Book Description

This book evokes the romance of the rugged desert kingdom of Bikaner and its royal family. In the midst of the large and mysterious sands of the Thar Desert rises the imposing beauty of the Lallgarh Palace, Bikaner. Stories whispered by the wind as it frolicked and raged over the long caravans that crawled across this mighty desert, have been caught and penned by Princess Rajyashree Kumari of Bikaner. Built in 1902 by architect Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, as residence for Maharaja Ganga Singh, Lallgarh Palace is one of the best examples of Indo-Saracenic architecture amalgamating the best of Rajput, Muslim and European styles. Built by local craftsmen in Dulmera red sandstone, its carved arches display the mastery of the local artisans. This book is an enchanting tale by Princess Rajyashree Kumari of her royal family as they lived and played over five generations in the backdrop of the imposing beauty of Lallgarh Palace. In this intriguing story of a princess, Rajyashree recounts her life growing up in the Lallgarh Palace. The little known customs and traditions that prevailed in the Royal House of Bikaner and yet untold episodes from the lives of the great Maharajas in her family. Now converted into a luxury Heritage Hotel, her story holds you spellbound as you relive the days when the grand courtyards and imposing lawns rang with the pomp and pageantry of royal durbars. The magnificence of the gilded age of the Maharajas, the sheer luxury and laughter of its resplendent visitors, men from the pages of history, Lord Curzon, its first visitor, King George V, Lord Mountbatten all come alive as she recounts their visits bringing it to the present day. The secrets and mysteries of the House of Bikaner long since buried in the shifting sand dunes are brought to life by Princess Rajyashree Kumari, who has actually lived them. Rajyashree Kumari of Bikaner was born in Bombay on June 4, 1953 and spent her childhood between her family homes in Bikaner and New Delhi. She is the daughter of Maharaja Dr. Karni Singhji and Maharani Sushila Kumariji. Maharaja Dr. Karni Singhji taught her to shoot at the age of six years and she won her first medal in 1960 aged seven. During her sporting career spanning 20 years, she represented India in the World Shooting Championship at San Sebastian, Spain where she was placed 8th in the world and was awarded the silver badge and the Second Asian Shooting Championship at Seoul in Korea where she won a bronze medal in the team event. She was awarded the “Arjuna Award†in 1969 by the then President of India Shri V. V. Giri. Her other interests include the preservation of heritage properties and ancestral forts and palaces that belong to the Bikaner family. She is a Life member of INTACH, and is the chairperson of the six public charitable trusts set up by her late father Maharaja Dr. Karni Singhji that carry out numerous charitable and other philanthropic works in Bikaner. In 1999 she founded Maharaja Dr. Karni Singhji Memorial Foundation in the memory of her late father. Contents Foreword. Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. Junagarh Fort the ancestral home of my family. 2. Lallgarh Palace. 3. Laxmi Niwas the South Wing of the Lallgarh Palace. 4. Sadul Niwas the West Wing of the Lallgarh Palace. 5. Karni Niwas the North Wing of the Lallgarh Palace. 6. Shiv Villas the East Wing of the Lallgarh Palace. 7. Lallgarh Palace complex. 8. From one doll's house to another. 9. Family members who lived in Lallgarh Palace. Glossary. Bibliography. Index.