Maharajas: Resonance from the Past

by Charles Allen

Resonance from the Past is the story of the Maharajas, Nizams, Nawabs, Maharawals, Jams, Rajas and Raos—rulers of the 565 Princely States of India. It tells of their origins from Vedic times, their rise to power, the proud defense of their clans, royal tastes which found expression in the magnificent architecture of their palaces and forts, mind-boggling collections of jewelry and arms and armor, lavish performance of rites and ceremonies. It tells of the romance of desert kingdoms, the crushing blow of the Mughals and the British Raj; the phoenix-like rise of new States and their eventual decline. Illustrated with almost 200 photographs from museums and previously unseen images from the personal collections of Royal descendants, this is a fascinating celebration of the splendour of Princely India.

Genres: History

160 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

Charles Allen is a British writer and historian. He was born in India, where several generations of his family served under the British Raj. His work focuses on India and South Asia in general. Allen's most notable work is Kipling Sahib, a biography of Rudyard Kipling. His most recent work, Ashoka: the Search for India's Lost Emperor, was published in February 2012.

Selected works:

Plain Tales from the Raj: Images of British India in the Twentieth Century (1975)
Raj: A Scrapbook of British India 1877–1947 (1977)
Tales from the Dark Continent: Images of British Colonial Africa in the Twentieth Century (1979)
A Mountain in Tibet: The Search for Mount Kailas and the Sources of the Great Rivers of India (1982)
Tales from the South China Seas: Images of the British in South-East Asia in the Twentieth Century (1983)
Lives of the Indian Princes, with co-author Sharada Dwivedi (1984)
Kipling's Kingdom: His Best Indian Stories (1987)
A Glimpse of the Burning Plain: Leaves from the Journals of Charlotte Canning (1986)
A Soldier of the Company: Life of an Indian Ensign 1833–43 (1988)
Architecture of the British Empire, Ed. R. Fermor-Hesketh (1989)
The Savage Wars of Peace: Soldiers' Voices 1945–1989 (1990)
Thunder and Lightning: The RAF in the Gulf War (1991)
The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History (1999)
India Through the Lens: Photography 1840–1911, Ed. Vidya Dehejia (2000)
Soldier Sahibs: The Men who Made the North-west Frontier (2000)
The Buddha and the Sahibs: The Men who Discovered India's Lost Religion (2002)
Duel in the Snows: The True Story of the Younghusband Mission to Lhasa (2004)
Maharajas: Resonance from the Past (2005)
God's Terrorists: The Wahhabi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad (2006)
Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling (2007)
The Buddha and Dr Führer: An Archaeological Scandal (2008)
The Taj at Apollo Bunder: The History of the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, with co-author Sharada Dwivedi (2011)
Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor (2012)