Gayatri Devi
| Gayatri Devi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| The Princess in her early years. | |
| Tenure | 1940−1970 |
| Issue | |
| Prince Jagat Singh | |
| Father | Prince Jitendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur of Cooch Behar |
| Mother | Princess Indira Raje Gaekwad ofBaroda |
| Born | 23 May 1919 London |
| Died | 29 July 2009 (aged 90) Jaipur |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Gayatri Devi (23 May 1919 − 29 July 2009), often styled as Maharani Gayatri Devi,Rajmata of Jaipur, was born as Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch Behar. She was the third Maharani of Jaipur from 1939 to 1970 through her marriage to HH Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II.[1]
Following India's independence and the subsequent abolition of the princely states, she became an extremely successful politician. Gayatri Devi was also celebrated for herclassical beauty and became something of a fashion icon in her adulthood. She has been counted in 'The Ten Most Beautiful Women of the World' along with actress Leela Naidu by the Vogue Magazine.
She died on 29 July 2009 in Jaipur, at the age of 90. She was suffering from paralytic ileusand lung infection.[2]
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[hide]Early life[edit]
Ethnically born in a Koch Rajbongshi Hindu family, her father, Prince Jitendra Narayan ofCooch Behar, West Bengal, was the younger brother of the Yuvraja (Crown Prince). Her mother was Maratha Princess Indira Raje of Baroda, the only daughter of Maratha King, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, an extremely beautiful princess and a legendary socialite. Early in her life, her uncle's death led to her father ascending the throne (gaddi). Gayatri Devi studied at Glendower Preparatory School in London,[3] Patha Bhavana of Visva-Bharati University, Shantiniketan,[4] and later in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she travelled with her mother and siblings, then studied secretarial skills in London School of Secretaries; Brilliantmont and Monkey Club London.
She first met Jai (H.H. Saramad-i-Raja-i-Hindustan Raj Rajendra Sri Maharajadhiraja Sir Sawai Man Singh IIof Jaipur), when she was 12 and he had come to Calcutta to play polo and stayed with their family.[5] She married Sawai Man Singh II Bahadur on 9 May 1940.[citation needed]
Maharani Gayatri Devi (as she was styled after marriage) was a particularly avid equestrienne. Maharani Gayatri was an excellent rider and an able Polo player. She was a good shot and enjoyed many days out on 'Shikars'. Her Highness was fond of cars and is credited with importing the first W126, a 500 SEL to India which was later shipped to Malaysia. Gayatri Devi had one child, Prince Jagat Singh of Jaipur, late Raja of Isarda, born on 15 October 1949, who was granted his uncles's (father's elder brother) fief as a subsidiary title. Jagat Singh was thus half-brother to Bhawani Singh of Jaipur.
Gayatri Devi started schools for girls' education in Jaipur, most prominent of which is the Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ Public Schoolestablished in 1943.[7] She also revived and promoted the dying art of blue pottery.
Political career[edit]
After Partition and Independence Day in India in 1947, Gayatri Devi ran for Parliament in 1962 and won the constituency in the Lok Sabha in the world's largest landslide, winning 192,909 votes out of 246,516 cast,[8] confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records. She continued to hold this seat on 1967 and 1971, Swatantra Party of C. Rajagopalachari, the second Governor-General of Independent India,[4] running against the Congress Party.
When the privy purses were abolished in 1971, terminating all royal privileges and titles, Gayatri Devi was accused of violating tax laws, and served 5 months in Tihar Jail. She retired from politics and published her autobiography, A Princess Remembers, written with Santha Rama Rau, in 1976. She was also the focus of the film Memoirs of a Hindu Princess, directed by Francois Levie.
There were rumors that she might re-enter politics as late as 1999, when the Cooch Behar Trinamool Congress nominated her as their candidate for the Lok Sabha elections, but she did not respond to the offer.[9]
Family[edit]
She had one son, Prince Jagat Singh, late Raja of Isarda(15 October 1949 - 5 February 1997), who was granted his paternal uncle's (father's elder brother) fief of Isarda as a subsidiary title. Jagat Singh was married 10 May 1978 to Mom Rajawongse Priyanandana Rangsit (b. 1952) who is the daughter of Prince Piyarangsit Rangsit and Princess Vibhavadi Rangsit (née Rajani) of Thailand. The marriage produced two grandchildren:
- Rajkumari Lalitya Kumari (b. 1979)
- Maharaj Devraj Singh, now Raja of Isarda (b. 1981)
Today, they are her only surviving descendants, and as such, have claimed to be heirs of their paternal grandmother. Maharaj Jagat Singh was thus half-brother to Bhawani Singh of Jaipur, the eldest son of the late Maharaja by his first wife, a Jodhpur princess.
