IN
COURT
Ismail
Merchant's autobiography brings back Zubeida's ghost
to haunt the
former rulers of Jodhpur
THE
KINGDOM MAY NO longer exist, but intrigue refuses to leave the
walls of Jodhpur's Umaid Bhawan. After his mother Zubeida became
the subject of Shyam Benegal's controversial film, it is now
the turn of the late Hukum Singh or "tutu" himself to be in the
news.
In film
producer-director Ismail Merchant's autobiography My Passage
From India, Tutu
- the late son of Zubeida and the erstwhile Maharaja of Jodhpur Hanuwant
Singh - emerges as a theatrical lunatic who disrupts an Umaid Bhawan
dinner for Merchant and his crew by brandishing a sword. The passage
in Merchant's book is written with tongue firmly in cheek but
it has failed to amuse the family Tutu left behind; his wife
Rajeshwari, son Parikshit and daughter Jayanandini Singh have
moved the Dehli High Court against the publisher, Roli Books.
Merchant is liberal with his sense of humour. He pokes fun not
only at Tutu but also at the other erstwhile royalty of Jodhpur
- the Rajmata, for instance, is shown as not being perturbed
by the threat to her life but more interested in the jewels scattered
during the confusion. Other helpless royals stare at the scene,
calling out to servants in vain. As for Tutu, what Merchant says
about him is not unlike what has been said before. Merchant says
he was "butchered to death". It is common knowledge in Jodhpur
that he had "a bad temper". And as Merchant's partner, director
James Ivory, says, "That the incident happened is a fact. There
were seven people in the room, including myself, who will be
able to establish this." So why the court case?
Merchant can only shrug: "What I have written is nothing. There
are a lot more stories about Tutu in Jodhpur. I don't know why
they have taken offense to it." Jayanandini, now married to Vikramaditya
Singh of Kota, Rajasthan, professes "deep hurt" and will only
"speak through the lawyers". The family of the erstwhile Maharaja
of Jodhpur Gaj Singh (Hanuwant Singh's other son) has also closed
ranks and is refusing to speak.
What rankles, say sources, is one little word hidden away in
the passage. Tutu, clearly the clown prince of Merchant's anecdote,
is introduced early in the passage as the "illegitimate brother"
of Gaj Singh. Thats the first point raised in the petition, which
says: "Our clients belong to the royal family of the Maharaja
of Jodhpur and are the legal heirs of the late Rao Raja Hukum
Singh." While the notice also raises points about defamation
and the disparaging light in which Tutu has been shown, it once
again brings up the issue of legitimacy.
This, then, is the legacy Zubeida - known as Vidya Rani in the
palace - left behind: a question mark over her exact status in
the life of the king. The outrage comes to the surface every
time Zubeida is referred to in the media as "the illegitimate
wife". Palace sources insist that except for Rajmata Krishna
Kumari (Gaj Singh's mother), not even members of the immediate
family know if Zubeida and the Maharaja were indeed married.
Tutu himself, pampered as a child by his step-mother Krishna
Kumari after her husband and Zubeida were killed in an air crash,
was said to have become acutely aware that he was not the successor
to the throne.
Zubeida may long be dead, but the touchiness about her status
lives on. As for the case, it will, by all accounts, turn out
to be a fight for the establishment of legitimacy, which alone
can put her ghost to rest.
-Kanika Gahlaut
MY PASSAGE FROM INDIA
by Ismail Merchant
Viking Studio; ISBN: 0-670-03163-1
On-Sale: November 25, 2002
Price:$35.00; Pages:160
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Gretchen Koss, Director of Viking Studio Publicity at 212-366-2440
gkoss@penguinputnam.com
