Life's and exploit of india's colourful rulers

India has seen numerous Kings and Queens; obviously, these rulers battled fights, worked for the welfare of their kingdom, fabricated excellent gigantic castles and managed numerous different issues, however their private lives were very colourful and intriguing as well. Indeed, they managed to keep their secrets hidden for long during their reign, however, there were some eavesdroppers within the royal walls, who knew everything after all india is the land of kamasutra and Kohinoor so splurging came naturally to the ruling class whether palaces or Jewellery or cars or women .  Their exploit will dwarf the like of antillia and other modern day billionaires . 

Some of the classics are 

Firuz Shah Tughlaq

675 years prior in the year 1354, the Firoz Shah Palace Complex was worked in Hisar, Haryana. Ruler Firuz Shah Tughlaq had assembled this for his escort Gujri. This is the motivation behind why this royal residence is otherwise called Gujri Mahal.

The tale is traced back to the time, when Tughlaq was not named the King, but was still a Prince. And, as that he was very fond of hunting activities. Deep inside the jungles was a place, where people abandoned by their families use to live. A woman named Gujri, used to come there daily to sell milk and earn her living. This was where Firoz met Gujri, fell for her.

From that point forward, he continued going to the wilderness to meet her. She soon became his escort. When he requested her to accompany him to the honored position at Delhi, she refused. So, to be able to meet her, he built a fort especially for her in Hisar (city) and had ordered a palace for himself around the Gujri Mahal.

Maharana Kumbha, Rajasthan

As indicated by legend, in 1443, Rana Kumbha, the Maharana of Kumbhalgarh, was at first over and again unsuccessful in his endeavors to construct the fort walls of Kumbhalgarh fort.

He was secretly advised by a spiritual leader to offer a human sacrifice; to build the walls at the place where the person's head would fall and fort around the place where the body would fall. It is said he secretly killed thousands of men to pave the way for fort walls.

Akbar

He remained illiterate and uneducated all his life as he occupied the throne at the early age of 13 years after his father(Humayun) died. Akbar married hundred of times. But the shocking fact is  that Akbar had around 300 official wives and over 5000 concubines. Akbar often used real dancing girls as chess pieces and an entire garden as a chessboard. Akbar sat high in a marble tower calling each move from his throne and watching the beautiful living pieces whirl from square to square. 

Shah Jahan

While a great many people know Taj Mahal, the famous mausoleum in Agra, India, as a landmark of adoration symbolizing the endless love of a Mughal ruler Shah Jahan towards his significant other Mumtaz. But not many know that this is also a symbol of death caused by childbirth.

The true fact is that Mumtaz died at the age of 39, after giving birth to her 14th child with Shah Jahan. As she was Shah Jahan's favorite of all and praised for her beauty, he never had a child with any other wife but Mumtaz. She died due to complications caused by repeated births in short whiles. But he immediately married one of his cousins, after his wife's death to ward off his sorrow; he was married to 8 women.

Maharaj Kishan Sigh of Bharatpur

There have been numerous lords in Rajasthan who wound up plainly world acclaimed because of their impulses. One such lord was Kishan Singh, the Maharaja of Bharatpur. Kishan Singh was infamous for his lecherous nature and cynicism. He married not 1 or 2 but had 40 chief consorts in total.

Kishan Singh was extremely partial to swimming. To satisfy this enthusiasm, he would do anything on the planet. In this way, he manufactured an expansive lake of pink marble and made a staircase of sandalwood to enter the lake. Twenty sandalwood sticks were set such that two rulers could remain on one stick effortlessly.

Kishan Singh would order all his consorts rulers to stand on on the staircase without their clothing. When he would enter the pool, each of his queens would welcome him standing exposed. While entering the pool, the ruler would push one of them and take one other in his arms. Until the last stair, the ruler would play with every one of them.

Every one of these Queens was supposed to carry candles in their hands, and any source of light apart from the candle was put off. Then these Queens would perform a dance holding the candles in their hand. Only the one, who would have the candle lit until the end would get the chance to sleep with the King that night.

Maharaj Bhupinder of Patiala

The most colourful of the indian maharajas who have been documented .

