Purdah Women

Owner of 72 motor cars of which 36 are Rolls-Royces, His Highness the Maharaja of Patiala, Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes (see p. 21) brought his two wives with him to London last week, was not accused of bigamy.

Shy and perpetually veiled, the two wives moved about London invisibly. Even when walking down their hotel corridor or through the lobby they were boxed in by portable screens carried by attendants. When attending the theatre their box was fitted with a contraption of screens so arranged that they could watch the performance, could not be watched by audience or players.

Two other Indian women, neither veiled, were the only Indian female delegates at the Conference. In silken robes of gold & grey dramatic Mrs. Subbarayan strode regally in, fingers blazing rings, arms tinkling bracelets, a large diamond twinkling from a setting which pierced the left side of her Hindu nose. Exactly opposite in type, girlish, robed in simple blue, was the Begum Shaw Nawaz, daughter of a Mohammedan delegate.

Asked about the purdali (screen or curtain) concealing his women, a Maharaja who forbade mention of his name said: "The purdah is a mark of gentility. A purdah woman would be discarded at once by her husband if he discovered she had shown her face to a stranger. However there are exceptions. The custom has been broken by the reigning family of Gondal."

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