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Gayatri Devi

Gayatri Devi was the third Maharani consort of Jaipur from 1940 to 1949 through her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. Following her husband's signature for the Jaipur State to become part of the Union of India and her step-son's assumption of the title in 1970, she was known as Maharani Gayatri Devi, Rajmata of Jaipur.

Early life
Born into a Hindu royal family, she had Bengali Her father, Prince Jitendra Narayan of the Cooch Behar State, presently in West Bengal, was the younger brother of the Yuvaraja (Crown Prince). She was related to Keshub Chandra Sen (A prominent figure in the Bengal Renaissance and social reformer) through her paternal grandmother, Suniti Devi, who was the daughter of Keshub Chandra Sen. Her mother was Maratha Princess Indira Raje of Baroda, the only daughter of Maratha King, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, an extremely beautiful princess and a legendary socialite. Early in her life, her uncle's death led to her father ascending the throne (gaddi). Gayatri studied at Glendower Preparatory School in London, Patha Bhavana of Visva-Bharati University, Shantiniketan, and later in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she travelled with her mother and siblings, then studied secretarial skills in London School of Secretaries; Brillantmont and Monkey Club London. She first met Sawai Man Singh II when she was 12 and he had come to Calcutta to play polo and stayed with their family. She married Sawai Man Singh II Bahadur on 9 May 1940. Gayatri was described by Beaton as one of the ten most beautiful women in the world. In a 2004 interview, Gayatri mentioned ''"I have never felt beautiful...I remember as a young girl, my mother had to literally force me into applying lipstick, physical appearance doesn't bother me, it never has, it never will"''. In 2019 an exhibition 'Maharani: ‘Remembering the Princess'" was held in Mumbai to celebrate the Maharani's Centennial year. In 2013 designer Sabyasachi made five limited edition saris presented at the Taj Mahal Palace in honour of Devi's enduring style icon status. She started two schools in Jaipur, Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ Public School established in 1943 and Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, Jaipur which is a co-educational school in memory of her husband. She revived and promoted the dying art of blue pottery. ==Political career==
Political career
Gayatri Devi ran for Parliament in 1962 and won from Jaipur Lok Sabha constituency, winning 192,909 votes out of 246,516 cast. She continued to hold this seat in 1967 and 1971 as a member of the Swatantra Party founded by C. Rajagopalachari, She retired from politics and published her biography, A Princess Remembers, written by Santha Rama Rau, in 1976. It was also published in Marathi language as A Princess Remembers: Gayatri Devi. She was also the focus of the film Memoirs of a Hindu Princess, directed by Françoise Levie. There were rumours that she might re-enter politics as late as 1999, when the Cooch Behar Trinamool Congress nominated her as their candidate for the Lok Sabha elections, but she did not respond to the offer. ==Family==
Family
Gayatri Devi had one son, Prince Jagat Singh, Raja of Isarda (15 October 1949 – 5 February 1997), who was granted his paternal uncle's (father's elder brother) fief of Isarda as a subsidiary title. Jagat Singh was married on 10 May 1978 to Mom Rajawongse Priyanandana Rangsit (b. 1952), daughter of Prince Piyarangsit Rangsit and Princess Vibhavadi Rangsit (née Rajani) of Thailand. The couple had two children: • Rajkumari Lalitya Kumari (b. 1979) • Maharaj Devraj Singh, Raja of Isarda (b. 1981) Today, they are her only surviving descendants, and as such, have claimed to be heirs of their paternal grandmother. Maharaj Jagat Singh was paternal half-brother to Bhawani Singh of Jaipur, the eldest son of the late Maharaja by his first wife, a Jodhpur princess. Family relationships in 1940. Gayatri Devi was related to several erstwhile royal families in India. She was herself not from the Rajput community, but from a dynasty native to Cooch Behar in Bengal, and was daughter of Maharaja Jitendra Narayan and Maharani Indira Raje, who was daughter of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III and Maharani Chimnabai, belonging to the Gaekwad dynasty of the Marathas. Her paternal grandparents were Nripendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur and Sunity Devi of Cooch Behar. Maharani Sunity Devi was the daughter of the Brahmo social reformer Keshab Chandra Sen. She had two brothers, Jagaddipendra Narayan and Indrajitendra Narayan of whom Jagaddipendra Narayan became the Maharaja of Cooch Behar in his infancy after the death of their father in 1922. Thus, maternally, she was closely connected to Gaekwads of Baroda State. Further, her sister Ila Devi was married into the Tripura royal family, and her younger sister, Maneka Devi, was married into the royal family of Dewas State. Thus, through various relatives, she was related to the royal houses of Kota, Sawantwadi, Akkalkot State, Jath State, Dewas Jr., Jasdan State, Sandur, Tehri-Garhwal, Mayurbhanj, Dhar State, Kolhapur, Lunawada State, Baria and Raja of Payagpur, which was considered normal among the royalties of India. ==Death==
Death
She was admitted at Santokba Durlabhji Memorial hospital (SDMH) on 17 July 2009. She died at the age of 90 on 29 July 2009, reportedly due to lung failure. == Filmography ==
Filmography
Stephane Bern. Gayatra Devi, une princesse au pays des Maharajas. Documentary by Roland Portiche and Vanessa Pontet. 1h45'. 2013. First broadcast on 26 December 2013, FR2 (French TV). == Notes ==
Additional sources
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