not only vadodhara but the surrounding area also benifited from such far sighted policies of the maharaja !

Someone needs to write a good popular book sharing the stories of enlightened Zamindars, Nawabs and Royalty. Indian historians were too busy trashing the past or recreating the so-called "liberation narrative" to pay any attention to the so-called feudal elite except in negative light. No one is mentioning in this 150th year of Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary how he was a sensitive zamindar , how Shanti Niketan was built with big gifts from the Tripura royalty. Leadership and vision to any culture comes from all sections but now we should have the civilisational confidence to see our past without the simplistic lens of activism. Values of sustainability, community and justice are by no means the monopoly of the democratic-state.Even Communist and Atheistic China is searching for its soul in Confucius and Tao , as it has realised that a sterile technological modernity is detrimental for both community and nature. http://wanderingchina.wordpress.com/category/confucius/

There is no denying that some enlightened princes, such as Sayajirao of Baroda and Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, were visionaries, patrons of arts, science & technology, social reformers and more and their contribution must, must find a rightful place in any objective assessment of that era in history. However, one cannot possibly showcase them as representative pictures of the rulers just as one cannot showcase a few others as villains, despots, etc. And, in any case, history is much more than biographies of rulers.

Deepak : Very perceptive ! ......"And, in any case, history is much more than biographies of rulers".....

@ Deepak , I completely agree that history is much more then biography of rulers , but what is the fight on the lens of history - Nationalist , Marxian, World Systems, Subaltern. Each system defines who they consider the agent of transformation - usually either politics or economics. Most moderns do no even consider spiritual/religious history. And what about tribes, first nations who have only oral stories. History is always written by the people who have texts - classically priests , and now ideologues. So how power is wielded is the most important part of mainstream history - None of us can get away from the reality of either Bushes or Obamas , Gandhis or Jinnahs- and at all local and regional levels there are and have been such satraps. It would be great if histories of millions of people and their lives were documented but that is not how it is or has been. Voltaire said that we would have to create God if there was'nt any , I would say we would create leaders if there were'nt any. Humans mostly live by proxy. Our desire for Supermen defies the noble intentions of those who would like equality.

History is all that happened in the past which went to make what we are in the present. Throughout history, the blood and toil of the masses made it possible for the echelons to create the thinking and the science which propelled society forward. We all know about Rabindranath, and we may have been unjust to some other philanthropes (zamindars with zameer). But they were exception to the essentially exploitative system (Sahib, Bibi aur Gulam). Don't we know that the Greek edifice was built on the slave system? We also know that the arts thrived mainly on the patronage of royalty. Yet, none of us will want to go back to slavery, or feudalism, or the zamindari system. All the stories hat history conceals or tells finally have to be distilled to make a sense about the forces of change.

There is something non-royal about this photo. Notice the unkempt walls and pillars. There is a non-descript chandelier hanging in the background, look at the carelessly thrown durree over the steps (not to mention the drainage pipe from a toilet somewhere on the upper floors!)! In contrast, the persona however, are liveried. The Gaekwars perhaps were not so well-to-do after all the money they paid the British for the upkeep of their representative and resident and the maintenance fees for the British army (Tainati fauz). That speaks volumes for what the Gaekwars did for the economic development of their state and for education of their subjects.

@Shekhar : That's a very significant observation. This photograph is, indeed, a sharp contrast with the usual photographs of Royal palaces, opulent lifestyle, jewellary, grand processions, etc. which speaks volumes about how the available money was spent by the Gaikwads. And "... compulsory primary schooling, a library system for adult education..."? This is something we are only struggling to do even decades after independence! @Sunny : Regarding "sterile technological modernity ", I guess, there is no going back now [Alice: But it's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.]. We can only move forward and see how technological modernity can be made fertile by creating a better society for all. Many of the ills that justifiably cause concerns as seen from your post stem from ruthless and rapacious market forces that prevent saner, equitable choices being exercised and it would be unfair to attribute them to technology / modernity.

It is possible that this may not be one of the Gaekwar Palaces. He might have just visited this building and a hurried group photograph might have been taken. Have just posted two pictures of the Gaekwar Palace! They are grand by any standard! Though he was an enlightened Ruler....worthy of emulation to this day !

@ Deepak , I am not a votary of "going back" , but definitely one of utilising the tools of technological modernity to serve humans and humane culture. The Frankenstien is not in control anymore and as the Sanatan Dharma cultural philosophy of "Dharma , Artha, Kama , Moksha" has to be reinvented to "Sustainability, Appropriate Technology, Gender harmony , Self-development" - No modern political ideology has escaped the demeaning bureaucracy innovated by mass-society. The Non-market planned societies run by a centralised state were no better.

Why invoke sanatan dharma while talking about sustainability, appropriate technology, gender harmony, and self development unless you mean to say that Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha resepectively stand for those attributes. Why tr to fill new wine in old bottles? What we need may be quite different based on plurality of our society, its massive population, rising aspirations as individuality becomes universal (more and more people aspire to have a stamp of individuality on everything they do) and inevitable degradation (I personally prefer to use the word impact) of the environment. Therefore, I feel there is no alternative to individuality, no alternative to newer technologies, no alternative to Man's invasion of Nature. Our solutions must fit these paradigms. The challenge of the New World is that it is no longer old.

