Recently there were two new oleograph prints added to our Purathanam collection and they taught me about the great historical event called “Delhi Durbar” which happened thrice during the time of British Raj. The first one in 1877, then in 1903 and lastly the 1911. Out of these three Delhi Durbars, we were able to find prints of 2 which are of the years 1903 and 1911.
Also this piece of History has a small connection with the history of “The Taj” Hotel, Colaba which was named after Taj Mahal, commissioned by Jamsehdji Tata. Jamsehdji built his dream in the Indo-Saracenic architectural style. There are multiple stories and reasons out there to explain Jamsehdji’s decision on constructing “The Taj” Hotel. Nobody could tell the exact reason very surely. However Jamsehdji has given Bombay this amazing architectural jewel as his gift which is now called “Diamond by the sea”. He first opened its doors for its first 17 Royal guests, charging a princely amount of Rs. 10/- for a single room on 16 December 1902 who came for the Delhi Darbar -1903. Hotel Taj was the first commercial building in Bombay to be lit by electricity and for the rooms with fans and attached bathrooms was charged extra Rs.3/- for Hotel Taj has been considered one of the finest hotels in the East since the time of the British Raj.
There’s another connection with another Historical monument of India ‘Gate way of India’ which is located right next to ‘The Taj’ Hotel. The Foundation for the Gateway of India was commissioned by the docks in March 1911 during the arrival of King George V and Queen Mary, the first British monarch to visit India for their Coronation Durbar in 1911.
Let’s now get in to the Delhi Darbar… Bombay might be the first city of India and Madras the oldest of the three Presidency cities but Delhi was the imperial city for all the kings who come in search of India throughout the history. Delhi has a three thousand year history, some of its old buildings boast of a 1200 year old history and it was the capital of the Mughal empire.
Let me begin with the word “Darbar”. It was originally derived from the Indo-European language Farsi (Persian). In Persia, “Durbar” means ‘Court of a ruler’ (A Royal court). This term was later adopted by the Mughals during the 15th century and later was adopted by Britishers in late 17th century especially by Lord Wellesley, the fifth Governor General of India between 1798 and 1805. Lord Wellesley started this practice of holding darbar in the Fort William in Kolkata, West Bengal once a year. The term Darbar stood for a huge public ceremony bringing together colonizer and colonized under the British monarch. Also the Delhi Durbars were organised by the Viceroys to mark the coronations of Emperors or Empresses. So, it was also known as the Coronation Durbars. To express their loyalty to the British Raj, the kings, Diwans of native states, great zamindars and native officials attended the darbar.
- The Delhi Darbar 1877:
In 1876, Queen Victoria was the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Benjamin Disraeli was the British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In 1877, Benjamin Disraeli, had Queen Victoria proclaimed as Empress of India. India was already under crown control after 1858, but this title was a gesture to link the monarchy with the empire and bring India more close to Britain.
Queen Victoria opened Parliament in person, the first time since the death of Prince Albert, to announce the change in royal title. The Viceroy, Lord Lytton was asked to officially announce the title of ‘Empress of India’ on her behalf throughout India. So in order to celebrate this, Viceroy Lord Lytton organized the first Delhi Darbar in Delhi on the 1st of January 1877.
2. The Imperial Delhi Darbar 1903:
The second Durbar was held in 1903 and it was not just an assemblage but a grand affair that everybody wanted to be a part of. Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India organized a Durbar to celebrate the succession of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra as Emperor and Empress of India on 1st January 1903. But King Edward VII did not attend but sent his brother to a India on his behalf, The Duke of Connaught.
Generally Durbar is such grand celebration which would go on for a week and the main day of the event would be the 1st day of the new year. They had polo, other sports, dinners, balls, military reviews, bands, exhibitions and football tournament and many more to entertain the royals and others. The Viceroy and the Duke and Duchess of Connaught mounted the elephants outside the station and from there the elephant procession began. It proceeded from the Queen’s road, round the Jama Masjid via Chandni Chowk to the ridge by the Flagstaff Tower and finally concluded at the Viceroy’s Camp.
Out of all the three Delhi Durbar, Curzon's Durbar is said to be the grandest and the most colourful and entertaining. Sheldon Williams has done a marvelous water color painting of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught and the Curzons on the elephants. This beautiful scene painted in water colors was later printed in to chromolithograph prints in London. Here is one of those prints and this oleograph print of Curzons Darbar -1903 was the very reason for my digging in to this piece of history.
3. The Imperial Delhi Darbar 1911:
The first two Durbars of 1877 and 1903 were not graced by the presence of the Sovereign but Delhi Durbar of 1911 became special as it was marked as the coronation durbar of King George V and Queen Mary to announce ‘the Emperor and Empress of India’.
The Sovereigns appeared in their Coronation robes and the crown of India. The making of “Crown of India” has a small history. The Britain’s Imperial Crown jewels were not allowed to be taken out of Great Britain. So a new crown and tiara were commissioned to the royal jewellers Garrard & Co. in London but the jewels for the crown came from India. The crown of India weighed just under 1 kg and contained numerous rubies, emeralds and sapphires. It also has 6100 diamonds and a large oval ruby.
“rather tired after bearing the new crown for 3.5 hours. It hurt my head and is pretty heavy.
- King George V
The weight of the crown wounded King George at the front. The Crown of India was valued £ 60,000 then and it is now estimated at £ 5.4 million. As per the history of “the crown of India”, it was worn only once by king George during his coronation ceremony in Delhi in 1911.
The Delhi Durbar tiara for Queen Mary was “a complete circlet piece featuring 2,200 diamond scrolls and festoons set in platinum and gold with 10 emerald drops, which makes it particularly tall. In later years the 10 emeralds were removed, and Queen Mary continued to wear alterations of the tiara, each time commissioning Garrard to allow the tiara to have jewel swapping capabilities”.
That was a small brush up on the history of Delhi Durbars and small historical events connected with the Delhi Darbars from 1877 to 1911.
Please checkout the following link to know more about the oleograph prints of Delhi Darbars;
https://purathanam.com/products/delhi-durbar-1903-chromolithograph-print-london
Delhi Durbar 1911 - Chromolithograph Print, London: