“In thought faith, In word wisdom/In deed courage, In life service/So may India be great.”
These lines are inscribed on the 145-ft high Jaipur Column, standing tall in the Rashtrapati Bhavan Forecourt. Designed by Edwin Lutyens and sponsored by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II of Jaipur to mark the shifting of the capital to Delhi, it is made of cream-coloured sandstone, has a map of Delhi on one side of the base and a six-pointed Star of India, made of glass, on the top.
While searching for Madho Singh, found an interesting story, though unrelated to the Jaipur Column. He went to London in 1902 to attend the coronation of King Edward VII. But at that time, it was a religious taboo to cross the sea and people were required to go for purification after returning. So, the king carried 8,000 litres of Ganga water in his ship for use during the entire trip. The water was taken in two huge silver urns, which are still on display in Jaipur city palace, and have been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest sterling-silver objects in the world. And I have seen them but did not make the connection.
(Source: Rashtrapati Bhavan website, www.lonelyplanet.com and ‘When the Ganges Came to London' by Aditya Iyer in The Hindu, Sept 22, 2018).
These lines are inscribed on the 145-ft high Jaipur Column, standing tall in the Rashtrapati Bhavan Forecourt. Designed by Edwin Lutyens and sponsored by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II of Jaipur to mark the shifting of the capital to Delhi, it is made of cream-coloured sandstone, has a map of Delhi on one side of the base and a six-pointed Star of India, made of glass, on the top.
While searching for Madho Singh, found an interesting story, though unrelated to the Jaipur Column. He went to London in 1902 to attend the coronation of King Edward VII. But at that time, it was a religious taboo to cross the sea and people were required to go for purification after returning. So, the king carried 8,000 litres of Ganga water in his ship for use during the entire trip. The water was taken in two huge silver urns, which are still on display in Jaipur city palace, and have been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest sterling-silver objects in the world. And I have seen them but did not make the connection.
(Source: Rashtrapati Bhavan website, www.lonelyplanet.com and ‘When the Ganges Came to London' by Aditya Iyer in The Hindu, Sept 22, 2018).
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