All language subtitles for Trevor McDonalds Indian Train Adventure Series 1 Part 1 ITV 1080p EN SUB

TREVOR MCDONALD: 'I'm undertaking
a journey across India,

'on one of the most
amazing trains in the world.'

Are these gold plates?
Yes, sir.

$500 Per plate.
MY 900dness!

'The Maharajas' Express celebrates
the height of elegance and style.'

I love the ceiling.

'Recreating the feel
of the royal trains,

'once used by India's kings.'

He had five wives, legally.

I would suspect that that's
probably a little too many.

THEY LAUGH

'Almost half a mile long...'

Can I show you the bathroom?
Wow.

'..It's the length
of 60 London buses.'

\ Valet service. I

'Though nothing about it
feels like a bus.'

In my eight years, we've never
said no to any guest for anything.

I knew you were going to say that.
Thank you, sir!

'Travelling 1,200 miles from Mumbai

'to the nation's capital,
New Delhi...

'...my journey will take me
to some of the most

'iconic places in India...'

That's amazing!

'..And to its
most hidden surprises.'

So, the rats drink the milk,
but you drink the milk too?

Yes, we also drink that.
Ah.

'I was last
in the Indian subcontinent

'as a news reporter in the 1980s.'

The potentially explosive
Tamil issue.

'Today, the traffic
is as bad as it always was.'

This is just... mad.

'Poverty is still an issue.'

Miles of slums.

'But so much else has changed.'

I wonder what role mobile phones
play in the worship to the Gods?

'But I also have a more personal
reason for coming back here.'

I was born in Trinidad.

My mother was pure Afro-Caribbean,

but I'm pretty sure
that my father was Indian.

Wow, and you can't see the join.

'It's a chance to discover
ancient traditions.'

That's a sign of happiness.
Yeah.

'And to see how old and new India

'are co-existing
in the 21st century.'

This is the beginning
of a great adventure.

HORN BLOWS

'Mumbai...'
HORNS BLARE

'Till the 1990s,
it was known as Bombay.

'Before boarding my train,
I'll be spending a day here.

'There's so much to see.

'With a population
of 21 million people,

'it's India's largest city.

'And today, it's booming.'

HORNS BLARE

COW MOOS

'Across the whole of India

'the economy is growing so fast,

'it's now the fifth largest
in the world.'

What is endlessly fascinating
about this place

is that everywhere you look
there's industry.

People are doing things.

Everybody is on the move,
there's nobody static.

And that's a good sort of metaphor
for what Mumbai is all about.

It's a city on the move. Exploding.

I mean, it's just... mad!

HORN BLARES

At the very heart of everything
that happens in this city,

is the battle, the competition,
between poverty and riches.

'I'm here to see how this battle
is playing out in the new India.

'The skyline has certainly changed.

'Mumbai has the fifth highest number
of skyscrapers in the world.

'It's also one of the biggest
building sites in the world,

'with nearly 50 towers
under construction.

'This is one of the world's
largest private houses.

'It's owned by an oil tycoon
Mukesh Ambani.

'It's almost as tall
as London's Telecom Tower

'and it comes with a ballroom,
three swimming pools,

'a private theatre
and accommodation for 600 staff.'

The thing to think of when you
look at this extraordinary building

is that it was designed
for a family of five.

'Today, India has 50 billionaires,
like Ambani.

'But not everyone here is so lucky.

'Just a few miles away,
is the suburb of Dharavi,

'home to nearly a million people.

'This is one of the biggest
shanty towns in all Asia.

'On the surface, this is old India.

'Yet, deep inside,
there's an explosion of activity...'

It's very narrow here.
Yeah.

'..Which is very much
part of the new.'

If you look,
there's always the factory inside.

Oh, right. It is working in there.

He's making T-shirts and he's
cleaning. It's a garment factory.

Right.

'Vinod Shetty runs a charity

'supporting hundreds
of recycling businesses in Dharavi.

'They've sprung up to help process
the 10,000 tons of waste

'which Mumbai generates every day.'

This is a plastic recycler

who's sorting plastic
inside and glass.

Does he start this
on his own initiative?

Yes. Yes, totally.

These are all entrepreneurs
who have risen from the ranks

and they've established
their small sheds...

