While perusing thru some compelling documents, my mother started reminiscing about all the stories of her family lineage. Most fascinating were the tidbits of her family history especially how her ancestor (her great-grandfather) came to become the Prime Minister of Nabha Riyasat, his rise as a prominent figure and advisor to Raja Hira Singh, his untimely death (which could be considered his murder), plus how his brother-in-law’s Riyasat of Ladwa was confiscated by the British and his sister’s imprisonment in the Govindgarh fort. Very riveting stuff!

Apparently, during the wedding of his sister to Raja Ajit Singh, the Regent of Ladwa state, that Sardar Dewa Singh (this grandfather) came into prominence and notability. His effortless handling of three Raja’s (rulers of Patiala, Nabha, and Jind) that accompanied the ‘baraat’ is what impressed the Maharaja of Nabha. My mother shares that Beji (her mother) stated that one of the servant or minor official complained about his accommodations to Raja Hira Singh, to which the Raja responded by saying ‘most folks can’t handle one King, and he handled three’. His popularity with Raja Hira Singh was so immense that other officials were jealous of his closeness with the regent, and that my have been the reason for his untimely demise from excessive leaching (Leech bloodletting was a common catchall treatment at that time). He died in Shimla in 1881. His wife was Mai Sukhan (who hailed from Bakarpur, Ambala), and they had five children – three sons and tow daughters. His youngest son, Bhagwan Singh, was my mother’s grandfather and my great grandfather!