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The Patiala royal family and the case of the missing turban

Neena Chaudhary in Patiala

Brushing it aside as a petty attempt by his political detractors to involve his family in a controversy, the scion of the royal family of the erstwhile princely state of Patiala, Captain Amrinder Singh, has denied any involvement of his own or any member of the family in the recent sale of an imperial headgear, reportedly owned by his grandfather Maharaja Bhupinder Singh.

A row was kicked up recently when a section of the media here relayed a news item from the Wall Street Journal, which reported that the royal turban belonging to Maharaja Bhupinder Singh had been auctioned in London for 1,70,000 dollars. An anonymous buyer was reported to have bought the said turban -- studded with diamonds, emeralds and rubies -- at an auction of Indian jewellery at Christie's International in London, in the first week of November.

The issue got further attention as at the time of the auction, Amrinder Singh was on vacation in England. One of the general secretaries of the Punjab unit of the Congress party -- which Amrinder Singh heads -- even threatened to take up the matter with the apex temporal body of the Sikhs, the Akal Takht, charging gross violation of religious ethics.

Amrinder Singh, quoting from the letter the royal family received from Christie's, said initially that no turban was ever sold by the international antique dealers. He claimed that Christie's had clarified that all they had auctioned was a serpech -- a gem-studded ornament used on his turban by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh.

In response to a letter by the crown prince, Yuvraj Raninder Singh, who sought clarifications about the sale, Rahul Kakadikia of the Christie's Auction House in Geneva, clarified that the piece was part of a private European collection prior to 1947 and had been consigned to them in Geneva. Kakadikia also confirmed that the controversial serpech did not come from any of the present members of the royal family of Patiala.

Amrinder Singh said that his grandfather, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, had many friends in Europe and the possibility of his gifting the serpech to one of them could not be ruled out. "Even 60 years after his death, people in Europe have fond memories about him," he added.

Amrinder Singh claimed total ignorance of the existence of the royal serpech. He said that he was born in 1942 while Maharaja Bhupinder Singh had died in 1938. Amrinder Singh also clarified that Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was the pioneer of a unique style of tying the turban, which has been made famous the world over as the Patiala Shahi Safa. He said that this particular style of turban could not be removed from the head and then worn again later as in the case of a cap. He added that as the turban had to be tied again each time, there was no scope for violating any religious norms.

This is not the first time that the Patiala royal family is being involved in a controversy. In August last, the Moti Bagh palace had to strive hard to protect the antecedents of Amrinder Singh, who is still fondly referred to as the Maharaja Sahib by the people of Patiala.

The problem arose when the Delhi-based Supreme Court solicitors, Rajendera Narain and Co sought clarifications from the Moti Bagh in Patiala regarding a person by the name of Shamsher Bahadur Singh, who was claiming to be the real Maharaja of Patiala.

Though Amrinder Singh found the whole issue amusing, it could have meant doom for many of those dealing with Indian antiques. The self-styled Maharaja was said to be running a major lucrative business across Europe, China, Singapore, North America and Latin America. He was also reported to be involved in the trade of rare antiques like pieces of furniture, coins, clocks, watches and ancient arms. Moreover, Shamsher Bahadur Singh moves around the world with a touch of royalty.

In a letter, purportedly sent by his secretary, the self-styled Maharaja claimed to have shelled out 60,000 pounds sterling in a single purchase of 160 rare coins. Amrinder Singh asserts that there has never been a person by the name of Shamsher Bahadur Singh in the entire royal family. However, amusement apart, the very existence of such an impostor did leave Amrinder Singh a worried person.

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