Yeah.
..and they are recycling.

Excuse us.

Some of the workers
also live inside.

Even the smallest of sheds.

My goodness me!
So...

Small entrepreneurs,

he's the owner
and this is all his belongings.

He will be far from his family.

Gosh, this is claustrophobic
in there. Yes.

It must be difficult
to work in there all day.

So, like, you'll see
this gentleman here...

Jesus.

'The work done
by these entrepreneurs

'helps the city to recycle
twice as much of its waste

'as we do in Britain.'

Extraordinary.

HAMMERING

There's a lot of work
going up there. Yeah.

Rajindra specialises
in electrical goods.

You been working here
since the age of 16?

Yes, yes.
Doing just this?

SPEAKS IN OWN DIALECT

He's basically specialised
in separating the electronic waste.

All this can be reused?
Yeah.

No machine can do this.

Very impressive.

'For young men like Rajindra,

'the work pays 40 pence a day.'

Every young person here

wants to be an owner
of a shed like this

or a factory or a small business.

Their entire lives,
revolve around this dream

that they will send
their children to school... Yes.

...they will send money
back home to the family.

It's exactly like how the industrial
revolution happened in the West.

Just... just the size of it all
is quite extraordinary to me.

I think this is one of the most
amazing things I've ever seen.

POIGNANT MUSIC

For me, they are my heroes.

And I think a society
where people work hard

is going to be one of
the biggest powers in the world.

It's just that I never thought
I would find it,

and see so many examples of it,

in a place like this.
Yes, sir.

'The community here is inspiring.

'Despite living in one of the most
overcrowded places on earth...'

CHILD: Hello.
Hello, how are you?

'..The urge to succeed
appears to be all that matters.'

Hello, nice to meet you.

Are you from in England?

It's a long, long way away.

'It's a reminder that nothing
defines the new India...'

Nice to see you.
Nice to see you.

'..More than its people.'
Bye!

Bye! Bye! Bye!

Bye! Bye! Bye!

HORNS BLARE

'After a day in Mumbai,
it's time to move on.'

'Mumbai's Central Railway Station
is the busiest in the world.

'Every day, three million commuters
pass through,

'almost as many as those who travel

'on the entire
British railway system.

'The people are the powerhouse
of the new Indian economy.'

WOMAN SPEAKS OVER TANNOY

'But in a far corner of the station,

'there's a little piece
of old India which still survives.'

BRASS BAND PLAYS

'The Maharajas' Express...'

Thank you.
'..Is inspired by Royal trains

'built over a century ago
for India's kings, the Maharajas.

BRASS BAND CONTINUES

'I'm one of 67 travellers
on a tour of old India.

'The entire staff
is lined up to greet us.

'It's my first meeting
with executive chef John Stone.'

Good evening, welcome on board.
Thank you. Sir, please.

Er, this is your valet up here,
he's going to take your bag.

Oh, thank you.
Please.

Welcome on board, sir.

Thank you. Thank you.

I hope you have
a wonderful, wonderful time.

I'm looking forward to it,
enormously. Great! Great.

BAND PLAYS AULD LANG SYNE

'This is worlds apart
from where I was 24 hours ago.'

Thank you very much. Cheers.

I've always had a, sort of, great
affection for little bars like this,

so I'm... I already feel at home.

Thank you, sir.
Thank you.

'I'm now anxious to see my room.'

Gosh, this is glorious.
Yes, sir.

'Almost half a mile long,

'the train has
23 carriages and 40 suites.'

Welcome to your room, sir.

Thank you, very much.

Sir, this is your suite room.

I've heard a lot about these,

but it looks even more splendid
than I... Thank you, sir.

...than I've been told.
There is a mini bar and magazines.

Yes, thank you.
And sofa sitting arrangement.

You welcome to the bedroom.

I say!

There is the telephone
and the TV is there.

Yeah... wow.

It all looks absolutely splendid.

Can I show you the bathroom as well?
Yes, thank you.

This is the cubicle area.
Yes.

And there is the amenities,

hand rolls and the body lotion,
everything is there.

'This suite takes up
half a carriage.'

This is better than anything
I've ever stayed on.

Especially on a train!

Thank you, sir.
And there is a mini bar also.

