Answered By: Trez Jain,
Something about Indian royalty —
1. 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.
2. Nawab of Junagarh
was said to have owned 800 dogs, each with its individual human attendant.
And that's not all! When two of his favourite dogs mated, he
is said to have spent nearly Rs. 20-30 lakhs in “wedding” celebrations, and
also went on to proclaim the day as a state holiday.
3. The last Nizam of
Hyderabad, Mir Usman Ali Khan used the "Jacob Diamond," the fifth largest
diamond in the world as a humble paper weight!
The diamond is of the size of an ostrich egg, weighs 184.97
carats, is valued at over ₤5million and is currently owned by the Government of
India.
4. King Jai Singh of
Alwar had ordered a fleet of Rolls Royce only to use them as cleaning cars for
transporting the city's waste.
It is said that the king was insulted by a Rolls Royce
salesman on his visit to London because of which he decided to buy and use the
luxury cars as garbage trucks! That's one hell of a way to prove a point, and,
of course, he did stop the ordeal but only after Rolls Royce tendered an
official apology.
5. The Udaipur family
was so fascinated with crystals that the chairs, thrones, tables and even the
fans of their palace were studded with it.
6. 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.
7. The gate of the
Lalbagh Palace in Indore was crafted in London and then was shipped all the way
to Indore!
8. The first
president of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad entered the Rashtrapati Bhawan on the
silver chariot owned by the Maharaja of Patiala.
9. 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.
10. American
consulate in South Bombay was earlier the property of Maharaja Amar Sinh Zala
of Wankaner.
Spread over 10,000 square yards, the Wankaner House, was
built in the 1930s. It was sold for Rs. 18 crores ($ 4 million) in 1957 to the
American government as the royal family was not able to maintain such a
big property and there was huge tax due. Another property, Amar Building on
Firozsha Mehta Road in Bombay, also belonged to the Wankaner royals. It was
sold for Rs. 19 crores ($ 4.2 million) to the Government of India and now
houses the foreign exchange department of the Reserve Bank Of India.
11. Cooch Behar's
Maharani Indira Devi had ordered 100 pairs of shoes, some diamond studded, from
Italian shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo, one of the most famous designers of the
20th century.
12. Maharaja Sawai
Madho Singh II 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.
The vessels were made from 14,000 melted silver coins
without soldering and are officially recorded by the Guinness Book of World
Records as the world's largest sterling silver vessels.
Edit - Got some more
about Indian Nawabs!
1. Nizam Mir Osman
Ali Khan was listed as the 5th richest man in recorded history.
Fath Jang Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Asaf Jah VII, was ranked
at number 5 in the Forbes All-Time Wealthiest of 2008 with a net worth of 210
Billion USD. Just to give you a comparison, Bill Gates was ranked 20th. His
jewel collection alone stood at an estimated worth of £2 Billion.
To strike you with just an example of how wealthy he was, he
used a diamond, "The Jacob Diamond", that weighed 185 carats and was
worth £55 Million as a paperweight.
Source: Wikipedia
2. Nawab of Junagadh, Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III held
parties and weddings for his dogs.
Nawab Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III Rasul Khanji, the last
nawab of Junagadh, was known for his love for animals. He owned over 300 dogs
and celebrated their birthdays and marriages lavishly. Not just that, he worked
to prevent the extinction of the Asiatic Lions by preserving Gir Forest.
3. Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan had over 15,000 full-time employees
When he died in 1967, he had exactly 14,718 employees,
with 3000 Arab men alone guarding him at his palace, 28 employees to get
drinking water, and 38 to dust the chandeliers. Not just that, he had several
employees who would grind walnuts and had a few more to prepare beetle nuts for
him to chew.
4. Nawab of Awadh, Lucknow employed over 20,000 people
during a famine to ensure they didn't starve.
Nawab Muhammad Yahiya Meerza Amani Asaf-ud-Daula, was the
Nawab of Awadh in 1783 but under the rule of the British. This is when a famine
hit his reign. In order to employ people so they don't starve, he started the
construction of the now famous tourist attraction Bada Imambara.
He paid 20,000 people and made sure the construction lasted as long as the
famine did.
5. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is the reason behind the popularity
of Kathak as a dance form
It was because of his great passion and love for poetry,
rahas and kathak that Lucknow became to be known as the cultural center where
the most talented musicians, poets and dancers at the time performed. He
performed Kathak, his lyrical compositions and Rahas at the biggest tourist
attraction of Lucknow today, Qaisarbagh
Baradari.
