ONCE CAPTURED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 106, 7 May 1938, Page 15

ONCE CAPTURED.

HISTORIC INDIAN CITY.

MAHARAJA'S WONDER PALACE. JODHPUR. Overlooking the city of Jodhpur is an <;ld fort which in all history was captured only once, and that time a3 a result of starvation and not l>y attack. One look at the 400-foot rock cliff on Which it stands and its massive walls, parapets, and towers, and one can readily realise why. The circuit wall of the fort proper is from 20ft to 120 ft high, and from 12ft to 70ft thick, enclosing- an area about 25()yds by 500 yds. The hill itself ie encircled by a string of outposts, connected by a stone wall five miles in circumference. The fort was built in the fifteenth century, and is rich in exhibits of ancient weapons and antiques. In the eity below is the mammoth paJaeo being erected by the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Started seven years ago, it is expected to be complete in three years more at a total coet of 20,000,000 rupee* (about £1,500,000) spent in cheap labour. All the stone for it was cut from a nearby quarry. One building, combining a medieval and modern architecture, is seven storeys high, and covers a base of 200yrls by 300 yds. The Maharaja could feed and lodge all of Jodhpur's 75,000 population at one time. Maharaja's Stable of 250 Horses. The Uaharaja has a fine stable of 250 horses, including many thoroughbred polo ponies. In addition i to being" a successful ruler and high goal polo player, the Maharaja is a skilled 'plane pilot. Because of his intei'est in flying, Jodhpur has a fine airport close to the city. The State of Jodhpur, in ■west central India and a division of the Rajputana agency, is said to be the most airin indod in India. A good hotel, built principally to accommodate air paeeengers, is owned and run by the State. Jodhpur ia one of the richest and is regarded as one of the best managed of the independent States of India. Its population of 2,120,000 in an area of 3/>,OOO square miles is about 86 per cent Hindus and the rest Mohammedans and Jains. To head the Government the Maharaja appoints four Ministers, two of whom are British. British Army Officers. Appointment of officials by independent State rulers must be approved by the British viceroy. In every group of State officials ie usually found one or more men formerly connected with the British Army. This connection provides the Crown with direct supervision of the whole. Jodhpur's army, however, is unimpreseive. The volunteers get less than £1 a month, and out of this must buy food and clothes. They are furnished with muzzle-loading firearms. With the exception of rock hills near the capital, the terrain of Jodhpur State is fTat and sandy. The climate is hot and dry. Wheat and barley are cultivated anil harvested with crude handmade implements. Camels are the beasts of burden. Natural resources consist of salt, marble, lime, gypsum and fuller's earth. The Sambhar salt lake is famous, while the marble of which the Taj Mahal is built came from this State.