Two mini bars!
Yes.

I think I might have
a party in here tonight (!)

HORN TOOTS

'Bang on time, we're off.

'From Mumbai, we'll snake

'1,200 miles
across this great nation...

'..ending up in India's capital,
New Delhi.'

OVER TANNOY: Welcome on board to
the delightful Maharajas' Express.

'I'm keen to learn more
about the maharajas

'who once owned royal trains
like this one.

'I'm with train manager Nitin.'

I'll take you another bar.
Yeah. Another bar?

Yes, that's our second bar.
I like the sound of that.

Wow.

'The interior is inspired
by saloons like this.

'Built in the 1920s
for a maharaja in Rajasthan.'

What this whole carriage
reminds me of,

is of an old-fashioned
English clubroom. Yes.

Which is gracious, luxurious...

Yes.

So, it has the origins
of the maharajas... Yes.

...but it also has
that connection with Britain. Yes.

Gosh, these guys lived well.

'So who were the maharajas?

'For centuries,
even under British rule until 1947,

'India was a patchwork
of feudal kingdoms,

'ruled by the maharajas.

'Their lives were the subject
of countless stories and legends.'

This is the picture of
Maharaja Patiala, Bhupinder Singh.

Yes, when did he live?

He lived in 19th century to 1938.

And surrounded by
all these beautiful women?

Yes, and actually he had five wives.

Only... only five?

No, sir, he has five wives, legally,

and 365 wives, total.
One wife per day.

I... I would suspect that
that's probably a little too many.

LAUGHTER

But the maharajas
seem to look very well on it. Yes.

'In fact, it was the maharaja's
father who had 365 wives.

'Not Bhupinder.

'He is said to have had
a more modest harem of 350.'

And he had 83 children.
83?

Yes.
How wealthy was he?

That time, was a millionaire, sir.
As you can...

We heard that he have
the special necklace. Yeah.

In that necklace
they have 3,000 diamonds.

Wow! And out of 3,000 diamonds
there's a one diamond,

the seventh largest in the world.

And the cos, at that time in 1938,
is $25 million.

But right now the value of that...

It'd be about 250 million,
I'd suspect.

More than... More than.
More than, sir. More than, sir.

Well, I think it's a great vision
of good living.

Perhaps, a little extravagant.
HE LAUGHS

Wonderful.

JANGLING

I thought that was a valet,
I thought.

JANGLING CONTINUES

The call to drink.
LAUGHTER IN BACKGROUND

'In fact, not a call to drink,
just a rattling glass.

'But I'm taking it
as my call to sleep...

'..which is probably
just what's needed,

'given that there'll be so much
to see over the next eight days.'

TRAIN HORN

Valet service.

Good morning, Sir Trevor,
how are you?

Good, very good, thank you.
Good to see you.

Oh, good. Did you sleep well, sir?
Yes, thank you.

Nice way to start the day.
Thank you, sir.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

It's fantastic!

'After a 200-mile
overnight journey north,

'we've arrived
at the small town of Pachora,

'and we're just in time
for breakfast.

'With 23 carriages,
the Maharajas' Express

'is as long
as five football pitches,

'which means that, in a way, it has
its own in-built exercise regime.'

You take a long time to get
from your suite to this place.

Cos you have to stop and say hello
and good morning to so many people.

It's rather nice.

The swaying...

...of the ride is, um,
a little more than you expect.

I suppose you move on the rails
even in the luxury train.

'At every station stop,
we're given a royal welcome,

'similar, perhaps,
to that given to a maharaja.

'Guests are disembarking
to tour the local area.'

Good morning.

MUSIC PLAYS

Morning.
Morning

Oh, morning.
Morning, morning.

'But we're heading
somewhere else entirely.'

Rather nice, though, isn't it?

HORNS HONK

'This is old India.

'Pachora is located
in the rural state of Maharashtra.

'It's one of the nation's
food baskets.

'But despite the economic boom
in the cities,

'Maharashtra is struggling.

'I'm here to find out why.

'People in rural areas like this
are leaving in droves

'to find work in the cities.

'Ten years ago,
340 million Indians lived in cities.

'In another decade, that figure
will be nearly 600 million.

