The Museum was an unremarkable building, situated in the Palace grounds - it used to be the school house for the princes and princesses of the Ruling Dynasty of the State. They would travel to school in a small model train, with a little steam engine and open carriages behind !
The Maharaja, the patron of the museum's art collection, had an interesting story....after the presiding Maharaja died in the 19th c, after a sudden illness, his young wife, who was pregnant at the time, gave birth later, to a daughter - with no male heir to the throne, to succeed him, she invited members of the extended family, to present their sons at court so that a suitable successor could be found.
Kashirao, walked the distance of 600 kms, to present his three sons for consideration, but, although he was of the Royal House, he had married a commoner from a small village and therefore, their sons should not have been contenders. Nevertheless, each boy was asked why he had come....the second son, aged 12, replied unequivocally, 'I have come to rule'. Everyone was so impressed, that he was duly selected. And so he was adopted by the Maharani and came to live at the palace, where he was given an excellent education. On reaching his 18th birthday in 1881, he was fully invested with the title of Maharaja and became ruler of the state. He proved to be an inspired leader, ahead of his time - he founded a Bank, a University, a Park, he cleaned up the water supply and introduced irrigation schemes. He carried out social reforms and outlawed child marriage, the purdah system and encouraged education for women - he was also a great patron of the arts.....
Acquiring the services of a foreign architect, he built a palace of huge size and invited artists from Italy to help in its decoration, commissioning sculpture, paintings and fine furniture. He employed an unknown young artist from the south of India, Ravi Varma, to be his court artist, and to paint portraits of the ruling family - this young man, came to be known later, as the 'Father of Indian Art'.
The institutions, founded by the Maharaja, still exist and give the city its inherent shape and character and here in the school house, some of the Maharaja's art collection, was on display, an enduring legacy of a wise man.
The Maharaja, the patron of the museum's art collection, had an interesting story....after the presiding Maharaja died in the 19th c, after a sudden illness, his young wife, who was pregnant at the time, gave birth later, to a daughter - with no male heir to the throne, to succeed him, she invited members of the extended family, to present their sons at court so that a suitable successor could be found.
Kashirao, walked the distance of 600 kms, to present his three sons for consideration, but, although he was of the Royal House, he had married a commoner from a small village and therefore, their sons should not have been contenders. Nevertheless, each boy was asked why he had come....the second son, aged 12, replied unequivocally, 'I have come to rule'. Everyone was so impressed, that he was duly selected. And so he was adopted by the Maharani and came to live at the palace, where he was given an excellent education. On reaching his 18th birthday in 1881, he was fully invested with the title of Maharaja and became ruler of the state. He proved to be an inspired leader, ahead of his time - he founded a Bank, a University, a Park, he cleaned up the water supply and introduced irrigation schemes. He carried out social reforms and outlawed child marriage, the purdah system and encouraged education for women - he was also a great patron of the arts.....
Acquiring the services of a foreign architect, he built a palace of huge size and invited artists from Italy to help in its decoration, commissioning sculpture, paintings and fine furniture. He employed an unknown young artist from the south of India, Ravi Varma, to be his court artist, and to paint portraits of the ruling family - this young man, came to be known later, as the 'Father of Indian Art'.
The institutions, founded by the Maharaja, still exist and give the city its inherent shape and character and here in the school house, some of the Maharaja's art collection, was on display, an enduring legacy of a wise man.
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