Page 21 - Demo

behaviour of the model zamindar. There was also a pecuniary interest: at the end of the day, if the landholding ruler presided over his domain in an inept manner, he could not ensure regular payment of revenue. This naturally was of paramount importance for the British. Meanwhile, outside Justice Subba Rao's chambers, the buzz intensified. And why not, when the plaintiff was none other than a Maharaja %u2013 the Maharaja of Vizianagaram, Alak Narayan Gajapathi Raj. And on the other side was the Court of Wards. Vizianagaram was a jewel in the crown of the Madras Presidency. The Presidency was a sprawling state that extended from Kerala all the way to Bengal, comprising parts of today's states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and large parts of Odisha. The Pusapati family was well known. It was, in fact, common knowledge that it occupied a special place in the hearts and affections of the people of the Northern Circars.The Maharaja, through the Zamindari had an income of thirty lakhs a year, an astronomical sum when you consider that 10 grams of gold cost Rs 20, the monthly salary of a clerk would be around Rs 40, and buying a house would set you back by around Rs 12,000. Photographs from that time, show a mild-mannered man with impeccably cut suits, a thin moustache in keeping with the style of the time, and a faraway look. He was about 34 years old. Interested in flying, Maharaja Alak Narayan had converted one of his palaces into a makeshift airport, and the local villagers were used to the sight of his Tiger Moths circling the sky. It would be wrong to say he was an airy monarch, cut 11