'Ritesh is one farmer
who decided to stay.

'He's tended
the same plot of land now

'for over 50 years.

'But in four of the last six years,
he's been hit by drought.

'This year, it devastated his crop.'

BELLS JINGLE

Hello.

TRANSLATOR SPEAKS

It's very nice to meet you.

When was the last time
you grew a successful crop here?

SPEAKS IN OWN DIALECT

And since that time, no crops?

SPEAKS IN OWN DIALECT

And is that because
of the lack of rain?

Yes. How much rain

would you need now to restore this
to anything like it was?

SPEAKS IN OWN DIALECT

You'll need about three months rain?
Yeah.

Any sign of that?
TRANSLATOR LAUGHS

SPEAKS IN OWN DIALECT

SPEAKS IN OWN DIALECT

'So far, the rains haven't come.

'And there's not enough water in
the well to irrigate Ritesh's land.

'Next month, his daughter
is due to get married,

'but Ritesh doesn't have the money
to pay for her wedding.'

It's very difficult to see
this changing.

SPEAKS IN OWN DIALECT

From what percentage?

But that's a...
In this particular area.

Yes.
That's right. Yeah.

That's a catastrophic fall!

That's bad.

'Many of Ritesh's friends
face the same problem.

'The government has provided
some with emergency loans,

'but farmers can't afford
the repayments.'

Why do people keep coming back
over and over to this

land like this,
to this plot of ground?

SPEAKS IN OWN DIALECT

What's he say?

It's almost...
Yeah.

...a kind of spiritual connection
to the land,

which is why you must
keep coming back.

Yeah, every single day.

Well, I wish you luck,

but, in the circumstances,
that seems a...

a very poor thing to say, really.

Thank you, very much. Thank you.

'Much of what I see around me here

'has a strange familiarity to it.

'I grew up in Trinidad,

'an island where
almost half the population

'were of Indian heritage.

'Like all migrants,
they arrived in the Caribbean

'with their culture, religion,

'lifestyle and, of course, food.'

I remember coming back from school

and always dipping into the Indian
festivals because we got free food.

And they always gave us free food.

And one feature of these festivals
was elaborate cooking.

And they never turned us
schoolchildren away.

And that would lessen the burden
on my mother to prepare dinner.

'But there was another reason
why, as a child,

'I was drawn to Indian festivals.'

I was born on an island

which had a total population
of about a million and a half.

Almost half the population
were Indian.

Um... I'm pretty sure
that my father was.

My mother was pure Afro-Caribbean
and we were the product.

And my father had long,
straight black hair

and he wouldn't be classified
as, sort of, African negroid.

It's the story of West Indian life.

It's people coming in
from other parts of the world,

from Africa and from India.

In a strange, amazing, way,

we are all connected.

Which makes me think that
any kind of political philosophy

which tried to divide people
is pernicious.

'Home to one sixth of humanity,

'the people of this nation are drawn
from many cultures and many faiths.

'The challenge for the new India
remains as it's always been,

'to unite them.'

'Day three

'and the Maharajas' Express
is 500 miles into its journey

'across the north-west of India.'

'We're headed for Rajasthan

'on our way to India's
most romantic city Udaipur.'

HORN BLARES

Gosh, this is so elegant.
Yes, sir.

'I'm in the restaurant
with train manager Nitin.

'The elaborate design
is another illustration

'of the maharajas love of grandeur.'

The peacock is the national bird
in India. OK.

This stained glass
is come from Spain.

This chair is mahogany.

Mahogany?
Yes.

You can see these large tiles.
It is from Germany.

From Germany?
Yes.

It's more romantic
when you'll eat over here, sir.

Yeah.
It is.

I take your word for that (!)

'The train has been loaded up
with four tons of food.'

That's the kitchen, sir.

'And there are nine chefs on board
to prepare it.'

I can hear the sounds
of the kitchen.

Yes, sir.
CHEF: Yes, sir!

And we're going past the chef,
john, nice to see you again.

Thank you, so much.
Nice to see you again.

TANNOY: Dinner will be served
from 7.30pm onwards. Thank you.

'And there's more.
It's another restaurant.'

Wow.
It's called Rang Mahal.

Yes, what does that mean?
Rang Mahal means colour. Yeah.

