Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala: Before independence, the country was ruled by kings and Maharajas. They lived in great splendor. At that time, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of the then Patiala princely state was the most lavish spender among all Indian royal families. He was known for his lavish and unique lifestyle. Bhupinder Singh was a Jat Sikh of the Phulkian dynasty, who became king in 1891 at the age of nine. These princely states were called princely states. These kings managed their princely states themselves. These kings had immense wealth, but Maharaja Patiala was unmatched.
Patiala was a rich state
Patiala princely state was established in 1763 by Baba Ala Singh rejecting the rule of the Mughals. Gradually, with the support of the British government and especially with the support of the British during the revolution of 1857, the Patiala state became even stronger. There was a lot of farming on the fertile land of Punjab at that time. With the taxes received from it, Patiala soon became one of the richest princely states of the country. Amidst the tension of the British with Afghanistan, China and the Middle East, the Patiala princely state once again emerged as loyal to the British government. Due to this, its status started increasing in the country as well as abroad. Now talking about Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, after the death of his father Maharaja Rajinder Singh, he got the reins of the Patiala princely state at the age of just 9 years. However, he formally took over the command of the state at the age of 18. He ruled for the next 38 years.
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The Maharaja had 350 mistresses
Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre write in their book Freedom at Midnight, “Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was a foodie. He would eat 20 pounds of food a day. He would eat two chickens at breakfast.” It wasn’t just food that satisfied his insatiable appetite. In addition, he became famous for allegedly keeping 350 mistresses and fathering 88 children. Out of his ten marriages, Rajmata Vimla Kaur was his favorite wife. The two traveled around the world and made public appearances together.
A team of surgeons was kept
His harem housed 350 women. He hired jewelers, hairstylists and perfumers to make his concubines feel that he cared for them personally. He even employed a team of French and British plastic surgeons to alter the appearance of the concubines to his liking. About Bhupinder Singh, James Sherwood (Henry Poole & Co.) wrote, “In Patiala, it was said that the Maharaja kept his favourites from his harem naked around his swimming pool so that he could caress them while drinking whisky while swimming.”
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Cricket Team Captain
Bhupinder Singh was known both as a cricket player and a patron of the sport. He was the captain of the Indian cricket team that toured England in 1911. He played 27 first-class cricket matches between 1915 and 1937. In the 1926–27 season he played as a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club. He was selected as captain of India on the first Test tour of England in 1932, but could not go due to health reasons two weeks before departure. Bhupinder Singh was a co-founder of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He donated the Ranji Trophy in honour of Kumar Sriranjitsinhji, the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar. Bhupinder Singh’s cricket and polo teams, the Patiala XI and the Patiala Tigers, were among the best in India.
Tag: BCCI Cricket, British Raj, Cricket News, patiala news
first published : August 23, 2024, 6:11 PM IST
