New clues to a solid gold fortune

Press, 22 August 1978, Page 17

New clues to a solid gold fortune

By

PRAKASH CHANDRA

The mystery surrounding the greatest treasure trove of ail time — the immense wealth of the Maharajas of Jaipur, reputed to be about 4000 tons of gold — has been revived after a remarkable piece of detective work. Legend savs that the gold is hidden somewhere in the Jaigarh Fort — the solid rock, hill-top stronghold built in 1711 by Raja Jai Singh, founder of one of the world’s greatest private fortunes, who built the famed “pink city of Jai Mariv have searched for his wealth in the past, but all in vain. Not even the resources at Mrs Gandhi s command in 19,6 turned up anvthing more than a few old coins, despite diggings for 100 days to a depth of HOft beneath the f°The claim that has sparked off all the new speculation that the gold will soon be discovered comes from Dr Brij Lal

Chotia, a senior Indian scientist, who says he has decoded an old parchment map holding the key to the fortune.

Dr Chotia says that a set of ten numerals were wrongly interpreted by archaeologists in 1976. A bunch of keys are to be found in an earthen pot. These keys will open three rooms under a stone slab. In the third room a huge box is to be found hanging by six chains. Inside the box lies the secret of the treasure. Dr Chotia’s claims are now being examined closely by officials who are wary about being led into another expensive wild goose chase. But if there is new hope of finding the legendary treasure it would be difficult to resist the temptation of having just one more attempt to locate it.

What is not in doubt is that the Jaipur princes were some of the wealthiest people to walk

the earth and, needless to say, countless tales and rumours have followed them through history. The old parchment itself has a chequered story to tell. A gypsy of the Meena tribe, traditional guards of Jaipur wealth, approached the Indian Government in 1976, with an old map some three centuries old. He claimed that the map would give clues to a new treasure of gold and precious stones in the vaults of the Jaigarh Fort. The most important clue of the gypsy map was a temple, with several chambers underneath. It is said that Jaipur princes and their wives bowed to Goddess Durga in this temple every time they travelled abroad, or in olden times the princes went out to fight a war.

The Meena tribals are known for their expertise in stealing. In appointing the tribals as guards, perhaps it was the Maha-

rajas’ idea to set a thief against a thief and thereby keep the treasures safe. And, more important, the Meenas are extremely loyal to their masters. According to tradition, whenever a new Maharaja took over the throne, he was taken blind-folded around the chambers which house the treasure.

Once in, he was shown all the treasure. And he could pick up just one object that he fancied most. During ' the rest of his reign he was allowed only one visit annually. No woman was allowed in the chambers. The late Maharaja Sawai Man Singh’s ancestors had probably thought that this was the best way of preserving the legendary wealth of the family. But successive generations

were not told where exactly the treasure lay. At least this is what the former Maharani Gayatri Devi, a friend of the British Royal family and an international socialite, claims. The last of the rulers, Sawai Man Singh, husband of Gayatri Devi, dismissed the Meena guards of the

fort and replaced them with Rajput and Muslim sentries. Old residents of Jaipur say that at the time of the integration of the princely states of Rajasthan into one unit soon after India’s independence in 1947, many had counted 152 packed camels move out of the Jaigarh and Nahargarh forts. What they were carrying and where they had gone still remains a mystery.

A retired officer of the Jaipur Army has also claimed that "army jawans were used for transporting the treasure from Jaigarh Fort in 1949-50. It took about a month for armytrucks to transport the treasure. The people of Jaiptfr cite history to substantiate their point about the wealth of the former rulers. Raja Man Singh (first) was the most powerful General during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar in the sixteenth century. Man Singh led the Mughal Army as far as Kabul in the west and East Bengal in the east. He is stated to have amassed immense wealth from these exploits and taken it to Jaipur. Yet, it is not possible to rule out that some hidden treasure trove may be lying around somewhere around Jaipur, the 250-year-old pink city. However, commenting on the old parchment, an old

resident of Jaipur remarked: "There is no dearth of treasure maps in Jaipur. But all of them are fake.” Another old resident remarked: “If you go by the stories that are bandied about here, there should be more than 1000 treasure troves around Jaipur. I remember my boyhood days. My grandma used to tell us stories of treasure finds. But I do not remember anyone really digging out gold and gems from anywhere.” During the 1976 digging operations, a number of useful indications were found. For instance, the diggers unearthed “stone slabs with some figures on them.”

Besides, a black snake appeared at one place where digging was in progress. Unfortunately the snake disappeared, but old people say that where there is such a snake, there is sure to be gold. — World Feature Services