So, this is
the colourful restaurant.

From the moment I walked in here,
I was stunned by this ceiling.

This is the ceiling carpet...
Yeah.

...which is made with the horse hair.

OK.
Yes.

My goodness.

The effect is stunning.
I think it's wonderful.

Now, when I first came in here these
caught my eye. They are beautiful.

Yes, sir.
Are these gold plates?

Yes, sir.

This is the gold-plated plates.

It's 24-carat gold.

And the cost of this one
is nearby $500 per plate.

$500 per plate?
Yes, sir.

So, you don't want passengers
walking off with these plates?

LAUGHTER
Definitely, sir.

HORN BLOWS

The lamb looks good.

'So far, I've met many
of the ordinary people of India.

'It's hard not to think
about their daily battles,

'simply to survive.

'But it's always intriguing to
find out how the other half lives.

'Tomorrow, in Udaipur,

'I've been invited to one of the
largest royal palaces in all India.

'I'm going to meet the son
of a maharaja.'

BUGLE CALL,
DRUMS

'In the morning,
there's another ceremonial welcome.

'As we prepare to see one
of India's most beautiful cities.

'For 500 years,
Udaipur has been the capital

'of a vast, princely state
known as Mewar.

'Home to half a million people,
the city's seven man-made lakes

'were constructed by generations
of local maharajas.

'Spectacularly rich,
these regional kings of Mewar

'thought nothing
of draining Lake Pichola's

'13 million cubic metres
just to build another retreat.

'For centuries,
even under formal British rule,

'between 1858 and 1947,

'maharajas across all India

'were masters
of their own private kingdoms.

'But when the British left,
everything changed.

'Every single maharaja
was forced to hand over his land

'to the new Republic of India.

'To many ordinary Indians,
it was a welcome change.

'Today, maharajas do still live
in palaces like this one in Udaipur.

'But since independence,

'their authority
has been slowly eaten away.

'Prince Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar
is the son of Arvind Singh,

'crowned in 1952
as the 76th Maharana of Udaipur.

'I wanted to find out
what it was like for the maharajas

'when the new India took
most of the power from them.'

What sort of things
were people talking about

when they talked about that change,
that period?

Well, to put it very bluntly
and straightforwardly,

that now, maharajas
are going to start washing dishes.

Was it as, as, as...
Yes...

...as stern as that?
Absolutely. Absolutely.

Because that's how we was
considered to be at that time.

The entire nation was up in arms.
There was no question about it.

And let me also be very honest

and give you certain facts
of history.

We were the first family to merge
in the Republic of India.

We were the first ones to say
that there should be a great,

independent, happy,
United Republic of India.

'After independence,

'maharajas were given sweeteners
in return for giving up power.

'They were allowed
to keep their royal titles

'and they received
handsome annual purses

'as compensation for giving up
their lands to the state.'

What were people who didn't
accepted going to do?

Well, I don't know.
Some may have perished...

Yes.
Some may exist.

But when you're presented
with a revolutionary situation,

you come up with
revolutionary ideas,

and the idea was
certain parts of the palaces were

converted into museums, certain
parts were converted into hotels

and, at the same time,

we couldn't give up on
a 1,500-year-old promise

of looking after the people.

So, as far as you're concerned,
it's worked out well?

Yes. Absolutely.

'It does seem to have
worked out pretty well.

'The hotels they opened have
entertained the Queen,

'the Shah of Iran

'and American
First Lady Jackie Kennedy,

'seen here at the palace in 1962.

'And though the Maharana
must now confine his quarters

'to a small corner of the complex,
he has still managed

'to corner a decent share
of the income from tourism.

'Away from the serenity
of the palace,

'Udaipur is a bustling city
of half a million people.

'Its markets
are a kaleidoscope of colour,

'crammed with exotic vegetables
and fresh spices.

'The perfect place for the trained
chefs to source fresh produce.'

PLATES RATTLE

'The 67 passengers on this trip
are having most of their meals

'in the comfort of the train's
two restaurants.

'All prepared by executive chef
John Stone and his team.'

SPEAKS IN OWN DIALECT

Please, come, sir.
OK. And I'll just show you.

'And John's devotion to his kitchen
is transparent.'

