It was in this palace that the Maharani of Jaipur Gayatri Devi spent her childhood. She was the grand daughter of HH Maharaja Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, and daughter of Maharaja Jitendra Narayan and Maharani Indira Devi (princess of Baroda)
She was listed by Vogue as one of the ten most beautiful women of the world. At the age of 19, Princess Gayatri fell in love with Man Singh, the heir to the Jaipur throne, when they met at Calcutta. He was much senior to her and was already married at that time. After much persuasion, her determination led her parents to accept their relationship, and they finally married in the year 1939. The last Maharaja of Cooch Behar was her brother Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan.
Under an agreement between the kings of Cooch Behar and the Indian Government at the end of British rule, Maharaja Jagaddipendra Narayan transferred full authority, jurisdiction and power of the state to the Dominion Government of India, effective 12 September 1949. Cooch Behar District became a part of the state of West Bengal on 19 January 1950, with Cooch Behar town as its headquarters.
As the days passed, the Princely state of Cooch Behar lost many of its treasured possessions, in the sands of time, leaving behind their traces in the pages of history. A few of them are mentioned below:
1. The royal throne of Cooch Behar: It was made of solid silver with statues of Lion on four sides and placed on a large wooden stand. It could be assembled and dismantled as desired. It was placed in the large durbar hall of the Palace. It belonged to the time of Maharaja Visva Singha, the founder of Cooch Behar. Only a black and white picture from 1903 is available today.
2. It is not known to many that Maharani Indira Devi was the first Indian woman to get herself a pair of shoes designed by the Italian stalwart luxury shoe maker Salvatore Ferragamo in the year 1938. The footwear was cork wedge heeled and encrusted with rubies, emeralds and other precious stones. 72 years later Priyanka Chopra was the second Indian to own a Ferragamo pair, custom made by the Italian shoe giant in the year 2010. Evidently, our Maharani’s fashion sense was quite ahead of her time. Nobody knows where the iconic shoe might be today.
Maharani Gayatri Devi
Maharani Gayatri Devi with her husband on their wedding day
The Cooch Behar Throne
AROUND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD