Customer Reviews

Lives of the Indian Princes (Arena Books)

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I came upon this book by chance at a stall in Karachi and because I had read this author previously i knew that he is a master story teller. And I wasn't disappointed at all.

This book contains chapters marking various phases of a prince or maharaja's lives', as they used to live. Some were extremely rich, like the Nawab of Hyderabad; others were very simple; yet others wielded absolute love and respect among their own people. Author, without improving upon any thing said by the daughters and sons of actual maharajas, has told a series of fascinating and true stories of people and their times, which will never be replicated. These maharajas and maharanis came to an abrupt end when Indian govt. announced their demise within minutes one sad morning. But their lives and their palaces remain for all to gawk at. And today, besides Taj Mahal, these palaces remain India's chief tourism earner.

Read this fascinating book. You will be enchanted. Story telling is live and fabulous.

Just a quick note about this book I read while on vacation in India. There is no particular narrative, and this large collection of anecdotes is arranged by themes such as hunting, cooking, marriages, etc. A particular strength is that the authors have interviewed the descendants and survivors of the era of the Indian princes, lending a personal touch to many of the stories. In our modern era of overpaid sports stars and entertainment figures, one has to ask, has anyone ever truly "deserved" to be rich? For those who enjoy both "lifestyles of the rich and famous" and raj era Indian history, this is an entertaining read that is easy to pick up and drop when needed, or open at random for a few unbelievable stories of excess with some random examples of honor and nobility mixed in. I picked it up used in paperback for a few bucks and thought it was well worthwhile.