It is reported that a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, one of the classic automobiles of our former Maharaja, Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, is likely to come up for auction in London very soon along with a gold pendent studded with precious stones, once owned by Tipu Sultan. It is not known who will eventually own these priceless heirlooms as the successful bidder and as it usually happens, it is most likely that it will be some wealthy private collector of such memorabilia.

It is sad that these priceless artifacts which are intimately linked to our history and heritage have to suffer this fate with the passage of time when they should have rightfully enjoyed a place of honour and pride in one of the many State-owned museums in our own country. But going by what we have seen in the recent past, it is unlikely that the Indian government will try to acquire and preserve these items for Indian posterity.

Although we have seen the governments of many countries going to great lengths to procure historically important artifacts from across the globe, very sadly it has somehow not been the forte of our government although a few of our business houses and even philanthropic individuals have done much at great cost to redeem and preserve bits and pieces of our history and culture. When the Indian government showed no signs of rescuing the sword that once belonged to Tipu Sultan at an auction a few years ago, it took Vijay Mallya, the Bangalore - based liquor baron with a flamboyant personality, to step in like a gallant knight at the last moment and bring it back to its homeland at considerable personal expense. It remains to be seen if this king of good times will step in now too, like he did last time and do a hat-trick by rescuing these two items from landing in the hands of collectors outside the country.

While it is easy to understand how artifacts belonging to Tipu Sultan which were a part of the spoils of the last Mysore war could land in the hands of the descendents of the many British officers and soldiers who participated in the war, I wonder if someone can throw some light on how the limousine of our Maharaja landed in Britain, especially because it is a relatively recent occurrence. It will be interesting to trace the history of its overseas travels. It is said to be one of the many custom made cars that were specially procured to transport royal guests during the Delhi durbar celebration of the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary in December 1911 which makes it all the more special and enhances its value.

It is a very well - known fact that the Mysore Maharajas were among the members of royalty who owned some of the finest automobiles from the world's finest car makers, particularly from the Rolls Royce stable. It is reported that nearly thirty percent of the over two thousand Rolls Royce cars made by the company till World War II were bought by Indian Maharajas. Of these, the highest number of them was owned by the Nizam of Hyderabad who had ninety cars, while our Maharaja is said to have owned twenty two. But when it comes to bulk purchasing, our Maharaja is said to have been the topper having ordered seven of them at one time making the company coin a new term called “Doing a Mysore” for bulk purchasing!

During my childhood, it was common to see a long convoy of these fine limos noiselessly gliding in a majestic line along the Ashoka Road whenever Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, our last real Maharaja, drove into or out of the city. With my childhood fascination for cars I would never lose a chance to persuade my father, himself an automobile aficionado, to take a detour from our regular route to or from our house in Narasimharaja Mohalla to the city centre and pass in front of the Palace garage next to the present Police Commissioner's office which was then actually the Palace band house.

We would stop in front of the usually closed huge ornamental wrought iron gate, long enough for me to count and admire the gleaming royal carriages parked side by side in their cubicles. This was an exercise I would insist on quite regularly and which my father never used to refuse, knowing my love for cars. While there were a few Bentleys, Bugattis and Daimlers with unusually huge headlamps, the completely hand built Rolls Royces, then the most expensive cars in the world clearly outnumbered them. Sadly, as the years went by the number of these majestic cars slowly dwindled until the now almost empty royal garage itself changed ownership and passed into the hands of the Sundaram Motor Co., of the TVS Group, as their showroom and service centre for Fiat and later Premier Padmini cars.

As if to celebrate the completion of my MBBS course, we bought an ocean blue Padmini car from there in the year 1980 which we still have in perfect running condition. To me it was then no less precious than any car bought for any king or queen's coronation! Like many fine and priceless royal possessions which passed into the hands of commoners, thanks both to the generosity of the Maharajas and also the guile and greed of some of their crafty aides and coteries, many of these cars like many other royal possessions, changed hands and disappeared from sight without any record of their whereabouts.

Until a few years ago I had an elderly patient who used to vulcanize tyres at the Palace garage. It appears he was very close to the Maharaja because he used to often accompany the royal entourage in a service vehicle. When he retired, Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, who was well - known for his magnanimity and large heartedness, gifted him one of the Daimlers which had gone out of regular use. I wonder what happened to it and where it finally went as the years went by.

In the thirties a Chevrolet convertible that was originally owned by the Palace and later gifted to one of the aides of Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar came into the hands of my grandfather for Rupees Two Thousand, then a really princely sum. But not all persons who owned cars knew the nuances and intricacies of using and maintaining a car, and car mechanics and garages were practically non - existent then. So at the request of my grandfather, its former owner with unusual generosity and thoughtfulness, allowed its driver, Sunder Raj, a Tamilian gentleman, to not only drive and deliver the car to our coffee estate in Chikmagalur but also to stay there for some time till my grandfather could learn driving and the art of maintaining the car from him.

But it so happened that over that brief period of time a very close friendship developed very quickly between him and my grandfather, traversing the boundaries between servant and master and Sunder Raj refused to return to Mysore after his assigned training job was over. Perhaps his attachment to the car too had something to do with his unusual decision. He was the one who taught car driving not only to my grandfather but also to his four sons which included my father. In the company of my grandfather, Sunder Raj in turn learnt the art of handling guns and became an excellent marksman.

It appears this tall dark and wiry bachelor who had himself retired from service as a Palace driver was always impeccably dressed in a starched khaki uniform with a tasseled turban and tight breeches reaching up to his gleaming brown leather boots. He remained in my grandfather’s service as a loyal friend and aide and being a little older, he predeceased him by a couple of years to find his final resting place far from his own hearth and home but not very far from the spot where his master too was finally laid to rest.