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would frequently come to Madras and stay at the family's palatial residence on Norton Road in the tony Mandaveli area. Called %u2018Admiralty House%u2019 because it had been purchased from a British naval officer by Maharaja Alak Narayan's father in 1914, it was built on the banks of the Adyar creek that wended its way to the sea. No expense had been spared in the interior, with its chandeliers, carpets and imported sofas. Ravi Varma paintings covered the walls of the grand hall.The family was popular and the young Alak Narayan had been dubbed as %u2018Prince Charming of Madras%u2019 by the British Governor-General. Now, PVG Raju and his siblings spent their afternoons romping up and down the impressive flight of steps, running around the hall with its tall pillars and high ceilings. It was an idyllic life. But this was not to last.Just a few weeks prior, in April, the British government, through section 15 of the Madras Court of Wards Act had made a declaration, that under the provisions of this act, %u2018the Raja was a disqualified person, unfit to handle his own affairs, the family, and the considerable property and directed the Court of Wards to assume and take over the supervision of both his person and property.%u2019 In technical terms, the government had declared that the Maharaja was %u2018a disqualified proprietor and directed the Court of Wards to assume Superintendence both of his person and property%u2019.This had burst like a bombshell. Under the original Tudor rules, an heir would be denied their estate only if they failed the most basic tests, such as not being able to count to twenty or mention their father's name. It was unprecedented that a ruler who had been crowned more 14