlike her brother, her social life is recorded in the tabloids, and she has almost no media. However, it is hard for her to be a wallflower: she is warm and charming and is considered more approachable than other family members. Wherever she goes, her lucky Jack Russell and Feifei (named after cocktails) will follow her.
Just as Singh's mother sent him abroad, he also took his children away from the palace, hoping to give them a normal childhood. His family spent their early years in Trinidad in the Caribbean, where Singh was a diplomat.
Shivranjani was only 6 years old when she returned to Jodhpur. The platform of the railway station was crowded with well-wishers, and her father was taken away in the wave of celebration. She said it was the first time she realized that he was a public figure. "I just cried," she recalled drinking tea in Umed Bawan's heritage room. "But my brother likes it very much. He knew it was a part of his life.