Avid cricketer Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, who built the world’s highest cricket ground. Known for his opulent lifestyle, he owned 40 Rolls Royce and 500 polo ponies. His legacy as a pioneering and lavish ruler remains a fascinating chapter in India’s history.
New Delhi: When we talk about India’s richest and most influential people, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani generally come to mind. However, long before them, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala set the standard for luxury and innovation. The cricketer was born in 1981, he ascended the throne at age nine and became the first Indian to own a private jet in 1910. A forward-thinking ruler, he developed Patiala’s infrastructure and founded the State Bank of Patiala. An avid cricketer, he built the world’s highest cricket ground. Known for his opulent lifestyle, he owned 40 Rolls Royce and 500 polo ponies. His legacy as a pioneering and lavish ruler remains a fascinating chapter in India’s history.
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh has inscribed his name in history for leading an empire of 1.5 million residents but also for his contribution to Indian sports during that time, his reported scandals, over-the-top expenses, grand parties and collection of exquisite art pieces, fashion statements and books.
Bhupinder Singh’s knack for sports especially cricket was reflected when he led the Indian cricket team that went to play in England in 1911, it was during his time that two of the best cricket and polo teams of India were Patiala XI and Patiala Tigers. To express his love and passion for the sport he also built the Chail Cricket Ground, the highest in the world.
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh’s education and early life:
Bhupinder Singh was born in the royal family of Patiala at Moti-Bagh Palace. He went to the Aitchison College in Lahore and succeeded his father Maharaja Rajinder Singh at the young age of 9 in November 1900. After taking partial control from the Council of Regency that ruled in his name, he was vested with full powers as a monarch by the age of 18 by Viceroy Lord Minto. Under his reign, Patiala had a solid network of canals, trains, and post offices by 1914, along with 262 public schools, 40 state hospitals, a college, and an estimated Rs 9 million in revenue as The Print reports.
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