Quirky History: : The Swan Car of Nabha & Other Unusual Stories from History

By Mini Menon

Eccentric maharajas and nawabs, bizarre believe it or not tales and hilarious twists and turns come together in this first book of the Quirky History series. From the Nizam who hid a priceless diamond in a shoe to the Swan Car of the Maharaja of Nabha to the Nawab of Junagadh who got his dog, Roshanara, married in brocades and pearls with over 700 guests in attendance and many more quirky, unusual stories.Get ready for history to pop right out of this book!'We need offbeat, quirky stories like the ones in this collection to make history come alive' - Ruskin Bond

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harper Children's
• Release date: Apr 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9789353578800

Mini Menon

Mini Menon is an award-winning journalist and author. She is currently the co-founder and editor at Live History India, the product of her fascination for India and its history.

Book preview

SECTION ONE

ECCENTRIC

MAHARAJAS

DIAMOND IN A SHOE

We have all heard of the famous Kohinoor diamond which is currently housed in the Tower of London, but did you know that there is another diamond, double the size of the Kohinoor, still in India? The diamond belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad, who was also once the richest man in the world. But what makes the diamond as interesting as its value is how it was found in a shoe, and the man it was named after – a very mysterious Mr Jacob. How did all this happen?

The story of the Jacob diamond involves three very interesting characters: Mahboob Ali Khan, the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad; his Armenian valet Albert Abid; and a mysterious jeweller named Alexander Malcolm Jacob. In the 1890s, the diamond caused quite a scandal!

For over 2000 years, India was the world’s diamond capital. There are mentions made of diamonds from as far back as the 3rd century BCE, in the famous Indian text Arthashastra, by the great kingmaker Chanakya or Kautilya. The Romans, too, loved Indian diamonds.

While the diamonds from India were famous around the world, the biggest mystery, which remains unsolved, is exactly where they were found. Where were the actual diamond mines in India? Most of these diamonds appear to have originated from the Krishna-Godavari delta in present-day Andhra Pradesh. However, for centuries, the location of these mines was a well-guarded secret.

The most famous story was about the existence of a ‘Valley of Diamonds’. The story told of a valley somewhere deep within India, where diamonds were strewn across the entire area. The valley was hard to find and few survived the expedition if they did get to it. It was infested by poisonous cobras! There are tales of canny merchants who would drop large chunks of meat into the valley (so that the diamonds would stick to the meat), and send trained eagles after them. These large eagles would pick up the chunks and drop them back to the merchants, who in turn would collect the diamonds stuck to the meat. This fantastical story that started as folklore travelled far and wide, even finding a mention in The Adventures of Sindbad, the Sailor. In one adventure, the sailor Sindbad finds himself in a cobra-infested valley of diamonds and escapes by tying himself to the feet of a giant eagle! Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller who came to India and visited the Andhra region in 1293 CE, also wrote about this legend in his account and through him, the story spread across Europe.

By the 16th century, Indian diamonds were more popularly known as ‘Golconda diamonds’ after the Qutubshahi Kingdom of Golconda, covering the region of today’s Hyderabad, where they were found. These diamonds were found in the rich alluvial soil along the Krishna river. Any diamond found that was larger than a certain size had to be deposited in the King’s treasury.

India was the centre of the diamond world until the 1720s, when the Portuguese discovered diamond mines in Brazil. But for years after their discovery, no one wanted to buy the Brazilian diamonds as they preferred the ‘original’ Indian ones. To deal with this, the Portuguese diamond producers just renamed the diamond mine in Minas Gerias region as ‘Golconda’ and began selling Brazilian diamonds as Golconda diamonds in Europe!

By the 18th century, the diamonds from the Krishna valley delta had dried up. Around the same time in 1724, Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan, the Mughal Viceroy of the Deccan, established his own semi-independent kingdom and proclaimed himself the first Nizam of Hyderabad. The vast wealth of the Deccan would make his descendant, the successive Nizam, the richest man in the world!

Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, ascended the throne of the richest and most powerful kingdom in Hyderabad in 1869. A kind and compassionate man, he was famous in Hyderabad as ‘the beloved’ king. There are stories of him travelling in disguise through the city, helping people in need. It is said that he was so generous that no one who came to him for help ever went empty-handed. While he was generous with others, Mahboob Ali Khan was also a man who loved the finer things in life. After all, he could spend money on both without making a dent in his riches! The Nizam had a special fascination for collecting diamonds.

Mahboob Ali Khan’s right-hand man was his valet, an Armenian named Albert Abid.

As a valet to the Nizam, Abid’s duties consisted of looking after the Nizam’s clothes, shoes, watches, jewellery and accessories. It is said that 12 servants used to help dress the Nizam, under Abid’s supervision.

But Abid also took advantage of his position. Since the Nizam never wore the same suit twice, Abid would help himself to his master’s clothes and goodies and then he would sell them back to the forgetful Nizam (who could never remember what he owned), pretending they were brand new!

Abid made so much money cheating the Nizam that he started a large store in Hyderabad, run by his wife, named ‘Abids’. Today, the entire area where that shop was located is known as ‘Abids’. Due to his privileged access, Abid took hefty commissions from traders who wanted access to the Nizam. The protocol was that the items would be presented to the Nizam, and he would utter just one word, either ‘passand’ (approved) or ‘na passand’ (disapproved). The former meant that the item would be bought at whatever price, the latter that it was rejected.

While all of this was happening in Hyderabad, up north in Shimla, where the British capital shifted every summer, there was a gem and antique dealer called Alexander Malcolm Jacob. He was famous all over British India as an eccentric man who hid deep secrets. No one knew where he came from, or what he did. Some whispered that he was a Russian spy; others thought he was a magician who dabbled in occult arts and could even walk on water. Such was the mystery and drama around him that many British writers of the time would include him as a character in their novels.

Jacob was also the most important dealer of antiques and jewels to the Maharajas and high-ranking British officials. Through Abid, Jacob had been in regular touch with Mahboob Ali and had sold several jewels to him at highly inflated prices. Jacob was delighted to find a rich and gullible prince from whom he could earn huge sums of money!

In 1891, Jacob was preparing to undertake the biggest deal of his life. He had planned to buy the 184.75 carat ‘Imperial’ diamond, which had been recently mined in South Africa, from a consortium in London for Rs 21 lakh, and sell it to Nizam for Rs 50 lakh. He also promised Abid a commission of Rs 5 lakh if the deal went through. With Abid’s help, he met the Nizam, who told him that he would buy the diamond, which was then in London, on the condition that he liked the gem.

The Nizam transferred a bank deposit of Rs 23 lakh to Jacob so that the diamond could be transported to India. Meanwhile, the story of the Nizam’s interest in buying the diamond had reached the ears of the British government through the spies in the Nizam’s palace. The British government was worried about Mahboob Ali’s extravagant spending and dissuaded him from buying such an expensive diamond. The Nizam’s prime minister was against it as well.

In July 1891, Jacob met the Nizam in his palace. On a silver tray, placed on a red velvet cloth, was the sparkling diamond, which was then presented to the Nizam. Mahboob Ali took it in his hands, glanced through it a few times and uttered just one word: ‘na passand’. Jacob was aghast. The biggest deal of his life had fallen through.

What followed next is hazy and mired in controversy. A few days later, Jacob sent a telegram to his bank, asking them to transfer money to London as the Nizam had agreed to buy the diamond. He would later claim that the Nizam had told him, through Abid, that ‘na passand’ was just a formality to fool the British and that he actually wanted to buy it. However, it appears that the Nizam then changed his mind and asked for his deposit back. Jacob refused, claiming that the deal had been done. This led to a bitter court case for the money.

A smart man, Jacob had hired some of the best lawyers in British India and the Nizam had quite a run for his money. The case was long-drawn and expensive and created a sensation across India and even in the international press. A special commission was even sent to Hyderabad to take the Nizam’s statement. This was the first time that an Indian prince appeared before a British court and it was considered a matter of great shame. The Jacob diamond was widely dubbed