Family relationships[edit]
Maharani Gayatri Devi was related to several other erstwhile royal families in India. She was herself not from Rajput royalty, but from a dynasty native to Koch Bihar in Bengal and was daughter of Maharaja Jitendra Narayan and Maharani Indira Raje, who was daughter ofMaharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III and Maharani Chimnabai belonging to the Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas. Her gran-nephew, along with his wife(Poonam singh mewar)and 2 sons deceased in a car crash 17 years ago.
Her grandfather-grandmother were the Maharaja Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur and Maharani Suniti Devi of Cooch Behar. Maharani Suniti Devi was the daughter of illustrious Brahmo social reformer Keshab Chandra Sen.
She had two brothers, Jagaddipendra Narayan and Indrajitendra Narayan of whom Jagaddipendra Narayan became Maharaja of Koch Behar in his infancy after death of their father in 1922.
Thus she was closely connected maternally with Gaekwads of Baroda State. Further, her sister Ila Devi was married into Tripura royal family, and her younger sister Menaka Devi was married in Dewas Jr. State. Thus through various inter connections, she was related to royal houses of Kota, Sawantwadi, Akkalkot State, Jath State, Dewas Jr., Jasdan, and Sandur, Tehri-Garhwal, Dhar State, Kolhapur,Lunawada, Baria and also Raja of Burudwan and Raja of Payagpur, which was normal amongst the royalties of India.
Death[edit]
The Maharani developed gastric problems in London and was admitted to a hospital there. She was being treated for gastric disorder at the King Edward’s Hospital in London and had expressed her desire to return to Jaipur. Gayatri Devi was flown in an air ambulance to Jaipur. She was admitted at Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital (SDMH) on 17 July 2009. She died on 29 July 2009, reportedly due to lung failure.
Her death came a day after the passing away of actress Leela Naidu, both of whom were named by Vogue as amongst the 10 most beautiful women in the world. Maharani Gayatri Devi died on 29 July 2009 at the age of 90.[10][11]
FAMILY TREE:
Keshab Chandra Sen
|
|
Suniti Devi-----Nripendra Narayan
|
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| | | | | | |
Rajendra Narayan Jitendra Narayan---Indira Raje Victor Hitendra Pratibha Sudhira Sukriti
| Nityendra Narayan Devi Devi Devi
| Narayan
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | | |
Jagaddipendra Indrajitendra Ila Gayatri --- Sawai Man Singh II Menaka Devi
Narayan Narayan Devi Devi |
|
Jagat Singh
Leela Naidu
| Leela Naidu | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | 1940 |
| Died | 28 July 2009 (aged 69) Mumbai |
| Occupation | Actor, Model[citation needed] |
| Years active | 1960–1992 |
Leela Naidu (Telugu: లీలా నాయుడు) (1940 – 28 July 2009) was an Indian actress who starred in a small number of Hindi and English films, including Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke(1963), based on the real-life Nanavati case, and The Householder, Merchant Ivory Productions' first film. She was Femina Miss India in 1954, and was featured in the Voguealong with Maharani Gayatri Devi in the list of 'World's Ten Most Beautiful Women', a list she was continuously listed from the 1950s to the 1960s in prominent fashion magazines worldwide. She is remembered for her stunning classical beauty and subtle acting style.
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[hide]Early life[edit]
Leela Naidu was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India to Dr. Pattipati Ramaiah Naidu, a well known nuclear physicist from Madanapalle, Chittoor Dist., Andhra Pradesh, who worked under the supervision of Nobel LaureateMarie Curie for his doctoral thesis in Paris and ran one of her labs. He set up medical radiation equipment devised at the Curie Institute in the United States and India. He had to leave laboratory research after getting cancer from working with radioactive materials. He was Scientific Advisor to UNESCO for Southeast Asia, and later, an advisor to the Tata group. Her mother, journalist and Indologist Dr. Marthe Mange Naidu, was of Swiss-French origin, and earned her Ph.D. from the Sorbonne.[1][2][dubious ]. She was the only surviving child out of eight pregnancies as Marthe had seven miscarriages. In her 2009 semi-biography of anecdotes co-authored withJerry Pinto, it was related that her grandfather on her mother's side owned a factory where he fired a young Benito Mussolini for beating up a coworker, and her grandmother had a strange interlude with a Russian prince who was their next door neighbour who later turned out to be one of Rasputin's assassins.
