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
