[Maharanis The Extraordinary Tale of Four Indian ueens and Their Journey from Purdah to Parliament] E–pub ✓ Lucy Moore

review Î PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook Ö Lucy Moore

Maharanis The Extraordinary Tale of Four Indian ueens and Their Journey from Purdah to Parliament Read & Download Û PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook Lucy Moore Ö 0 Read D describes India's national growing pains through the sumptuous audacious lives of four ravishing influential women of the same family Sunity Devi friend to ueen Victoria; Chimnabai fierce nationalist. There s a chunk of culture across India you won t find on a map that starts somewhere in Rajasthan and encompasses what are broadly the present day states of Gujarat Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh eventually ending at West Bengal In terms of contemporary customs traditions beliefs and rituals these societies are vastly non different with minimal individualistic tweaks over time I attribute this fascinating homogeneity to the princely India Maharanis by Lucy Moore speaks of An exhilarating hardback Gayatri Devi on the cover is splendid as ever immaculately balancing the politics and relationships of the four princesses it covers Moore s work is a surprisingly satisfying account of the emancipation of the Indian aristocratic women who chose to seek a life outside the ghoonghat and gharaanas For all the strength it helped me find for the worth of romance it taught me for satiating my fixation with Indian royalty for Jai I owe this book Nobody can do the ghoonghat like our Ayesha did Nobody

Read Maharanis The Extraordinary Tale of Four Indian ueens and Their Journey from Purdah to Parliament

Maharanis The Extraordinary Tale of Four Indian ueens and Their Journey from Purdah to Parliament Read & Download Û PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook Lucy Moore Ö 0 Read ; Indira her flamboyant daughter; and Ayesha her eually fashionable daughter who fought tirelessly and with incomparable grace to turn an ancient tradition of noblesse oblige into a progressive democra. this book was fascinating and sad telling the story of India s political and cultural transition from the point of view of the ruling princely families that ended up giving up their power and position not all willingly the descriptions of the idyllic childhoods were enthralling the story focuses on 3 generations of women and how they adjusted to and adapted to the changes in society also how some lived in a time of purdah segregation from men and the outside world it was very inspiring to read how the new generations took on active roles and adopted feminism all in all a fascinating and historical read

Maharanis The Extraordinary Tale of Four Indian ueens and Their Journey from Purdah to Parliament Read & Download Û PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook Lucy Moore Ö 0 Read A rare exotic portrait of the matriarchs of a brilliant Indian family Ranging from the final days of the Raj and the British Empire to the present Lucy Moore vividly re creates a splendid lost world an. What a wonderful history lesson Lucy Moore has done some in depth research work and takes us through the lives of 4 extraordinary women who not only led glamorous lives but also used their positions of power to the betterment of their subjects Some inescapable facts Women empowerment a century back was completely due to belief s of the men in their lives fathers andor husbands Educating women was seen as a waste of effort and resources and most high born women grew up in the purdah with her family till she married in her early teens and then exchanged it for her husband s zenana where she still lived under the purdah seeing no men other than her husband and close relatives for her entire life Though there is considerable wealth all around she herself does not have any money or own anything She is also usually only one her husband s wives and her position in the zenana depends on how much her husband favours her and her seniority in the household She is a puppet dependent on her husband s good will to grant her wishesThe males in the family grown up in luxury and having every wish granted Most seem to die due to over indulgence and ills related to alcoholism So many mothers grieving over lives wasted awayParts I found interesting were tale of Chimnabai breaking purdah rollerskating across the palace playing tennis in her marathi style saree progressive mindset of Sayajirao Gaekwad Chimnabai s husband his governance and sponsoring the education of BR Ambedkar and many others Sunity devi and her association with Brahmo Samaj unreal how many letters the maharani s exchanged with the ueenss of England Indira Raje rejecting arranged marriage to a Maharaja in the early 1910s and stubbornly marrying the Princenot crown prince from Cooch Behar Indira Raje popularising the way the saree is worn currently in India Ayesha Gayatri Devi s political career opposing Congress enmity with Indira Gandhi and stay in Tihar Jail Maharaja of Jaipur s support of his Muslim subjects during the partition riots No Muslim should leave Jaipur and go They are all like the hair on my chest All of them pushed for emancipation of women and changed the lives of scores of women directly or indirectly Though all have been given a big piece of the pie of wealth and beauty and position yet their lives is also a story of great suffering and tragedy Most of them were young widows and all lived to see most of their children die early They had trouble forgiving members of their own family but was kind to dependants and supplicants With India gaining independence they had to give up their power and position and endure many broken promises by the govt I recommend this book for anyone with interest in Indian History Well worth the time invested