@Shekhar , I then disagree . For me there is no new without the old , everything is a perpetual transition. In fact there is no "New World" at all, it is the same old one with ruthless power structures. A small global elite runs the world as never before. Guess personal sense of what is there and what is possible comes from each one's life's exposure and experience.As for Sanatan Dharma, that is my way of saying that every civilisation has its own unique truths and liberals refusal to recognise that leads to loads of problems. And so-called man's invasion on Nature is a delusion. The alternative has always been there , like integrated pest-management , to understand and work alongside nature. The simplistic individuality of modernity is not the last stage or highest stage of humanity where your choices are manipulated by great masters and you live with the arrogance of freedom.

There are some arguments which are not resolved by agreement or disagreement. This is one of them. I simply do not agree that the new world has the same ruthless power structure and no civilisations have unique truths and the contradiction between man and nature is not resolvable, it is only manageable. I don't think what looks beautiful in miniature necessarily is beautiful at a scale the world operates. I fear arrogance of intellect more than arrogance of freedom. Thus, there are some arguments where agreements and disagreements are irresolvable. What however is possible, is commonality of some values and cooperation based on those.

@Sunny Naradmuni. To me also it strikes that the power is still vested in a few, whatever be the form of government. And the guarantee of justice is also much about the same. Even though democratic form of government and power to the people is the the norm and might take the whole world in the future, still there will be concentrated corridors of power. Democracy or Totalitarianism, or Monarchy power and hence justice is closely controlled. This has been true ever since the times of tribal control of say prehistory, to the presentday elected democracies, if you go bey the results. In a democracy the safety for the common man is that he cannot be arrested without cause. But will justice be delivered to the penniless? The Theory of Karma is the only plausible explanation however, non-standard, however weak its basis be.

What ever may be transformation of the civil society....only Power has shifted from one group to the other.....and once a particular group holds power (just like the 'ring of power' in Tolkein's books)...it corrupts them totally. The Tribal Chief to the King..to the Emperor...to Communist Leader...to the democratically elected MLA !!....all of them deteriorate in a same predictable fashion.

That is quite fatalistic and cynical. We have better checks and balances in the system in the democratic form of government. And those can only improve as we try harder. But we cannot go back to any of the older systems as those systems have no chance to serve the aspirations of all. When we yearn for education for all, what we really yearn for iss individuality for each and fulfillment for each. Nature doesn't care for equality. We do.

There is a difference in being cynical and realist. Mao had millions killed as had Stalin. The so-called hallmarks of Democracy have only killed millions in Vietnam, S.America, Iraq and continue to do so. The billions of dollars involved in the Democratic "machine" as insiders in west call it does'nt leave much democracy ! Shekhar I do share the spirit of justice in intensity but humanity has never had it , never will. As Mahadeva believes in Democracy "common man" is safe , but the tribals of Chattisgarh would not agree. Shekhar would say that it is Capitalist fundamentalism, then let me know of one Socialist experiment that has succeded. We have to strive with the delusions of equality as that is the way to sell democracy and revolutions. But in reality elites wether intellectual,military, business or spiritual always run the world just as the shastras said about the four varnas . In China after the Tianmien square massacre the Chinese put up a statue of a farmer,worker,intellectual and soldier ! It is either shadowy offshore funds which run the world - e.g one small town in Switzerland has head-offices of 26000 global MNC's with a population of 25000. Is Sharad Pawar or Mayawati less than a Aristrocrat ? All so-called Development has been on blood and sweat of peoples which have been wiped out in millions. But we have to have "hope" as Shekhar says and believe blindly in Technological innovation to deliver us all into Paradise , with not even villagers in the village I have been going to for 20 years in Rajasthan able to get non-toxic milk without pesticides or urea . The Green Revolution is a huge failure in Punjab. The arrogance of modernity is that is does'nt even listen to other worldviews , it is the most fundamentalist of any blind faith ever in humanity.The only possibility is a dialogue with multiple ways of being and organising societ with a humility . Otherwise ecocide and mass bloodshed is the only answer.

Baroda Gaekwad and Mysore Maharaja had very cordial relationship. Sayaji Rao visited Mysore as guest of Mysore Maharaja. In his honour, the Sayaji Rao Road was laid after filling up a dry canal, Poornaiah Canal, which subsequently became the main road in Mysore and the Dasara procession route. It continues to be the Dasara procession route.

How can I describe this interesting exchange of thoughts ? Shekar speaks what my mind thinks....and Sunny speaks what my heart knows.

@ RBSI , most of my friends are like Shekhar - activists , academics , leaders of NGO's and Human rights organisations. But here I am being ruthlessly honest as political correctness has never lead to clarity , and unless we have clarity there can be no action. As Shekhar said earlier discussions and posturing is endless the most difficult thing is to connect with values . It is common in India to be friends with someone having a opposing view , for they meet in heart .

Naice

LOVE those costumes