Royal contribution

It���s a generally accepted fact that in the annals of princely India, Maharani Gayatri Devi personified beauty, charm and poise. What���s not so well known is that she practically drew the curtains on the antediluvian, albeit quaint, custom of purdah or seclusion veiling, so very prevalent amongst the royal ladies in the tradition-bound 1940s. Now, it is true that in many ruling families, across India, the purdah system was followed in varying degrees of prudishness. Also, in cities like Calcutta or Bombay, or when the rajahs and maharajahs sojourned overseas with their consorts, purdah was either practically ignored or merely seen as a symbolic gesture. Besides, many royals were keen on breaking purdah. As early as 1925, in the General Policy Durbar in Gwalior, the Regent noted: ���I feel and would readily affirm that the non-observance of the purdah system is more advantageous than the observance thereof...��� Yet the practice continued amongst the royalty.

Well into the forties, the Maharani of Patiala, for one, rode, went on shooting expeditions and generally led a vigorous outdoor life ��� all in purdah! When she came along in town, her minders used to shout ���Bandobast! Bandobast!��� and the people were required to go off the road or look the other way! When Princess Gayatri Devi arrived in Jaipur as bride of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh, she was indeed driven in a car with curtained windows to Rambagh Palace. Soon however, she was eschewing purdah and organising the Women���s Red Cross. Maharaja himself was keen that other courtly ladies come out of purdah. He would on occasions hold receptions at Rambagh and enjoin the nobles to be present along with their better halves. But very few, if any, would do so. It was then that the Maharani remarked to her husband, ���nobody���s going to follow me. But give me a school and I promise you within ten years purdah will be broken.��� That���s how the Maharani Gayatri Devi School came up in Jaipur. It meant curtains for purdah post-haste!