Pageant of the Sun-god

The Maharajah of Udaipur moves offices and the city erupts into colourful pageantry

The Maharajah of Udaipur is moving offices, cause for extravagant celebration in the northern Indian city. The pageant includes elephants decorated with gold anklets and a military band strikes up, while commoners throng the streets. The 'nautch girls' are described as "state entertainers and part of the retinue of courts"; interestingly, most are middle-aged women. A grand barge carries guests to the palace, shimmering on Lake Pichola like a mirage. This Gaumont-British ‘Miniature’ was "produced with the gracious approval of HH Maharana of Udaipur”.

Oriental exotica, often referencing Rajasthan royalty, had been seen in fiction features like Joe May's The Tiger of Eschnapur/The Indian Tomb (1921), Franz Osten's The Light of Asia (1925), Shiraz (1928) and A Throw of Dice (1929); so it's disconcerting to see the same ‘swag’ in a documentary film. Meenakshi Shedde