Another scandal… this time a century-old romance

Published by Rupa,the story goes back to the year 1892,when it’s said and heard that the Maharaja of Patiala,in true style,abducted an English lady in Shimla.

The point where the incident happened has been ever since known as the Scandal Point and is a major tourist attraction in Shimla.

Myth,legend,love story… Jaidka was fascinated by the different versions she heard and read about the abduction every time she was in Shimla and Patiala,and this made her check various records in offices in Himachal,“It led to nothing and then my research in Patiala and Shimla resulted in this novel,which is a story of human interest,and will appeal to all,at any time and age.’’

Jaidka takes the readers back and forth in time. The story goes that a handsome young maharaja of a princely Indian state angers the British rulers and is banned from entering Shimla,the summer capital of the Raj. His fault? He has fallen in love and eloped with the Viceroy’s daughter. Not an ordinary romance,the elopement of 1892 has far reaching political consequences. The Viceroy’s daughter enters the Moti Bagh palace in Patiala,a hotbed of jealousy and intrigue. When she gives birth to a child,who is second in line to the throne,both mother and child are targeted as foreigners and usurpers. And it’s this child Kunwar Kartar Singh,who embarks on a journey seeking his roots. This novel attempts to unravel one such story through its narrator-protagonist,Kunwar,the survivor of a tale that was never recorded. No records,no documents,no witnesses,no evidence,only stray bits of information and semi-reliable clues with the help of which he pieces together the almost incredible tale of his mother’s elopement and its tragic aftermath.

Extensive research on the Maharajas of Patiala,their lineage,wives,children,led Jaidka to the life of Rajinder Singh and the corresponding story of The Scandal Point.

“It’s of course fictional,but racy and is generating a lot of interest,for the places it’s set in. The story has some background in history,some of the characters and events are taken from official records; other details have come down by word of mouth. I have portrayed the Maharaja in a kindly light,’’ Jaidka says the novel that wrote itself with the first draft was done in two months.