Mumbai, July 30: Rajmata Gayatri Devi (90) passed away at a Jaipur hospital after a prolonged illness. The wife of the late Maharaja Maan Singh, she was once listed among the World’s Ten Most Beautiful Women by Vogue magazine and revered for her grace and poise. She had a stint in politics and was even jailed during the Emergency. Here Sharmila Tagore remembers the dynamic lady.
“Aunty Ayesha (Gayatri Devi) was a personal friend of my mother-in- law. The two families have been very close. It was a very long association. She was very much part of my wedding and she was very fond of cricket. Once she asked me a question about cricket. I didn’t know the answer. ‘Why don’t you know? Aren’t you married to Tiger (Pataudi)?’ she retorted.
Rajmata Gayatri Devi
Sharmila Tagore
Indelible memories
When she was in a roomful of people she made every single person feel special. When I got engaged to Pat, she came across the entire length of the room, came and talked to me in Bengali. That one-to-one made me feel so special. That time, I was so young, so frightened. Her attention made me feel so confident. I’ve never forgotten that. She was a fun person to be with.
Glam presence
We were in London recently and she wanted to see the new Keira Knightley film, The Duchess. I remembered how I had arranged a show of my film Anupama in the 1960s for her mother who was on a wheelchair. I told Aunty Ayesha if The Duchess was in India, I’d have definitely arranged a special screening for her.
She joined Parliament and was such a glamorous presence there. And she coped with the jail sentence with such dignity. Until the end, there were so many dignitaries in her house. My husband was very close to her.
She was exceptionally fond of him. She really enjoyed life. She was a patron of the arts. And she did a lot for polo. I’ll miss her. If a film on her life was made today I can’t think of anyone who could fit in. She had a quality that’s hard to find these days. The way she held herself, the way she moved⦠that’s hard to replicate.”
—Agencies