Chapter VI - Vexamen

 

Chapter VI - Vexamen

 

SRG’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations were being organised in a big way in Baroda. Although the Anniversary fell in May 1935, as was done ten years previously, the celebrations were carried out during the cooler winter months - in the 1^st week of January 1936. The Viceroy - Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon along with his wife, were the guests of honour.

There was the usual remission of arrears of land revenue, pardoning the sentences of prisoners in the state's jails; announcements of donations and gifts; there were sports, public and private entertainments, military parades, processions, fireworks: plays and performances by singers, dancers and theatre companies.

SRG arranged the setting up of the Sir Sayajirao Diamond Jubilee Trust, where he donated Rs 1 crore of his own money, where the interest earned helped cater to the education and other needs of the people of the State of Baroda. This trust also helped in setting up MSU in Baroda.

 

The Diamond Jubilee Medals were awarded in three grades (Gold-for members of the Gaekwad House, Silver and lastly Cupro-nickel).

 

KNP was awarded the Diamond Jubilee Silver Medal in 1936.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 KNP with SRG in various events 1934-36

And whilst searching on the net, I came across a couple of rare film clips of the Gaekwad, where KNP is briefly seen:

1)     

1) British Pathé clip:  Rare video of Maharaja SayajiRao Gaekwad of Baroda of 1928

where from the timeline 1.26 to 1.36 minutes, KNP can be seen in the doorway to the building – salaaming & welcoming the Royal Family and Dewan V.T. Krishnama Chari (VT)

The original clip on Youtube >

https://youtu.be/J3OdZpX7mOA)

 

 

And 2)  A British Movietone Film clip: Gaekwar Of Baroda's Diamond Jubilee

 

SRG in front, directly behind him is (MCB) Chimnabai, to MCB’s right is Dewan VT, Behind VT is General Nanasaheb Shinde of the Baroda State Army, and next to him is KNP

 

 

 

An edited clip:

Original clip on Youtube.

https://youtu.be/2eIWCEzGbUI

 

 Right after the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Jan 1936, KNP was posted as the District Collector of Mehsana.

Radhabai continued to suffer from poor health: besides having chronic diabetes, she was also susceptible to having bouts of coughing, flu and pulmonary issues. I understand that she had to be admitted to hospital numerous times. Family photographs from that period show her having lost a lot of weight, with spindly arms and haggard looks. In the period from late 1920s till 1939, KNP appears to have spent quite a lot of money on medical treatment for Radhabai.

Soon after settling down in Mehsana, she needed to be admitted to hospital, and the doctors diagnosed that she probably had TB.

Both Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Tuberculosis (TB) are ancient human afflictions.

Egyptian papyrus dating back to 1550 BC, highlighted the first documented cases of DM over 3500 years. In about 500 BC, two Hindu- physicians - Chakrat & Sushrut, studied about Madhumeha (or sweet-smelling honey-like urine of patient which would attract ants & flies).

Diabetes in the 1930s did not have the medications that we are now familiar with. In those days, doctors endorsed fasting and calorie-restricted diets for diabetes. Research was still at an early stage.

Insulin had been isolated in 1921 in a raw form – there were many side effects (hyper to hypo-glycemia) but it would be many years before the purer, more stable & potent insulin (extracted from animal pancreas) would be developed. In 1978, the first recombinant DNA human insulin was prepared and only in 1982, the first insulin utilizing rDNA technology was first marketed.

 

Tuberculosis: The earliest texts found on this subject were in India – then called    राजयक्ष्मा [rājayakṣmā] (3,300 years ago) and China (2,300 years ago), although the disease may have existed for over 9000 years elsewhere.  Also called “phthisis” in ancient Greece, “tabes” in ancient Rome, “schachepheth” in ancient Hebrew, in Europe called “consumption” in the 1800s.  

In the 1800s, TB killed one out of every six-seven people in the United States and Europe. In 1882, Dr Robert Koch discovered the bacteria that causes tuberculosis: Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Dr Koch’s discovery was the first important step taken toward the control and elimination of this deadly disease.