This is my most expensive
piece of equipment,

it's called the combination oven.

It does everything from
boiling rice to baking breads.

Wow.
Including microwave cooking.

Anything can be done in this.
Yes.

Now, we are getting ready
for the dinner. Yes.

Now, everything on top is hot,
down below is cold.

I don't have to run to the store
to get my vegetables.

They're all here.

Optimum usage of space,
which is very, very essential.

SIR TREVOR LAUGHS
Yeah.

All the ingredients that you see...

Yes.
..all world class.

If you were an Italian
and you wanted a risotto,

I would give you a risotto
made out of arborio rice

and not basmati rice.
Right.

Still now, in my eight years,

we've never said no
to any guest for anything.

You've never had any complaints?
Yes.

Food is all about fashion.

And somewhere along with
good ingredients,

if you put a little bit
of love into it.

The dish automatically
comes out good.

All chefs talk about putting love
into their food. Yes.

And what about
the products that you get,

where do they come from?

I'll tell you,
so all my meats are imported.

From where?
Er, so, like,

the lobsters come
all the way from Australia,

Er...
You get lobsters from Australia?

Yes. Norwegian,
the salmon is coming from Norway.

Smoked salmon is coming from Norway.

The shrimps and prawns are coming
all the way from Malaysia,

the chicken
is coming from Sri Lanka,

lamb is coming from Australia.

I don't believe it.
Sir, for this train,

you can't have anything
but the best.

I knew you were going to say that.

LAUGHS
Thank you, sir.

And on the menu tonight?

Sir, stuffed chicken breast,

which has been slit
through the centre

and are stuffed with mushrooms,

cooked in white wine
along with cheddar cheese.

And along with that,
would be a nice red wine reduction.

I like that.

'It seems a miracle that all this
can be done on a fast-moving train.'

Tell me about the big difficulty
of working in a kitchen

on a quickly moving train,

cos this is... it's not even easy
to stand around here.

Are you able to say
to the engineer or the driver,

"We're having a gala dinner tonight,
could you keep the speed down?"

Sir, we are fortunately,
we are very lucky

because on the day when we have
gala dinners, the train is static.

LAUGHTER
It doesn't move at all.

That's a bit of a cheat!
Yes.

But if I request,
"Please slow down a bit

"because the soup is spilling
or the water's spilling,"

he immediately calls up the driver
and the train slows down.

So, you can actually do that?
We can actually do that. Wow.

We can actually do it.

That's impressive.
Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

HORN TOOTS

'The Maharajas' Express runs on the
fourth biggest railway in the world.

'Its track will go around the globe
one and a half times.

'Using the regular service,

'a trip from one end of India
to the other,

'the equivalent to travelling
between London and Istanbul,

'costs around £12.

'From Udaipur, we now journey
120 miles north to jodhpur,

'on the edge of India's
spectacular Thar Desert.

'For centuries,
Jodhpur's royal family

'defended their territory
from within these impregnable walls.

'Across town, I've been summoned
to one of the family's

'less intimidating palaces.'

BUGLE CALL,
DRUMS

Thank you, very much.

'With petals thrown at my feet,

'an honour guard before me...

'I'm welcomed to Umaid Bhawan

'the very last maharajas' palace
ever to be built in India.'

Welcome to the palace.
Thank you very much.

Thank you, sir. Please.
Thank you.

Hello. Thank you.
Welcome to the palace, sir.

This garland for you. Please, sir.

Thank you, very much.

'The Maharaja himself
has agreed to meet me.'

It's a very warm welcome,
thank you very much.

'From an ancient fortress...

'..to a symbol of the British Raj...

'..Jodhpur is one of India's
most historic cities.

'On the edge of India's Thar Desert,

'temperatures here can reach
50 degrees in summer.

'Today, though, it's a balmy 28.'

BUGLE CALL
Extraordinary place, this is.

'This is Jodhpur's
Umaid Bhavan Palace.'

It's wonderful.

'And I'm here to meet
the last maharaja of Jodhpur.'

MUSIC AND SINGING

'My welcome takes place in
the palace's glorious entrance hall.

'It's a magnificent setting.

'In all India

'only the Taj Mahal
has a bigger dome.

