“Saturday, 1 January, 1870. At 11 o'clock photographed the Duke of Edinburgh (and) then returned home”
"Wednesday, 16 February. Went into the photography room. Printed photographs."
"Tuesday, 29 March: Jaipur; took photographs from the corner of the palace."
"Tuesday, 12 April: Jaipur; Did some photography related work. The (photography) chemical compound mixture (which had got) spoiled had to be fixed."
These aren’t the notes of a professional photographer but from the daily journal of Sawai Ram Singh II of Jaipur.
Sawai Ram Singh II
Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh, still a minor at the time, ascended the throne in 1835 and was the 8th Maharaja of Jaipur State. But soon, owing to his superior intelligence and skills of administration, he was given the full powers over the state even before attaining majority.
He took over the reins of the state when the Mughal Empire was crumbling and the Britishers were slowly taking roots in the country. The young Maharaj understood the necessity of embracing the new and the modern and after Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, is considered to be the most enlightened of the Jaipur rulers.
He took steps to reform the city, building the Jaipur Water Works, Ramniwas Gardens and Museums, School of Art, Colleges, roads and highways, turning Jaipur into not only one of the most picturesque capitals of India but also a progressive and modern State, having abolished slavery, child infanticide, and the custom of Sati.
He also constructed the iconic Rambagh Palace which is now a luxury hotel, considered one of the most beautiful Palace Hotels of the world.
Photography
Among his many hobbies and accomplishments, the one that stood out the most was his love for photography. And, deservedly, Sawai Ram Singh, apart from being a reformist and forward-looking ruler, carries the reputation of being the first ‘Photographer Prince’ of the country.
No one knows exactly when the Maharaja’s love affair with photography started, although is it widely believed to have begun in 1864 when the photographer T. Murray came to Jaipur.
The Maharaja embraced photography and acquired the best available equipment for himself. He learnt how to photograph, took his cameras with him on his journeys - whether to Calcutta or Benares or Agra- and began to create what was an archive of whatever was around him: portraits of people, whether local, nobility or distinguished visitors; views of the city taken from carefully chosen angles; landscapes; photographs of himself; and a record of the women of the royal household. He invited well-established photographers and firms - among them T. Murray, Bourne & Shepherd, Sache, Lala Deen Dayal and Louis Rousselet- to came to visit Jaipur and take photographs.
The Equipment
The royal collection had the most technologically advanced pieces of the time, including a chemical sensitising box that came from G. Knight & Sons, a big portrait lens by Voigtlander & Sohn, a wet-plate sliding box camera made by J. Spencer, and a stereo box camera from J.H. Dallmeyer. The Maharaja evidently took pride in his collection and when he mounted his photographs on cards, he would put his personal seal on the card using a specially made embossing tool.
The Photographs
Sawai Ram Singh documented myriad subjects through his photographs. He recorded the building activities in Jaipur, the people, their costumes and culture, and clicked city buildings,, guests, dancers and even himself as subjects.
But the most interesting out of these are the portraits of the women of the royal household — the zenana as it was called. It is a whole series of photographs, some of them of outstanding quality, unlike any that one sees from other courts of those times and are a great source of knowledge for those who are interested in history.
Discovery of the Collection
If the photographs are amazing, no less is the story of their discovery in 1978. The museum's keeper, Yaduendra Sahai, started out by talking to the city palace's 40 full-time Farashs (dusters) whose job is, literally, to prevent dust from settling on the exhibits and the uncounted treasures wrapped up and stored in its vaults and rooms.
None of them could recall having seen anything relating to photography. But one of them did say there were several boxes lying in what used to be Ram Singh's chambers. These boxes, he said, had been dusted daily for half a century but never opened.
And thus were discovered some 10,000 negatives of Sawai Ram Singh’s photographs. Sahai believes that there is still more, some having found their way to private hands.
Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum
The Painting and Photography gallery is comparatively a recent addition to the City Palace and includes Ram Singh's camera, complete with a set of diaphragms and lenses, dark-room equipment, an ancient camera stand, albums, negatives, prints and the prince's personal diary.
So, for your next visit to the Pink City, keep some time to marvel at the photographs and possibly the very first selfies of Sawai Ram Singh II, the Photographer Prince.
For more information, write to us at info@thethingstodoinindia.com
Sources - India Today, Taylor&Francis Online, The Tribune India, and Geni.com