In India, although written about from ancient times, there was never any systematic accounts kept. In the 1800s, the records of the Johnny English (troops of EIC & the Crown) seemed to indicate that they were more susceptible to contract TB than the locals.

It was only in the first decade of the 20^th century that any serious addressing of the problem was carried out in India with the All-India Sanitary Conferences held in 1911, 1912 & 1914. The Medical Missionary Association played an important part in setting up hospitals and sanatoriums in India. By mid-1930s, Baroda State had started following the British Government guidelines regarding this dreadful disease. (Remember that Sayajirao’s first Maharani – Chimnabai I [Laksmi Bai of Tanjore] had died of TB in 1884, at just 20 years of age & only 4 years after marrying Sayajirao.)

 Effective treatments using streptomycin and PAS were established just 75 years ago – in the 1940s. This was followed by thiocetazone and INH in the 1950s. In many countries, the BCG vaccination became a standard to be given to infants. Latest chemotherapy drugs which are used for treatment are very efficacious - kanamycin, levofloxacin, cycloserine, ethionamide, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol.

In during the time-frame of this tale though, there were only fairly limited treatments – one being giving Tuberculin purified protein derivative subcutaneous injections under supervision and the other - being placed in isolation and being subjected to plenty of fresh air – in a sanatorium, if there was one established in the area.

 

(Reference is now made to the KNP family majordomo – Dwarkanath Bedhade – who, besides being the main factotum in the house and KNP’s valet, also drove the horse carriage – and not least of all – actually brought up Bal (my Papa) during his early and teen years – as Radhabai was very sickly from a fairly young age. Besides the family narratives I had heard, Dwarkanath also told my mother the stories regarding the family situation, which are now being recounted here).

 As far back as 1931-32 in Navsari, owing to her condition, a full time live-in caregiver was employed for Radhabai – a Gujarati Brahmin nurse. Sundermati-ben (surname not known - and henceforth referred to as Sunderben) was a comely lady, in her 30s at the time, and she had to take complete care of Radhabai.

In 1936 at Mehsana , once Radhabai had been diagnosed with TB, KNP had to arrange for another dwelling next to his residence in Mehsana so that she could be in isolation. Owing to this illness, it appears that KNP may have requested to be recalled to Baroda so that Radhabai could be treated with better hospital facilities etc. So after just a year in Mehsana, KNP was back in Baroda in 1937, and Radhabai had to be sequestered in a separate part of the big house in Baroda. 

The story goes that a sort of chemistry sparked between KNP and Sunderben.. will not go into any coarse gossip or speculation, but a forbidden, intimate relationship did develop between the two in the mid 1930s. 

One must remember that KNP very often travelled for weeks and months at a time with SRG, and was home intermittently. The affair was apparent to the others and would have caused a lot of resentment and awkwardness with the rest of the family members as well as the household domestic help, what with Radhabai being in a fragile state of health. For the younger married couples and the mid-teen Bal, this probably was an unpleasant reality they had to face and keep quiet about. During that period, Sunderben’s  overt attitude (regarding her status in the house) with the rest of the family, is not known..

 

In 1936, Bhaskar Rao (Kamala’s husband – now referred to as KB) had completed his Engineering & had returned to India. In the late 1930s, he started working with the engineering company: William Jacks & Co., Ltd., in Calcutta, where Kamali joined him.  

 In 1937, Anand finished his Degree Course, was back in India and had started working in Baroda. Nalini and their child Yeshwant were already living with KNP & family by then.

In Aug 1938 in Madras at her parent's place, Nalini delivered a healthy baby girl - named Usha

  Some family photos from mid to late 1930s

 

December 1938, the Khat Muhurat (ground breaking / foundation stone laying) of Pratap Talkies by the young Prauputra Fatehsinhrao Gaekwad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KNP on the Isle of Wight Paddle steamer S.S. Whippingham.  1938 

 

 

 

 

KNP went on one final foreign trip with SRG in 1938 (what would be SRG’s last foreign tour) – although it looks like KNP returned after just 2-3 months, whilst SRG stayed on in Europe owing to his deteriorating health and only returned by air to Bombay in October 1938. SRG would never see Baroda again.

