A Princess Remembers

Rating:
Summary: Old and new India as seen from the eyes of a princess
Review: It is a view of India's living conditions, politics, social life and is also a love story. It begins when she is a little girl and the daughter of a prince and ends when she is an old woman. She catches the eye of one of her beautiful mother's "friends", the prince of Jaipur, when she is about 12. Later she becomes his third wife but the only one not an arranged marriage. She travels the world with her husband and does not have to live in purdah as the other two do. She is an celebrated beauty who later goes into politics and even serves time in jail for disagreeing with the government. It transitions India from the old days of the principalities to the democratic India of today. I was in India when I read this book. Several of her husbands palaces are open to the public, including one which is now a luxury palace hotel. We stayed there and experienced a little of the old India of the royals with the laviously decked out elephants (which you could ride), tea in the garden, musicans, shops and the elegant public rooms. Devi still lived there in a house on the grounds. I would recommend this book to anyone who plans to visit or has visited India. It's easy reading and very interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Old and new India as seen from the eyes of a princess
Review: It is a view of India's living conditions, politics, social life and is also a love story. It begins when she is a little girl and the daughter of a prince and ends when she is an old woman. She catches the eye of one of her beautiful mother's "friends", the prince of Jaipur, when she is about 12. Later she becomes his third wife but the only one not an arranged marriage. She travels the world with her husband and does not have to live in purdah as the other two do. She is an celebrated beauty who later goes into politics and even serves time in jail for disagreeing with the government. It transitions India from the old days of the principalities to the democratic India of today. I was in India when I read this book. Several of her husbands palaces are open to the public, including one which is now a luxury palace hotel. We stayed there and experienced a little of the old India of the royals with the laviously decked out elephants (which you could ride), tea in the garden, musicans, shops and the elegant public rooms. Devi still lived there in a house on the grounds. I would recommend this book to anyone who plans to visit or has visited India. It's easy reading and very interesting.