The Raja of Nanpara and his daily Scotch
Posted in Blogs (Articles) on January 23rd, 2016 by Rajesh Kochhar – Be the first to commentRajesh Kochhar
The personal staff of the Raja of Nanpara, in the 1920s and 1930s, would surely have voted the Raja as the Best Ever Employer. Nanpara was a big taluqdari in the Bahraich district which yielded a monthly income of two lakh rupees to the Pathan ruler who carried the hereditary title of Raja. The Lucknow-based Raja was paranoid about his life; he lived with the constant fear that his enemies would poison him. At the dining table, he would, at the last moment, exchange his plate, with somebody else.
The Raja was fond of his daily Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch whiskey. To be on the safe side, he would take just one peg from a bottle. Each peg had to come from a newly opened bottled. Fortunately, his personal staff in general had no problem in finishing off the remaining contents of the bottle!
Source: Hamied, KA (1972) An Autobiography: A Life to Remember ( Bombay: Lalvani Publishing House), pp. 69-70.
