Page 17 - Demo

Maharaja Alak Narayan with Maharani Vidyavati DeviPrologue - The Maharaja versus The Crown1936. Madras.The oppressive heat of an Indian summer pressed down. The poor, sweltering in their hovels, looked eagerly to the coming of the monsoon, still a month away. The burra sahibs had already departed to the summer capital of Ooty or parts beyond.The mass of red brick towers, crenelated walls and IndoSaracenic spires that was the Madras High Court shifted and wavered like a mirage in the heat. Inside, the ceiling fans slowly stirred the humid air. Amidst the gleaming teak and mahogany interiors, bewigged judges and lawyers in black solemnly strode the whitewashed corridors. Even in this hushed environment, however, a buzz of whispers and counter-whispers spread through the air and echoed under the celebrated central dome. The High Court had witnessed many famous cases; glittering defences and redoubtable prosecutions. But this was out of the ordinary. The lawyers all knew %u2013 they had a corker on their hands. It is not everyday that a case comes that captures the imagination of the legal fraternity as well as the general public. And this was one of them, what would go down in popular parlance as the %u2018Vizianagaram Maharaja's case%u2019. In his chamber, Justice Mutha Venkata Subba Rao pored over the papers. Subba Rao, then in his late 50s, was at the apex of a brilliant career. He had the distinction of being the 7