'A Grandfather's Tale: Memoirs being mainly concerned with service in the Indian Army and the Indian Political Service in India and the Persian Gulf from 1932-1947' [‎20v] (40/118)

- 32 -
The next evening we left by special saloon rail trolley for Jamnagar,
the capital of NawanQgar State where the Jam Sahib and his brother^met us at
the railway station. We then went on to the Pratap Villas Palace in a
covey of Rolls Royces. The next day, after discussions with the Jam Sahib
we sent off a code wire to Delhi and then went out to Balachadi, 1b miles
from Jamnagar, where His Highness had his hot weather quarters. The various
bungalows were built on a point with the sea on three sides of it and m
the summer it is 10° cooler than Jamnagar and never goes much over y 0 . There
was marvellous bathing there, in an enclosure made in the sea, so that the
tide could come in and out, but no sharks. There was also a very pleasant
golf course, as well as squash and tennis courts. We spent most of the
Wednesday there, going again on the Thursday afternoon, after further
discussions in the morning, and bathed and played golf on both days. On
the Thursday the Jam Sahib and I played Mr. Gibson and the Jam Sahib's
younger brother and lost a very good round by 2 and 1 •
H. H. also had staying, amongst other people, three tennis stars, the
then Nos. 1 of Italy, Yugoslavia and Switzerland, and we watched them play
in a four by flood light on our first night in Nawanagar. They were amazingly
good. The Italian was going home to do his military service while the others
were going on to Wimbledon.
The Jam Sahib was the second of four brothers and had been adopted as
his heir by his uncle. Ranjitsinghji, the famous cricketer. The youngest
brother of the four was Duleepsinghji, then in a Sanatorium in Switzerland.
He, too, was a famous cricketer but had unfortunately contracted T.B.
The third brother seemed to act very much as the Jam Sahib's personal
assistant, while the eldest was more concerned in politics and in fighting
off the claims of the Congress Party on the local land owners, not only in
the State but in the whole of Kathiawar.
Nawanagar itself seemed to be very well run and to be a happy place,
and I hoped to have the chance of going there again.
We returned to Rajkot on the Thursday night but on the following
Monday, 3rd April 1939* set off again to go to Cutch, the most senior but
one of the most backward States in the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. ; where there was then a certain
amount of unrest. To get there we had to go for three hours by train back
to Jamnagar, where we were again met by the Jam Sahib and his brother, and
then driven to the port where we boarded H. H. of Cutch's launch. It took
us three hours to reach the Cutch side of the Gulf of Cutch where we landed
at Kandla. The crossing was pleasantly cool but choppy and most of the
servants were sick en route. Our party consisted of Mr. Gibson (the
Resident), the Maxwell-Gurabletons (Deputy Inspector General of Police and
his wife) and me.
On landing we were met by the Maharaj Kumar (heir-apparent) of Cutch
and went with him by car the 50 miles inland to Bhuj, the capital. There
at the Guest House we were greeted by the MaharaO of Cutch himself. He