A man of the people | Yogi Vaid & Aman Nath's 'Bapji: The King Who Would Be Man'
A biography of the titular Maharaja of Jodhpur, enriched with rare, archival photographs and anecdotes
LIFE OF ROYALTY: A spread from the book depicting various moments from the life of Gaj Singh II
ISSUE DATE: Apr 6, 2026 | UPDATED: Mar 27, 2026 20:15 IST
Arguably, the pivotal event in the life of Gaj Singh II (b. 1948)—the subject of this lavishly, and lovingly, produced book—occurred at the age of four, when his father Hanwant Singh, a passionate aviator, perished in a plane crash, thereby making the young boy, quite prematurely, the Maharaja of Jodhpur. If India had not abolished royal titles in 1971, he would possibly be the longest reigning monarch in the world today.