In Udaipur the Royal Families act as the primary host to Queen Elizabeth II during her first visit to India.
The Delhi Durbars were held in 1903 and 1911. All the Rajas and Maharajas other than the Maharana of Mewar travelled to Delhi to pay their respects to the Crown. He wasn’t a part of this to show resistance against the British regime. But in 1961 when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip came to Udaipur, to restore the monarchy’s relation with this Royal House, Maharana of Mewar welcomed them.
Despite being the guest of the government of India in official capacity the royal family of India acted as the primary hosts. The current scion Mahendra Singh Mewar recalls this auspicious moment with pleasant thoughts saying that his father and his family had the great honour of welcoming the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to Udaipur. It was an occasion that will forever remain a part of history.
Witnessing History
Tej Singh of Bansi who was just a college student during the Queen’s visit, recalls how a few of the Umroas- who were the highest feudal barons of Mewar, came together at his family’s residence and travelled to Maharana’s Shiv Niwas palace together to meet the royal guests. Sawai Rawat Hari Singh Begu, Rajrana Himmat Singh Bari Sadri, Maharaj Karan Singh Karjali, and Rajrana Hari Singh Tana joined Rawat Hari Singh Bansi. All of them were dressed splendidly in a special attire and a unique headgear which was known as the Amar Sahi Paag paired with beautiful pastel colors of churidaars, angas and kamarbandhs.
The headgear had gone out of fashion a long time ago so it was a little difficult to get a hold of but after the nobles got dressed in it it came back into style again.
There was some ongoing talk about a German luxury vehicle which had been used as the mode for travel when the royal guests had made their visit to India previously. Out of respect to the British royalty Pushpendra Singh of Karjali’s father, Maharaj Karan Singh Karjali took it upon himself to travel to the palace for the royal meeting in his Rolls Royce Convertible. His elder brother got the marvellous opportunity to drive the royal guests, recalled Pushpendra Singh of Karjali.
While roaming through the streets and lanes of Udaipur in the state-of-the-art Cadillac and waving through a sea of people who had gathered to witness this occasion, the Queen’s parade arrived at the palace. The Maharana personally escorted the royal couple around the premises. The royal couple charmed the attendees. The Queen told the Maharana with such humility to lead the way and that he comes from a much older dynasty than she does.
Table Talk
The food for the guests was prepared by the Master of Ceremonies during the Queen’s visit, Maj. Gen. Rao Manohar Singh of Bedla. Experts were invited to prepare all kinds of dishes spread across a vast number of cuisines. The master of Ceremonies grandson Himmat Singh Bedla said that the house of Bedla was always known for its culinary expertise and his grandfather personally checked the menu for all the dignitaries that visited Mewar. The Queen was so impressed that she gave a cold coin to one of the cooks who had made a special dish of taro root carved in the shape of a fish.
The Queen seems to have carried and cherished the memories she made during her trip to Mewar. When Raghavraj Singh of Shivrati was invited to Prince William’s wedding he got an opportunity to meet the Queen. According to him the Queen has been an epitome of the bond between the past and the present.
Her death marks the end of an era.
Garden City
Among the many places Queen Elizabeth II visited, Bengaluru was one of them. In Karnataka she was welcomed by the head of the Mysuru Royal Family, Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadeyar. The Rajya Pramukh of the state received the Queen at the airport. Hundreds of people had gathered to catch a glimpse of her. She was then taken to the Residency which is currently known as the Raj Bhavan. The event was made grand with the little resources that were available. She spent the night in Cubbon Bungalow in Nandi Hills. The Mysuru Maharaja is said to have given the Queen a copy of the Bible, translated in Hindi.