 

In Bombay, at Jayamahal Palace (Jai Mahal Palace) on November 1st, he was taken ill due to kidney failure which resulted in Uraemia. MCB was in London and she was flown back to be at his side. SRG’s health see-sawed, with him making recoveries only to be set back again. He was eager to be back in Baroda, but his precarious health did not permit travel.

On 5^th February, he suffered a severe heart attack and he passed away the next day - 6th February 1939 - just a month short of his 76th birthday.

That very night. his body was taken by a special train to Baroda. On 7^th February, the Royal  Cremation was carried out at the Kardeshwar Ghat behind the Kirti Mandir. Kirti Mandir located on the banks of Vishwamitri River is the resting place of Gaikwads of Baroda. According to certain accounts, some of the cremated ashes are placed inside plaster-of-paris busts of the Royal deceased and positioned in one of the rooms lining the passageways.

On 20^th February, the rest of SRG’s ashes were taken by another special train to Allahabad, for immersion at the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna.

 

 Obituary in the NY Times

 

Morning Tribune – 8^th Feb 1939

 

Bombay Chronicle – 7^th Feb 1939

 London Times 8^th Feb  // Strait Times 6^th Feb

At the time of his death, Sayajirao Gaekwad III was the eighth richest man in the world and the second richest in India (after the Nizam of Hyderabad)

 

 

Radhabai - around 1938 - (48 years old)

 

For KNP, the death of his master was a terrible blow – which was followed shortly by another dreadful personal loss: Radhabai, aged 49 years old, breathed her last in March – just some weeks after SRG. The pillar of strength for the younger Panemanglors was no more – and there were going to be some monumental changes in the family.

Although the outcome was expected, Bal was completely shattered with his mother’s death. The very atmosphere in the big house had changed. Bal had just completed his Intermediate and was contemplating which undergraduate stream to follow.

 

Bal - 1939 – soon after his mother’s demise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The situation in India towards the end of the 1930s was very volatile. The three Round Table Conferences (1930-31-32) were essentially failures and resulted in the Government of India Act 1935 which authorized the establishment of independent legislative assemblies in all provinces of British India, the creation of a central government incorporating both the British provinces and the princely states, and the protection of Muslim minorities.

In 1937, the Indian National Congress won victories in seven of the eleven provinces of British India and  Congress governments were formed in these seven provinces. The Muslim League (ML) won only 105 seats out of the total of 1585 seats. In fact, other Muslim parties/entities had won 384 seats. So by 1937, ML had been relegated to the background, and Barrister Muhammad Ali Jinnah had reverted to his profession of practising Law.

Many Muslims soon viewed the Congress ruled governments as new “Hindu raj” - biased and tyrannical and the Hindu-led Congress ministries as insensitive to Muslim demands, appeals for jobs, as well as to the redressal of their grievances. Thus, the lines of battle were drawn by 1939, which served only to intensify and accelerate the process of communal conflict and irreversible political division that would split British India.

 Elsewhere, the winds of war were blowing strong and by September 1939, the world would be plunged into it’s deadliest and bloodiest ever global conflict - involving the vast majority of the world’s countries and covering practically the entire surface of the Earth. But that’s another vast topic, which will only be touched superficially, where there is relevance to this tale.

 

Just five or six months after Radhabai had passed on, 57-year-old KNP went to Somnath with Sunderben, and they got married at the Somnath Temple. There was now a new mistress of the big house.

 

On 26th April 1939, Pratapsinh Gaekwad succeeded his grandfather Farzand-i-Khas-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Shrimant Maharaja Sir, Sena Khas Khel Shamsher Bahadur Maharaja Gaekwad of Baroda, GCSI, GCIE, KIH.

 Along with his accession to the Gaekwad Gadi, an extraordinary era came to an end, and with Maharaja Pratapsinh, there would be the ushering of a new administration and a number of SRG's close aides would be put to pasture. KNP was one of them.

 

With the closing of the decade, the next epoch will be covered in the upcoming chapter.