Sardar Singh of Jodhpur.
Nawab Saheb Mohammad Jamiyat Khanji Babi Bahadur of Balasinor.
HH Maharaja Sayaji Rao of Baroda.
HH Maharaja Saheb Gaj Sinhji of Jodhpur.
HH Maharaja Saheb Kishen Singhji of Bharatpur.
Nawabzadi Birjees Jehan Begum and Nawabzada Wahid uz Zafar Khan Bahadur of Bhopal.
Maharaja Shivaji Rao Bhonsle of Kohlapur.
Major General Maharaja Shri Ghulab Singhji Ju Deo Bahadur of Rewah.
Prince Jiwaji Rao Scindia.
Monarchy across the globe has one thing in common: their penchant for chronicling their lives pictorially. This love for documentation dates back to the 16th century. With art historians called miniature art as nothing but the deification of the king and a way to capture his life, be it on the battlefield or during festivals with his lover.
From miniature art, which was notional, Indian monarchs moved to portraiture under the influence of the British monarchy during the Raj era. The advent of photography and the arrival of photographers like Cecil Beaton, Raja Deen Dayal and Samuel Murray further consolidated this love for portraiture. Raja Ravi Verma from the Travancore Royal family took this obsession to a crescendo. Today, museums, palace homes, archives and art galleries are graced with many such rare images.
However, nothing gladdens the heart more than portraits of tiny princes and princesses dressed in all their regal finery. This collection of pictures posted by Aaliya Babi of Balasinor on the Facebook page ‘Bhopali Tales’ took my breath away and had me scroll through them again and again. I thank Aaliya, for this visual treat, and Raashid, for giving royals and nobles from across India a page they can call their own.
