Pataudi,January 11 : Actor Saif Ali Khan was on Monday anointed the tenth nawab of the Haryana town through a ceremony at his ancestral palace over a month after his father Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s death.
The 41- year- old actor was made the nawab at a pagdi ( turban) ceremony on Monday morning at the Ibrahim Palace, where the heads of 52 villages tied a white turban around his head as mother Sharmila Tagore, sisters Saba and Soha looked on.
Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was also present on the occasion.
Saif has been given the honorary title last held by his father, who died on September 22 following chronic lung infection.
Saif was initially reluctant to be anointed as the nawab, a title no longer recognised by the government, but gave in to the tradition to honour the sentiments of villagers.
As the newly appointed nawab , Saif will have to take care of his father’s estate, their ancestral home, eye hospital and other charitable institutions.
Mansoor Pataudi, whose mother was the daughter of the last nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan, was born in Bhopal and was the mutawalli ( patron) of the Auqaf- e- Shahi, the body managing the religious and charitable endowments of the erstwhile princely state. He took over from his mother as heir in the royal family, allowing him to become the mutawalli of dozens of shrines, orphanages and religious trusts, part of the princely Waqf property in Bhopal.