Jaipur: Charismatic former royal Rajmata Gayatri Devi, who had an eventful stint in politics and was
jailed during Emergency, died at a hospital here today
following prolonged illness.
She was 90. Once listed among the `World`s Ten Most Beautiful
Women` by Vogue magazine and a style icon during her time,
Devi was the founder of the Swatantra Party and a member of
the third and fourth Lok Sabha.
She was admitted to Satokben Durlabh Memorial Hospital
early this month and was discharged a few days ago but was
readmitted yesterday for chest infestion.
"She recovered from her gastrointestinal problems but
yesterday she was detected with a lung infection. Her
condition deteriorated this morning and she succumbed to her
illness," Dr Subhash Kala, who was attending on her, said.
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh mourned the death of Gayatri Devi. "I convey my heartfelt condolences to her family and friends. I pray for peace of the departed soul," he said.
He said Gayatri Devi, who was popularly known as Rajmata, was a "close friend and an exceptional human being".
In his message, he recalled Gayatri Devi entered politics in the 1960s and was elected to the Lok Sabha for three terms.
"In her public life she worked with devotion for the socio-economic development of her people. She was an international celebrity, named in a list of the ten most beautiful women of her time."
"She contributed substantially to the cause of the uplift of the girl child. She also promoted the dying art of blue pottery in Rajasthan," he said.
Maharani Gayatri Devi was one of the
few royals whose liberal outlook took her well beyond the
traditionally limited activities of a Queen mother and won
unprecedented success in the political arena which was the
envy of even former US President John F Kennedy.
Celebrated for her classical beauty and who became
something of a fashion icon in her adulthood, Gayatri Devi
styled as the Rajmata was known for her strong character and
was a particularly avid equestrienne.
It was a tragic irony that the 90-year-old royal passed
away just a day after actress and beauty Leela Naidu died in
Mumbai after a prolonged illness. The prestigious fashion
magazine Vogue had named Gayatri Devi as one of the 10 most
beautiful women in the world along with Leela.
After Gayatri won the Jaipur seat in the Lok Sabha in
1962, Kennedy introduced her during an event as "the woman
with most staggering majority that anyone has ever earned in
an election." She tasted victory in the world`s largest
landslide poll win bagging 192,909 votes of 246,516 cast and
the achievement was endorsed by the Guinness Book of Records.
Gayatri Devi contested as the candidate of Swatantra
party of C.Rajagopalachari, the last and only Indian
Governor-General of India.
She continued to hold this seat from 1967 to 1971 running
against the Congress Party. This enraged the then prime
minister Indira Gandhi, who retaliated in 1971 by abolishing
the privy purses, and stopping all royal privileges, breaking
the treaties agreed upon in 1947.
Gayatri Devi was accused of breaking tax laws, and served
5 months in Tihar Jail in Delhi during the Emergency. She
retired from politics after that experience.
Born on May 23, 1919 as Princess Gayatri Devi of Cooch
Behar), she was the third Maharani of Jaipur from 1939 to 1970
through marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. To her
friends and family she was more commonly known as Ayesha.
Her father, Prince Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar, was
the younger brother of the Yuvraj (Crown Prince). Her mother
was Princess Indira Raje of Baroda, an extremely beautiful
princess and a legendary socialite.
Early in her life, her uncle`s death led to her father
ascending the throne. Gayatri Devi studied at Shantiniketan
and later in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she travelled with
her mother and siblings, then studied secretarial skills in
London School of Secretaries; Brilliantmont and Monkey Club
London.
She was raised in a grand palace staffed with five
hundred servants. She shot her first panther when she was
twelve.
Gayatri Devi lived a tomboy childhood with her
brothers and sisters in the palace of Cooch-Behar, and has had
adventurous trips with their elegant mother, the Maharani
Indira Devi, to London and the European Continent.
When she married to the Maharaja she entered the
glittering life of the City Palace of the pink city, and had
to adjust to the unfamiliar customs and to life with wives of
other royals.
The Jaipur Royal Family lived a lavish life: hunting
in their forests, spending summers in Europe, educating the
royal children at elite schools in England, entertaining
streams of famous visitors at their desert palaces, and
generally living the typically flamboyant life which was
normal for Indian royals.
Gayatri Devi had one child, Prince Jagat Singh of
Jaipur. She started schools for girls` education in Jaipur,
most prominent of which is the Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’
Public School. She also promoted the dying art of blue
pottery.
There were rumours that she might re-enter politics as
late as 1999, when the Cooch Behar Trinamool Congress
nominated the 80-year-old Gayatri as their candidate for the
Lok Sabha elections, but she did not respond to the offer.
In 2006, India`s first 3D documentary movie "Rajmata
Gayatri Devi`s Legacy", based on her life, was made by the
students of Arena Multimedia in Jaipur. Rajmata, who faced
tragedies as great as her former triumphs, herself inaugurated
the movie through the medium of a digital art exhibition on
November 16 2006.
Bureau Report
