“I wasn’t
going to wear it, but I put it away carefully. It would be a reminder of the
good times had by all of us – H.H., Ricardo, Mrs. Montalban, Pablo and Anna,
Mr. Lobo, myself. And if, at the end, the times weren’t good so good, it was
probably because the party had gone on for too long.”
Maharani by
Ruskin Bond is a plot less novella. Well, it will take you to some different
era: there you will get a chance to see the life lived by the royals of India
and what possibly went wrong which put them in a state of abeyance. The
narrator of the book is Ruskin Bond. Though the writer says that most of his
characters are familiar to readers and this story is totally a product of
imagination. Well, while reading you would feel that the story is part
imagination and part real, set in the beautiful hills of Mussoorie and often
goes outside to Delhi and Pondicherry.
This is the
story of H.H. and the people that surround her. H.H. (Neena being her real
name) is the widowed Maharani of Mastipur. Her husband died long ago. And her
two sons are good for nothing; one is addicted to drugs and another weakling.
They are waiting to usurp their share from the royal inheritance. But H.H.
keeps them at bay, only monthly allowances, no privileges because they don’t
deserve it. Hollow Oak is the mansion where H.H. lives with her permanent lover
Hans, a Swiss native.
Ruskin and she
are friends since school days. Therefore, Ruskin is often called by her to see
her in the times of mood swings or depression. She has nothing great to do in
her life except indulging in parties. She is a compulsive drinker – and she
can’t control it – she wanted to have all the fun of the world that is left out
there. Other than drinking and a permanent lover, she also houses a variety of
dogs at her door and Ruskin doesn’t like anyone of them.
People and
lovers come and go but no one manages to live for a longer time with her
because she is both at times sulky and smitten. It seems that she has no quest
in life – probably she knows about the void that is gnawing her soul. There is
nothing great or special about the story except that it tells how the royals or
kings of post-independence sank to their own decadence.
Talking about
suspense elements, the death of Maharaja and her first Maharani remains a search
for readers; also you would grow out of curiosity to know about the gender
status of a long, man-like, broad-faced nun called Clarissa. Some say she was a
murderer, while some she was a German fugitive. Every person has a different
story to tell about these suspense elements.
Too much
drinking resulted in the kidney failure of Maharani and on her death bed she is
bitten by one of her Pekinese and she dies before reaching hospital. Aftermath,
the mansion in the hills begin to disintegrate, robbers break in to loot the
jewelry and all of sudden many people spurted to claim the inheritance of the
Maharani. She talked about giving some part of inheritance to Ruskin but
nothing reaches up to him except the overcoat of the Maharaja because she
thought only a gentleman like Ruskin can respect that overcoat.
It’s a light
but interesting read. You will get to know about the lifestyle of the Maharanis
and Maharajas of 1960s and 70s and aspects ruined their heritage.
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