He was a kinky sort of Royal who had 88 known children and a large harem of wives. Once a year he used to parade naked before them to assure them that he was very much alive and well.

In 1926, Cartier received a trunk full of precious stones and jewelry belonging to Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, who wanted them to be remounted in Parisian style. The creation that emerged is the world famous Patiala necklace that still remains one of the grandest pieces of jewelry ever made by Cartier, perhaps even by any other jewelry brand.

- First person in India to own an aircraft.
- Built the highest cricket ground at Chail.
- First monorail in India at Patiala.
- Donated the Ranji Trophy, named after Maharaja Ranjitsinhji of Nawanagar.
- Founded the State Bank of Patiala in 1917.
- The first automobile in India, a French made De Dion Bouton was, in fact, imported by the state of Patiala in 1892. for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh.
he used to eat an omelette made out of 24 eggs.
his highness was known for his lavish lifestyle and used to throw parties. While liquor was served and consumed in limitless manner in such parties, normal 30ml or 60 ml serving glasses could not suffice Punjabi folks. That's how Patiala peg, the largest of the liquor glasses came into usage......cheers

The Maharaja of Patiala kept a team of French, British and Indian plastic surgeons on standby to alter the physiognomies of his favourite women in his harem, according to his fluctuating tastes or the dictates of the London fashion magazines.

Centrepiece of the great Sikh Maharaja of Patiala’s collection was a pearl necklace insured by Lloyds for one million dollars. The most intriguing item was a diamond breastplate composed of 1001 brilliantly matched blue-white diamonds

In 1935, he is said to have insisted on meeting Hitler when in Berlin. The Fuhrer seemed to have taken such a liking to the Maharaja that he gifted him a personalised edition of a ceremonial Maybach.

Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II

He had ordered the craftsman of Jaipur to create two huge sterling silver vessels so that he could carry Ganga Jal along with him on his trip to England.

Saddiq Muhammad Khan Abassi IV, the Nawab of Bahawalpur

The nawab ordered 290 kilos of chased and engraved sterling silver in the form of garlands in leaf and foliage in relief. Ingenious mechanics allowed the statues to wave.

Nizam of Hyderabad

Tales of his insecurity reached to the ears of whole nation, when it was revealed that his fear of losing his wealth to the government, made him hid it all in trucks that later got infested by termites and moths.

Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi

 was the last Nizam of the Princely State of Hyderabad who was declared as the world’s richest Indian ever in 1940s. During that time he was a billionaire owning 2 billion dollars (almost 2% of the US economy in those times). He used this money to buy the largest diamond in the world, the Jacob Diamond, which is worth $200 million and used it as a paperweight.

The Wodeyar family

took over the Mysore Empire after killing its king. However, the queen managed to escape and was captured after a few days. But the queen committed suicide in Cauvery River and cursed Wodeyar family to an heirless future. After her suicide, the family installed her statue and worshipped her. Her statue is worshipped as a deity to date, in the palace.

Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore, had ordered a customized Rolls Royce to shield his servants from the sun.

Crafted in 1911, the car recently went under the hammer in August 2011 and fetched over ₤400,000. At the time of his death in 1940, the maharaja was one of the world's wealthiest men and was valued at nearly ₤35billion.

Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur

She was one of the most beautiful women of the Royal families of India. Tragedy struck this legendary beauty twice, first by taking away her husband who died in an accident while playing polo; and second, her son’s demise in 1997. Maharani Gayatri Devi, also known as Rajmata of Jaipur, was included in ‘The Ten Most Beautiful Women Of The World' list by the Vogue Magazine in 1960s.

Maharani Indira Devi, mother of Gayatri Devi, was a fashion connoisseur. The Queen of Cooch Behar ordered 100 pairs of shoes from Salvatore Ferrogamo (one of the most famous designers of 20th century). Some of those shoes were studded with diamonds.

