In the morning I again walked through the streets along the temples and the river — the same images, the same effect.
Towards noon the Maharaja of Benares, Brabhn Narain Singh Bahadur, paid me a visit. As splendid the gentleman was decorated with precious stones, his overall appearance was less than princely: His state carriage and especially his body guard which sat on discarded horses and partly wore old English uniforms looked really miserable. He is a charming friendly old fellow and apparently a passionate hunter who is never separated from his express rifle carried along by a servant event to all his visits and public events. In response to my question he answered that he had killed 60 tigers in his state. That a group picture was taken by a photographer in front of the palace hardly needs a mention.
The return visit I paid in another of his palace which was in a deserted and deplorable state. On that occasion the Maharaja wore even more beautiful diamonds. The palace only contained a gallery of Europe’s crowned heads, ugly lithographs, which constituted the main decoration of the reception hall where the Maharaja and I sat down for a few minutes on some sort of throne. After we had exchanged our photographs, the prince gave me an ivory carving he considered of being of very high value. Finally we went to the station accompanied by the Maharaja. Our train would take us on the East Indian Railway to Agra by the way of Allahabad and Kahnpur.
Links
- Location: Benares, India
- ANNO – on 11.02.1893 in Austria’s newspapers. The Wiener Salonblatt spares but one sentence for Franz Ferdinand’s Indian adventures in its issue of 12 February 1893, p. 3.
Wiener Salonblatt, 12 February 1893, issue 7, p.3: Franz Ferdinand in India
- The k.u.k. Hof-Burgtheater plays a drama “Eine vornehme Ehe“ by Octave Feuillet, while the k.u.k. Hof-Opermtheater offers Jules Massenet’s “Werther”.