'Built in the 1920s
as a private home,

'I'm told the palace was assembled
without mortar or cement.

'Every stone is marked
with a number,

'so that the entire edifice can,
at a whim,

'be taken down
and rebuilt somewhere else.

'Flat pack at its finest (!)

'The man I've come to meet,
Gaj Singh was a child king.

'He was only four years old in 1952,
when he became maharaja.'

Sir, please, this way.
The maharaja is in here.

Oh, thank you.

'After his coronation,
Gaj was sent to school in England,

'Returning home just in time
for the bad news

'that in 1947, the government
had taken away the maharaja's land.

'Then, in 1971,
it stripped them of their titles...

'..and made them commoners.'

'Even so, the place has
an atmosphere of solemn reverence.'

OK.

'As I'm led in and out
of various rooms...'

Going back the way we came.

'..And along various corridors.'

Ah, it's another room.

'It is as if I'm being inspected

'by the all-seeing eyes
of former maharajas.

'As I wait...

'..and wait...

'..you'd never suspect
that the boy king, Gaj Singh,

'once crowned last
Maharaja of jodhpur,

'is today,
according to the Indian state,

'just an ordinary man.'

Gosh.

My goodness.

BIRDSONG

'My audience will take
place on the terrace.'

Absolutely spectacular view.

Glorious sunlight.

'But where is he?

'Finally, he appears.'

Hello, sir.
Good afternoon.

'And I have the chance
to ask him how it felt

'to have his maharaja title
taken away.'

Of course, it all changed in 1971
with the change of the constitution.

Did you regret having
so short a time as Maharaja?

It wasn't that, it was the, um,
the way it was done.

We were made to look small
from being privileged people,

The press was against,
the political climate was against.

And you once said,
"We are the bad boys."

What did you mean by that?

We were made out to be the bad boys.
I see, yes.

Everything became an issue.
Yes.

Individuals went, land ownerships,

and the whole thing,
it was a bit of a dampener.

It hit us very badly.

Do you think what was done,
was done because of any,

kind of, envy at the privileges?

No, change had to come,

and we said we want it to change,
it has to come,

but do it in an honourable way.

So, you think it was done
in a dishonourable way?

Yes.
Yeah.

HE LAUGHS

'Like the royals of Udaipur,

'the family have maintained
their lifestyle

'by converting their palace
into an hotel.

'And one that's been voted
the most luxurious in the world.'

'But far beyond the terrace,
in a secret corner of the estate,

'is a hidden treasure from the
long gone clays of the maharajas.

'A genuine Maharajas' royal train.'

Please, sir.
Yeah, OK.

'Sadly, though,
it's not what it once was.'

So, this is the entrance
to the old carriage? Yes, sir.

'Ahmed worked on board
in its glorious heydays.'

It's very narrow
along these corridors.

One metre?

'The train was built 100 years ago,
so that Gaj Singh's grandfather

'could travel in style to the tiger
hunting grounds of the South.'

So, tell me about the fact that
this was built for his grandfather,

the current maharaja?

Wow.
Yeah.

How luxurious were these
carriages?

And what's here?

WQW!

Charcoal?
Charcoal operated.

Yes. So, it limited how
much you could do?

Yeah, very much.
In those days. Yes, sir.

'This very English of trains fell
out of use after the maharaja died.

'But in the 1970s, a young
Gaj Singh brought it back to life.'

TRAIN WHISTLES

'Using it to take his hotel guests

'on sightseeing trips
to the desert city of Jaisalmer.'

'Some might call it the first
and original Maharajas' Express.'

And then go back. It connected
the two places? Yes, sir.

'It connected them,
but not for long.

'The tourist trips ended
after only a few years.

'And so, for the last
two and half decades,

'these once magnificent saloons
have stood alone and empty.

'The royal train's demise

'perhaps symbolises that
of the maharajas themselves.

'Though, as I look out
to the ancient fortress,

'I find it difficult to decide

'whether it really is all over
for the maharajas just yet.

'Next time,
on the Maharajas' Express...

'..my adventure takes me to
India's most extraordinary temple.'

And that helps you to stay healthy?
Yes, healthy.

'A meeting I'll never forget.

'And one of the
Great Wonders of the World.'

Gosh!

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