24 May,2010 06:59 AM IST | | Puja Miri Yajnik
Most beautiful women in any sort of public role, be it films, politics or royal families, attract a lot of attention. They are written about and photographed.
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Then one day I discovered I had something in common with this grand lady, it was nothing really, just a date, but I was quite proud of it.
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Maharani Gayatri Devi was born on May 23, so was I. Quite naturally, I began to take an interest in anything that was written about her.
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In her interviews she came across as an extremely witty person, with a great deal of personal charm. I loved the way she spoke; her often polite, but blunt answers amused me.
She was born in London to the Maharani and Maharaja of Cooch Behar. The young princess Ayesha, as she was called, had plenty of different influences on her as she grew up, as the family travelled a lot.
It must have been a fascinating childhood, meeting people of all nationalities and actually living with them. She claimed to be quite a tomboy as a child, enjoying riding, tennis and shooting. She shot her first panther at the age of 12!
Her legendary love story with the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur ( Jai as he was popularly referred to), is the very thing every young girl would like to dream about.
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She married the heroic young man, and became the third Maharani of Jaipur.
This part of her life is most inspiring, as the well travelled, well educated, modern young girl carried on the traditions into which she was born and into which she later, married, while holding on to her own personality.
The image of this 'majestic lady' in my mind is of a strong and rather brave person, maintaining a sort of 'stiff upper lip' through all her troubles.
One cannot help noticing that she always made light of the sad events in her life, when asked about them in her interviews.
A few years ago, I attended a musical event in London. As I stood there with some friends, my eyes went around the room.
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They rested on a petite elderly lady with grey bobbed hair. After a while we all trooped out in search of some refreshments.
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The elderly lady brushed past me, we smiled at each other, and I noticed she had the most charming smile.
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I turned to a friend and said, "You know, I would love to grow old and look like that lady," I gestured in the direction of the pretty lady.
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The friend gave me a look, "That, my dear, is Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur." I did go up to her and introduce myself. She was very sweet and friendly.
On the other side, what was most astonishing was how natural and how she wasn't selfconscious.
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Maharani Gayatri Devi will always inspire many like me, and I am grateful that I was fortunate enough to meet her in person and be able to tell her so. A special person ufffdundoubtedly, 'The real thing!'
Puja Miri Yajnik is an author. She writes children's novels.
