E M Forster

The novelist E M Forster opens the door on life in a remote Maharajah's court in the early twentieth century. Through letters from his time working there as the Maharajah's private secretary, he introduces us to a fourteenth-century political system where the young Maharajah of Devas, 'certainly a genius and possibly a saint', led a state centred on spiritual aspirations. A loving and affectionate portrait of a forgotten world, The Hill of Devi chronicles Forster's infatuation and exasperation, fascination and amusement at this idiosyncratic court. He leads us with him to its heart and the eight-day festival of Gokul Ashtami, marking the birth of Krishna, where we see His Highness Maharajah Sir Tukoji Rao III dancing before the altar 'like David before the Ark'.

Eland Publishing

The Hill of Devi: An Englishman Serving at the Court of a Maharajah

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