British Viceroy of India Lord Curzon was known for his imperious and overbearing nature with a penchant for making snide remarks on Indians.
But the ardent imperialist had to tender a written apology to the Maharaja of Travancore for questioning his devotion to Lord Padmanabha, the presiding deity worshipped by the royal house in Kerala.
The episode has been recalled by Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma, the present head of the Travancore Royalty, in his memoirs
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Curzon was on a visit to Travancore in 1900, which was in subsidiary alliance with the British Government, shortly after his appointment as Viceroy of India.
On his arrival at the boat jetty at Vallakkadavu, Curzon was received by the reigning king Sree Mulam Tirunal and accompanied him to the guest house in a horse-driven carriage.
As the carriage passed before Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, the king stood up with folded hands and bowed to the deity, Lord Vishnu lying on the thousand-headed serpent ’Aanathan’
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Then Curzon asked, “His highness, what does that gesture mean?” The king replied, “I was expressing my reverence to our deity. We do so whenever we even pass by.”
Oh! I see. So, this is the place, where idle people are fed. Do you call it charity?”, asked the Viceroy with an air of contempt.
As it was a mortifying experience for the Maharaja, he wanted to assert his righteous self. But as a true gentleman, he refrained from making the Viceroy’s visit uncomfortable.
However, the Maharaja refused to preside over the meeting arranged in honour of Curzon at the Town Hall in the city.
Infuriated by the absence of the king, Curzon threatened that he could even strip the prince of all powers. However, the king remained firm in his resolve maintaining that “God is my priority and I am prepared to forgo anything.”
Finding himself in an embarrassing position, the Viceroy forwarded an apology in writing to His Highness, after which the monarch turned up for the meeting.
According to Uthradom Tirunal, the episode was “a genuine triumph of right over might.”
A journey lasting decades
The memoirs of the 88-year-old Uthradom Tirunal, as told to writer and freelance journalist S. Uma Maheswari, is a journey through a period of political upheaval and pangs of historic transition which saw the country becoming independent from the British rule and the princely states getting integrated with the Indian Union.
The erstwhile Travancore princely state, with an area of 7,525 square miles, became part of unified Kerala along with the British ruled Malabar and the princely state of Cochin in 1956.
The 274-page book, brought out by Konark Publishers, has also a large number of rare pictures throwing light into the royal past. The book will be released by former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam later this week.
Uthradom Tirnunal has been a voracious reader and a keen traveller and his life has been full of memorable encounters with a wide range of personalities, including Queen Elizabeth II of England.
He met the British princess in 1933 before she became the Queen of England. Years later, in 1954, during her visit to Bangalore, he had an opportunity to be present at a tea party hosted in honour of the Queen.
A witness to the history of an era of colourful personalities, Tirnunal recalls that the list of distinguished guests received by the Travancore Palace in the last century could be long, including Lord Mountbatten, the last British Governor General of India, Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of former U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt and Jacqueline Kennedy.
In her letters, Jacqueline used to address him as “Your Highness”, which according to the writer, is something that Americans normally would not do.
A gifted photographer and nature enthusiast, the prized picture collections of Tirunal included a black and white picture of the famed Sabarimala temple taken 70 years ago, tucked in dense forests.
The Travancore Maharajas were known for their austere lifestyle and pledged to rule for the welfare of their subjects on behalf of Lord Padmanabha, and the reigning prince assume the title Padmanabhadasa (Servant of Padmanabha).