Rajmata Gayatri Devi, the iconic
maharani of Jaipur and former parliamentarian, died of prolonged illness on Wednesday. She was 90.
Gayatri Devi, born in the royal family of Cooch Behar, was the third queen of maharaja Man Singh II. Renowned for her charm, she was once listed among the world’s ten most beautiful women by Vogue. Incidentally, actor Leela Naidu, who passed away on Tuesday in Mumbai, featured in the same list.
Gayatri Devi, who would be given a state funeral on Thursday, was diagnosed with lung infection and a gastrointestinal ailment upon being hospitalised on July 17. Her body is being kept at the Janani Deori (women’s quarters) of the City Palace of Jaipur. As news of the death spread, visitors thronged the gates of the palace. Also, several dignitaries and members of Rajasthan’s and other states’ erstwhile royalty started arriving in Jaipur. Gayatri Devi will be cremated at the Maharani ki Chhatri (queen’s cenotaph) in Getor. Jaipur’s queens have traditionally been cremated at this site.
The
maharani was an avid polo enthusiast and kept her dates with matches in London and Jaipur. In post-independent India, she rallied against the Congress and co-founded the conservative Swatantra Party.
She won the Jaipur Lok Sabha seat under the Swatantra Party’s banner thrice, thrashing the Congress. Her first victory got her into the Guinness Book and won admiration from then US president John F Kennedy, who called her the “Barry Goldwater of India” when she visited the US in 1962. She was strongly opposed to the policies of Indira Gandhi and was lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail during the Emergency in 1971.
