The Maharajas' Motor Car: The Story of Rolls-Royce in India

[mcgillianaire]

A delightfully educational hour-long BBC4 documentary currently available on the iPlayer (only for UK residents):

Combining newly-shot high-definition sequences, archive film and photographs, this film follows the princes from the zenith of British imperial power in the early 1900s, through to their decline in the aftermath of independence in 1947. Contributors include: HH Shriji Arvind Singh, the Maharana of Udaipur; Manvendra Barwani, Rana of Barwani; Pranlal Bhogilal, India's foremost Rolls-Royce collector; and Sharada Dwivedi, writer and cultural commentator.

I learnt that the next time I watch pre-Independence videos of the British riding Rolls-Royces in India, I'll know that the real owners of the 'mechanical elephants' were the Maharajas, and not their colonial masters because they were simply too expensive to afford.

Comments

[drunkendeadcat.livejournal.com]

at leat you learnt something