Jaipur Royalty

The treasure of the Maharaja of Jaipur was buried in a Rajasthan hillside, the site guarded from generation to generation by the Meena tribe. Only a few people knew the location and that didn’t include anyone from the royal family. Each Maharaja was allowed to visit the site once in his lifetime to select the stones which he wanted to keep. Among its marvels was a necklace composed of three tiers of rubies each the size of a pigeon’s egg and three enormous emeralds, the largest of which weighed 90 carats

Nawab of Junagarh

It is said that he owned 800 dogs, each with its individual human attendant. When two of his favorite dogs mated he spent lakhs on their “marriage” celebration. A dog lover in the truest sense, the Nawab of Junagarh, Mahabat Khan Rasul Khan owned 800 dogs and each dog had a personal attendant.  He was probably the only king who would get his dogs married and throw magnificent galas. On one such occasion, he even invited the Viceroy of India - Lord Irwin. However the invitation was declined politely . And that's not all! When two of his favourite dogs mated, he is said to have spent nearly Rs. 30 lakhs in “wedding” celebrations, and also went on to proclaim the day as a state holiday.

When India attained independence, the rulers of the princely states had 3 options.

To merge with India

To merge with Pakistan

To remain as an independent state.

Nawab of junagadh didn't want to merge his kingdom with India, instead he wanted to merge it with Pakistan. Since there was added pressure from all sides, he couldn't do as he wished. So he left for Pakistan with his riches, his dogs and all but forgot to take his wife and children with him.

King Jai Singh of Alwar

 As the story goes, in 1920, the Maharaja of Alwar, a fabulously wealthy ruler hose name was Jai Singh Prabhakar, visited London, and one day decided to walk around the city “incognito,” wearing ordinary English clothes. Passing by a Rolls Royce showroom, Jai Singh decided to go inside. He asked the staff about the specifications of the Rolls Royce cars and their prices. However, the salesmen just saw a man with the face of an Indian. Ignoring his request for a test drive, the staff went so far as to rudely show the Maharaja out the door.

This treatment naturally made him furious. The Maharaja got back to his hotel and asked for an official visit of the Indian king to the Rolls Royce showroom to be arranged. When he appeared in his formal outfit, dressed in sparkling clothes and jewelry, the Maharaja was welcomed with a red carpet and employees standing on both sides of it paying their respects to the king.

Jai Singh spent more than two hours in the showroom, trying all the six models exhibited. In the end, he purchased all of the cars in the showroom. And he paid for them all right away, including the cash for the costs of delivery. When he returned to India, Jai Singh Prabhakar gave an order to the Municipality in New Delhi to use the cars for collecting garbage. So, there were six brand-new Rolls Royce models sweeping the streets of New Delhi, and carrying the garbage away.

Rolls Royce was humiliated and upset about the Maharaja’s treatment of its cars. Apparently, the reputation of the company suffered because of this event in New Delhi. “Oh, the same car used in India for carrying garbage” became a sentence associated with Rolls Royce. The story continues that the King received a telegram with apologies from Rolls Royce for the way the employees behaved towards him. The car executives pleaded for him to stop using the vehicles for transporting garbage and also sent him a gift of another six cars. Satisfied that a lesson had been learned, Jai Singh granted their request.

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Lucknow

It is said that when in 1853 Britishers tried to annexe Lucknow on the basis of bad administration, people of Lucknow became furious and revolted. To control the situation Britishers exercised police action and when police was sent to the palace of nawab wajid ali , everyone fled from palace except wajid ali sah who was sitting with one shoe in his foot and other lying beside.

When police asked him why you didn't run?? Wajid ali sah replied, “ my servant fled after putting shoe in my one foot only , how can I run without shoes in my both foot .”

Thn police asked him, “ why you didn't put your second shoe on your own??”

Wajid ali sah replied, “ I am the nawab of awadh…how can I put my shoes on my own”:-p

Finally police arrested him and Britishers sent him to Kolkata.

The luxury mega-brand, Louis Vuitton, always took pride in crafting something unique for Jagatjit Singh, the Maharaja of Kapurthala.

An avid traveller, Jagjit Singh owned over 60 large Louis Vuitton trunks that would hold his clothes, paraphernalia, swords, turbans, suits, shoes and elaborate traditional dresses.

The first president of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad entered the Rashtrapati Bhawan on the silver chariot owned by the Maharaja of Patiala.

Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil

He was the only Royal to have accepted in public that he was gay. Unfortunately, he was later disowned by his family, accusing him of bringing dishonor to the clan.