HEDFAS

Harpenden Evening Decorative and Fine Arts Society

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Visit Reports

Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts. Our visit to the V&A Jan 7th 2010
“ . . the best of visits providing a glorious feast for the eyes as well as being thought provoking and informative.”

India, the jewel in the crown, the land of jewels.

Despite the snow our visit to this exhibition went ahead and our grateful thanks to Liz Crompton who organised the event for holding her nerve. We were repaid handsomely for braving the adverse weather conditions.

The exhibition admirably illustrated the spectacle of the splendour and magnificence of the maharajas with a richly caparisoned elephant on which the maharaja would ride surrounded by his attendants bearing the symbolic attributes of kingship. This was one of many similarly lavish examples which served also as symbolic representations of kingly duty and “darshan”, the propitious act of seeing and being seen by a superior being whether god or king. This was an integral aspect of kingship.

The presentation also re-examined the role of the maharajas in the cultural and political history of India. Internal conflicts created a power vacuum with newly formed states struggling for dominance and saw the rise of the East India Company which became a major military and political power. As India was subsumed under the rule of the Crown, known as the Raj, the Indian prices adapted and continued to maintain order within their states. Many were educated in England and accepted the British model of modernity. Many willingly signed the Instrument of Accession in 1947 which allowed them to retain their privileges. These were removed by Indira Gandhi in 1971.

Ros Battersby January 2010