A golden soup spoon meant to let the diner consume the soup, without wetting the moustache; a dining table meant to sit 101 guests in a room with acoustics such that even when you whisper at one end of the table, the person on the other end can hear you or wearing a customised fragrance royal lifestyle and its grandeur have been the subject of tales for centuries. The focus on intricacy, details and finesse often leads the Maharajas to splurge profusely.
Royal lifestyles have been the treasure trove of secrets. Amrita Gandhi, host of the popular television series, Royal Reservations and author of the book, Live like a Maharaja: How to Turn Your Home into a Palace (published by Penguin India) has been a welcome guest to royal families all over India. Recalling some of the interesting tales from the royal households, she says, “Indira Raje (mother of Maharani Gayatri Devi) went on to become one of India’s biggest royal trendsetters. She married the young prince of Cooch Behar. After her husband died, she chose to only wear a white sari. But Ritu Kumar informs me that she was particular that she got her nine-yard white chiffon sari woven in Lyon, France the finest chiffon you could find. The glamorous, clinging appeal of the sheer, veil like chiffon made it the fabric of choice for princely women.” The love affair of the royal woman with chiffon from Lyon continued long after. Adds Amrita, “Rajmata Shubhangini Raje Gaekwad of Baroda showed me a few of her old brocade-border chiffons. Each of these saris had its border custom-woven in Varanasi matching the pattern of the saris.”
In most royal households, each person wore his or her own fragrance. “In 1938, Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar, father of Richard Holkar created a winter fragrance to be worn, when he would be celebrating the New Year at Paris. It is said the attar made of a blend of Indore sambac jasmine and Haldighat rose, made him think about the Malwa winter back home,” she informs.
Royal men wore jewellery much more than the woman and were particular about getting authentic stuff. Amrita writes in her book, “They collected and commissioned pieces from luxury design houses like Vaan Cleef and Arpels, Cartier and Boucheron…. The bib of platinum and diamond chains known as Patiala necklace, Baroda’s famous seven-strand diamond necklace and Golconda diamond ‘pears’ all lent their owners an immensely impressive appearance.”
Another story that Amrita fondly remembers is of the golden soup spoon of Maharaja Ganga Singhji. “Exclusively crafted for him, it had in its scoop, a golden bar that outlined the curl of his moustache absolutely perfectly. When he drank his soup, the moustache stayed pristine and did not get wet,” she exclaims.
Food and dining was always larger than life, especially with the Nizams of Hyderabad. Talking about the level of detailing and the long dining table meant for 101 guests at the Falaknuma Palace, Amrita shares, “According to legends, large joints of meat and seafood were cooked in ways that resembled the murals painted on the dining room walls. A 101 bone china platters, a 101 crystal glasses and a 101 sets of gold-plated cutlery were laid out. Amid the opulence of the Nizam’s tables, is the perfect symmetry achieved using a ruler and yarn so that every fork, spoon and knife, is laid a certain number of inches from the edge of the table.”
In the land of kings and queens, life was all about opulence and grandeur cleverly in congruence with precision and detailing.
