Book Reviewed: Maharanis: The Extraordinary Tale of Four Indian Queens and Their Journey from Purdah to Parliament, by Lucy Moore

The Women of Royal India

This is a fascinating story of four maharanis who worked tirelessly to transition from a very chaotic final days of their kingdom and the British Raj into the modern democratic and secular India. For just over a century after the British invasion of India, India’s princely families lived in an extraordinary cocoon of privilege and magnificence, protected from mass democratization ushered in the modern era by their complex association with British Empire.

Author Lucy Moore’s narratives are exhaustive and the detail accounts gives us a good background in their upbringing and challenges the royal women faced as they grew up. Despite many advantages and upbringing in both Indian and European cultures, they had to live up to the traditions of a Hindu Royal family. Their opulent and sensual lifestyle with a penchant for flashing their jewelry was legendary. When the curtain came down, it diminished their power and authority. But they reckon, rejuvenate and come back to serve the people they long ignored. The four Maharanis discussed in this book comes from two families, the Royal Family of Cooch Behar and the Royal family of Baroda; Maharani Chimnabai (1872-1958), Princess Indira Raje, Maharani Sunity Devi, and Maharani Gayathri Devi. Maharani Chimnabai and Maharani Sunity Devi are the two matriarchs of their illustrious families and Maharani Chimnabai takes an active role in the struggle for India’s independence and work very closely with Mahatma Gandhi.

This book also reveals the frivolous side of the men and women of Indian royal families. Despite their traditions and strong culture, in all its richness and vitality, they were also vulnerable to the material things in life. Most of them lived in the lap of luxury, with a lavish life style both in India and Europe. They had a big circle of famous Indian and European friends, British Royalty, and other fabulous riches framed by the beauty and culture. These women enjoyed the best life could offer, but also handled the difficult times in their personal lives with mixed results. So many tragic deaths occurred in the three royal families of Baroda, Cooch Behar, and Jaipur. Alcohol was the main cause of sudden and tragic deaths in most cases. In some cases either they fell down the stairs, food poisoning or pneumonia. Yet Chimnabai, Sunity Devi, Indira Raje and Gayathri Devi were always not able to bond on the happiness they sought for themselves. However they did their best to bring that in the lives of many citizens. Despite their individual faults and weaknesses, these women lived up to their rank, believed passionately in the concept of duty that drove them. They were revolutionaries rising above the cultural limitations and helped society to accept gender equality and redefine the role of women in India. These are amazing stories which reads like fairy tales. It is highly engaging and written with passion for history.