On her father's side, her aunt was Indian independence fighter Sarojini Naidu and she was thus well acquainted growing up with and knowing prominent Indians like Gandhi, Nehru, and Indira Gandhi to name a few.
Career[edit]
Leela Naidu was crowned Femina Miss India in 1954, and the same year was featured in Vogue magazine's list of the world's ten most beautiful women.[1][3]
Film career[edit]
Naidu made her film debut alongside Balraj Sahni in Anuradha (1960), directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Mukherjee cast Naidu in the role after he happened to see one of her pictures taken by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.[4] Though it was not successful at the box office, the film went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, and garnered Naidu critical acclaim. The movie's music, including the songs Haye re woh din kewn na aaye, Jaane kaise sapnon mein kho gayin ankhiyan and Kaise din beete kaisi beeti raatein, were composed by sitar maestro Ravi Shankar.[5] Naidu's next film was Nitin Bose's Ummeed (1962), alongside Ashok Kumar and Joy Mukherjee.
She played an offbeat role as an adulterous wife in Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke (1963), directed by R. K. Nayyar.[6] The movie, which co-starred Sunil Dutt and Rehman, was based on the real life case K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra.[1][4] Despite its topical nature and controversial theme, the movie flopped; however, some of its songs, notably "Ye Khaamoshiyaan, Ye Tanahaaiyaan," became quite popular.[7]
In 1963, Naidu played the lead role of a rebellious young bride in the first Merchant Ivory film, The Householder, directed by James Ivory. According to Leela in her 2009 semi-biography, Ismail Merchant and James Ivory had approached her about making their first ever feature movie with a story about an archaeologist but this fell through as the backers did not like the film script. She then suggested to Merchant-Ivory, making a movie about a book called The Householder by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala which led to their introduction to Ruth and a fruitful lifelong partnership. Satyajit Ray loaned his crew, got many of the actors he used in his movies to act in this movie, selected the music and musicians, and re-cut and reedited the final version, thus guiding and teaching Merchant-Ivory in movie making technique which they successfully used in their award winning movies and documentaries in the future.
After watching her performance in the The Householder, Satyajit Ray who had actually assisted and guided Merchant-Ivory in their first film venture planned an English film, The Journey, with Marlon Brando, Shashi Kapoor and Naidu, but sadly the film was never made.[8]She was considered for the role of Rosie in Vijay Anand's Guide (1965), but the role required a trained dancer, and so Naidu lost out toWaheeda Rehman. Her last film in Hindi mainstream cinema was Baghi (1964) a costume extravaganza co-starring Pradeep Kumar,Vijaya Choudhury, and Mumtaz.
Later, Naidu made a guest appearance in the Merchant-Ivory film, The Guru (1969).[9] She returned to cinema in 1985 to play a Goanmatriarch in Shyam Benegal's period film, Trikaal.[10] Her appearance in Electric Moon (1992), directed by Pradip Krishen, turned out to be her last cinematic role.
She turned down Raj Kapoor four times when he approached her for casting her in his films.
In September 2009, Lila, a documentary on Leela Naidu's life, by Bidisha Roy Das and Priyanjana Dutta was released.[11]
Personal life[edit]
In 1956, at the age of 17, she married Tilak Raj Oberoi, son of Mohan Singh Oberoi, the founder of the luxury Oberoi Hotels chain.[12]Tilak Raj, known as "Tikki", was 33 years old at the time.[12][13] Naidu and Oberoi had twin daughters, Maya and Priya. The brief marriage ended in divorce, and Oberoi won custody of the girls. Subsequently, Naidu met philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti while in London, and was deeply attracted to his teachings.[14] In 1969, she was married for the second time, to Mumbai poet Dom Moraes. They lived in Hong Kong, New York, New Delhi, and Mumbai for about 25 years. After the relationship ended, Naidu led a somewhat reclusive life in Colaba, Mumbai.[15]
Her grandsons are Adam, Maya's son, and Erwan, Priya's son. Priya died of a heart attack on February 8, 2008. Naidu also has a god-daughter of four decades, Oopali Operajita, whom she met at Rishi Valley School, who is a Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University, a celebrated classical Odissi dancer, and a Senior Adviser to several of India's prominent leaders in the Lok Sabha.
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