CLICK BELOW TO REDISCOVER HUMANITY
A DECADE+ OF STORYTELLING POWERED BY THE BEST WRITERS ON THE PLANET

Tales Of Travel And Style From The Lives Of Indian Royalty!

Sir Jagatjit Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of the princely state of Kapurthala – and Tikka Shatrujit Singh’s great Grandfather, was travelling around the world in the late 19th Century. He was quite a Francophile and loved the Palace of Versailles so much that he ordered his main palace to be modelled after it.

It is said that Jagatjit Singh owned at least 60 pieces of bespoke luggage made especially for him by Louis Vuitton to hold his clothes, swords, turbans, suits, shoes and the elaborate traditional dresses.

The other Royal who was also a Louis Vuitton regular was Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda. Amongst scores of his other purchases, the Baroda ruler got Louis Vuitton to make a Torino suitcase with toiletry accessories in vermeil and ivory, a shoe trunk and a tea case, that proved to be an elegant and practical accompaniment for his hunting expeditions.

Maharaja Hari Singh, the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, who was a polo aficionado, was ordering Louis Vuitton to make special trunks for his clothes and equipment, including one to hold his mallets, in the year 1925.

In the seven months between June and December 1928, Hari Singh had placed an order for 38 pieces of luggage with specific purpose marked for them. For instance, there were special boxes for polo outfits, twelve boxes for drying cigarettes, a shoe-maintenance kit, a toiletries kit that was superimposed on a tea set.

The toiletries kit was uniquely elaborate. It consisted of 50 items in silver and was used to hold products for personal hygiene from brushes to bottles, soaps, and razors. It also served as an extensively layered jewellery box.

Not just travel, Indian royalty were also creating second homes in the international playfields of the rich and famous or in the exclusively secluded places that kept them away from the public eye. Maharani Sita Devi Sahib of Baroda set up a second home in Monaco with her second husband, Maharaja Pratap Singh Gaekwad of Baroda, who was the eighth richest man in the world and the second richest Indian Prince at the time.

London, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Switzerland were destinations the Royals travelled to for work, but essentially for pleasure and leisure. Exclusive and luxe addresses such as the Savoy in London, Ritz in Paris, Ritz in London, Hotel Walsherhof in the Swiss ski village of Klosters, Le Meurice and Le Bristol in Paris, Hotel Bristol in Vienna were considered fit for these kings and queens.

A look back into history and into the lives of the Indian Royalty shows how they were adept at blending the Indian spirit with western sensibilities. The Royalty was not only building up a huge aspirational value back home but also creating matchless and enormously successful business opportunities for some of the top class brands globally.

So it can be safely said that the foundation for style, haute living, grand hospitality, luxe brand affiliation, and rich hotel tradition was laid early enough in those years of Imperialdom!

L. Aruna Dhir
L. Aruna Dhirhttp://www.larunadhir.blogspot.com
L. Aruna Dhir is a Hospitality & Feature Writer and Columnist for some of the world’s highest-ranked Hospitality publications. Her industry writings are syndicated to the finest global hospitality bodies and used as references in case studies and hotel schools. Aruna runs an exclusive channel on the award-winning media digest, BizCatalyst 360° called “Hospitality Matters” based on her hospitality industry insight and commentary. Aruna is a recognized and national-poll winning Corporate Communications Specialist, PR Strategist, and Writer. A seasoned hotelier, Aruna loves to present hospitality industry watch, insights, case studies, and analysis to her ever-increasing base of global readership. Aruna has over two decades of experience in Hospitality Communications and Brand Management and has worked with some of the best global hotel companies. In her last corporate role, Aruna was the Director – Public Relations at The Imperial New Delhi, where she was part of the core group and was responsible for re-launching The Imperial as one of the finest hotels in India and Asia. Aruna’s hotel experience includes leading the Marketing Communications and Public Relations portfolio for flagship properties at The Oberoi Group and Hyatt International. She also helped launch the Vilases as the uber-luxury experiences from the Oberoi stable. As an industry expert, Aruna has launched brands, developed training modules, created standardization dockets on business communication, written manuals, conducted Image Study & Positioning Analysis, and led media campaigns of Australian Ministers in India. Aruna Dhir’s successful work tenure with Australia’s Diplomatic Mission in India in the capacity of Media Relations Officer, saw her working on a host of never-done-before exciting projects including the hugely rewarding organisation of Australia-India New Horizons – Australia’s largest ever Country Promotion. Aruna Dhir is the first-ever Creative Writer for the Indian greeting cards giant – ARCHIES Greetings and Gifts Ltd. The milestone puts her in the league of Helen Steiner Rice and Amanda Bradley. While with the company she came out with several series of cards sold under her byline – an unprecedented feat that has not been repeated since. L. Aruna Dhir also dabbles in poetry and has to her credit two titles of Anthologies published and marketed by Archies G&G Ltd. Aruna serves on the Board of Association of Emerging Leaders Dialogues (AELD), a front-running Commonwealth Body that works towards developing leaders and influencers of tomorrow, with Princess Anne as its international President. Aruna has been engaged in freelance work for Doordarshan – the Indian National Television, All India Radio, and Times FM. Academically, L. Aruna Dhir topped at the All-India level in her PG Diploma in Public Relations and Advertising. Aruna has been a Ph.D. scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, akin to an Ivy League in India. She has earned a Senior Management Course Certification from the Oberoi Centre for Learning & Development in partnership with the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow; V Dimension Management Company, London & Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Philippines. Aruna Dhir has represented India to a select group of opinion-makers in the United States, as a Cultural Ambassador under the GSE Program of Rotary International. She has also participated in the IXth Commonwealth Study Conference held in Australia and chaired by Princess Anne. Aruna is a Life Member of the Public Relations Society of India A Freelance Writer since 1987, with articles that have appeared in India’s topmost newspapers and magazines, Aruna is also a blogger, a memoirist with works published on platforms like Medium and a Book reviewer on Goodreads. In her official and personal capacity L. Aruna Dhir has and continues to work on several social awareness projects – People for Animals, Earthquake Relief, National Blind Association, PETA, WSPA, Change.org, Friendicoes to name a few. Born at Allahabad (now Prayagraj), one of the world’s oldest known cities, L. Aruna Dhir grew up and did her schooling in Dehradun, regarded as a prominent seat of academia and literature. After being brought up in the sylvan surroundings of the verdant Doon valley, Aruna chose to make the Capital City of Delhi her second home.

DO YOU HAVE THE "WRITE" STUFF? If you’re ready to share your wisdom of experience, we’re ready to share it with our massive global audience – by giving you the opportunity to become a published Contributor on our award-winning Site with (your own byline). And who knows? – it may be your first step in discovering your “hidden Hemmingway”. LEARN MORE HERE


TAKE STROLL INSIDE 360° NATION

TIME FOR A "JUST BE." MOMENT?

ENJOY OUR FREE EVENTS

BECAUSE WE'RE BETTER TOGETHER