Sita Devi (Maharani of Kapurthala)

Princess Sita Devi, Princess Karamjit Singh of Kapurthala (30 September 1915 − 2002), also known as Princess Karam and the Pearl of India, was the wife of Prince Karamjit Singh, a younger son of King Jagatjit Singh I of Kapurthala in Punjab, British India. In 1944, she was awarded the Empire of India Medal for her work in raising funds for Indian soldiers in the Second World War.

Not to be confused with Sita Devi, Maharani of Baroda.
Princess Sita Devi
Princess Sita Devi (mid-1930s)
Born30 September 1915
Died2002
SpousePrince Karamjit Singh of Kapurthala
(m. 1928 - 1967; his death)
IssuePrince Arun Singh
Prince Martand Singh
FatherUdai Raj Singh I, Prince of Kashipur
MotherPrincess Devi of Bashahr

She was widely regarded as one of the most glamorous women of her day.[1]

Early life and education
Maharaj Kumar Rani of Kapurthala by Andre Durst (1934)

Sita Devi was born in 1915 to the Hindu Rajput Raja Uday Raj Singh of Kashipur, Uttarakhand.[2]

At age 13, she married Prince Karamjit Singh, a younger son of the Sikh Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala in Punjab, British India.[2] Her sister-in-law was Brinda Devi, making Princess Indira Devi her niece.[2] As a devote Hindu, she kept her Nepalese cooks with her in order to produce vegetarian food and special Hindu meals for fasts.[3] At her wish, her husband arranged for her to have lessons in Sanskrit, German, Italian, mathematics, history and Hindu rituals.[2] She subsequently became fluent in five languages.[4]

Life in Europe

Her first trip to Europe was in 1934.[4] In London, an "onlooker" in the Daily Mail wrote that "Princess Karam is pale. In her own country she is considered the most beautiful of the Princesses; they call her the "Rose of India"."[4] That year Cathleen Mann's sketch of her was displayed at the New English Art Club show at the Suffolk Street Galleries.[5] Subsequently, in Paris, the media widely reported on her looks.[2][4] In 1938 her portrait featured in Oliver Messel's exhibition.[6]

She was a muse for several photographers, including Cecil Beaton and Man Ray.[2] Vogue named her "one of the most beautiful women in the world".[7]

At the turn of the 20th century, Indian princesses were increasingly wearing western garments, whether openly or under purdah.[8] Sita Devi's preferred couturier was Mainbocher, who designed chiffon saris and fur coats for her, and designed the wedding dress for Wallis Simpson's nuptials with the Duke of Windsor.[8][9][10]

The couturier Elsa Schiaparelli was so dazzled by Sita Devi that the gowns of the designer’s 1935 collection were constructed like Indian saris.[11] In early 1939, at Lady Mendl's tea in honor of the Hollywood dietitian, Gayelord Hauser, Sita Devi was listed among the twelve most glamorous women in the world.[12]

At the end of the summer in 1939, Devi was a guest of honour at a party hosted by Elsie de Wolfe.[13]

Death and legacy

Sita Devi died in 2002. Her grandson is the jewellery designer Hanut Singh.[14]

Honours

References
  1. Made for Maharajas: a design diary of princely India / by Amin Jaffer; pages 113, 116-117. New York: Vendome Press, 2006. ISBN 0-86565-174-4 ISBN 978-0-86565-174-6
  2. Poddar, Abhishek; Gaskell, Nathaniel; Pramod Kumar, K. G; Museum of Art & Photography (Bangalore, India) (2015). "Kapurthala". Maharanis: women of royal India. Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-93-85360-06-0. OCLC 932267190.
  3. Ray, Krishnendu; Srinivas, Tulasi, eds. (2012). "3. Cosmopolitan kitchens: cooking for princely zenanas in late colonial India". Curried Cultures: Globalization, Food, and South Asia. University of California Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-520-27012-1.
  4. "Gossip of London: the pale princess". Belfast Telegraph. 15 June 1934. p. 810 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "What every woman wants to know". The Sketch. 2 November 1938. p. 223 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Beauty from Oliver Messel's Exhibition". The Sketch. 30 November 1938. p. 415 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. Poddar, Abhishek; Gaskell, Nathaniel; Pramod Kumar, K. G; Museum of Art & Photography (Bangalore, India) (2015). "Kapurthala". Maharanis: women of royal India. Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing. pp. 132–136. ISBN 978-93-85360-06-0. OCLC 932267190.
  8. Jhala, Angma Dey (2011). "Introduction: cosmopolitan collectors". Royal Patronage, Power and Aesthetics in Princely India. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-85196-064-4.
  9. Scheips, Charlie (2014). Elsie de Wolfe's Paris: Frivolity Before the Storm. Abrams. pp. 130–132. ISBN 978-1-61312-980-7.
  10. Jaffer, Amin (10 December 2006) "Made for maharajas". The Tribune. Excerpt from Made for Maharajas: A Design Diary of Princely India
  11. Frocking Life: Searching for Elsa Schiaparelli. New York: Rizzoli Publications. 2016. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-8478-4548-4.
  12. Time 13 February 1939
  13. Franklin, Ruth (20 September 2004). "A Life in Good Taste". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  14. "A Journey into the world of Jewelry Designer Hanut Singh". Thomas Fuchs Creative. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  15. "Kaisar-i-Hind Silver Medal". Civil & Military Gazette. Vol. LXV, no. 6085. Lahore. 1 January 1944 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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