Sawai Padmanbh Singh coronated

JAIPUR: The coronation of the titular maharaja of Jaipur, Padmanabh Singh, was held in the Darbar Hall of the City Palace here on Wednesday.
Twelve-year-old Padmanabh was announced as the new king after the demise of the erstwhile maharaja Brigadier Sawai Bhawani Singh.
The ceremony was attended by heads of many erstwhile princely states, businessmen and prominent citizens of the city.Notable among the guests are former royal families of Kashmir, Patiala, Jodhpur, Karauli, Dholpur, Alwar, Kishangarh, Jaisalmer, Sonpur, Santrampur, Sirohi, Loharu and Nahan.
Health Minister A A Khan, speaker of the state assembly Dipendra Singh Shekhawat, former cine star and ex-Union minister Vinod Khanna and chief secretary S Ahmad were also present on the occasion.
During the day, Union minister of state for telecommunication Sachin Pilot, tourism minister Bina Kak, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Digvijay Singh also visited the Palace.
The Raj Tilak ceremony was performed by rajpurohit Brijraj Kishan and aachrya Dilip Sharma with Vedic chants. Later, priests and mahants of different religions, including Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Christanity, and Jainism blessed the young maharaja.
Following the coronation of Padmanabh, the flag on the Chandra Mahal which was on half mast, was fully hoisted again and drum beats at the Nagarkhana resumed to announce the new king. Members of the royal families, former nobles and the guests paid rich tributes to Sawai Padmanabh Singh.
After the Raj Tilak, the young maharaja came out in the courtyard and acknowledged the greetings of the public. He also inspected a guard of honour and went inside the Zanana apartments to seek the blessings of the ladies of the royal family. Later, he went to the Govind Devji temple and sought blessings the family deities.
Later in the evening, the rang ka dastoor' was organised at the courtyard of the Chandra Mahal.