I am new to the group and this is my maiden e-mail. I am just now reading Diwan Jarmani Dass' book Maharaja, first issued in 1969 and just reprinted in 2007 in paperback in India. He was a minister in the princely government of Kapurthala in Punjab and the book (which I gather from its appearance in bibliographies) is well known, is full of the most scandalous stories about the princes of many states, especially Patiala. In fact it is almost nothing but scandalous stories. I wonder: how seriously should I take the stories in this book? Some of them seem pretty extreme. I'd be grateful for guidance. David Phillips San Francisco dphillips@fbm.com ___________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. Thank you. Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Dear David Phillips, I'd like to caution you, before you form opinions, after Dewan Jarmani Das' book. This book, as a few others, was written to meet a specific a purpose and was sold in its first edition at a ridiculously low price of just Rs. 10/-, which also proves that it was a sponsored product with a motive to malign. I have in my possession a few anecdotes which further my contention. So, do not gobble utterly spiced narrations of Dewan Jermani Das as gospel truth. Also admire the dignity that the concerned Royal families have exhibited by not indulging in a mud slinging match with either the Dewan, or his publishers. Best Wishes! SHYAM ----- Original Message ----- From: <DPhillips@fbm.com> To: <INDIA-ROYALTY@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 12:02 AM Subject: [INDIA-ROYALTY] Diwan Jarmani Dass >I am new to the group and this is my maiden e-mail. > > I am just now reading Diwan Jarmani Dass' book Maharaja, first issued in > 1969 and just reprinted in 2007 in paperback in India. He was a > minister in the princely government of Kapurthala in Punjab and the book > (which I gather from its appearance in bibliographies) is well known, is > full of the most scandalous stories about the princes of many states, > especially Patiala. In fact it is almost nothing but scandalous > stories. I wonder: how seriously should I take the stories in this > book? Some of them seem pretty extreme. I'd be grateful for guidance. > > David Phillips > San Francisco > dphillips@fbm.com > ___________________________________________________________________________ > This e-mail message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) > and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized > review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the > intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy > all copies of the original message. Thank you. Farella Braun + Martel LLP > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > INDIA-ROYALTY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >