GWALIOR/BHOPAL, 4 October — An eerie silence greets visitors to the city where thousands are thronging the Jai Vilas Palace to pay their last respects to Congress party veteran Madhavrao Scindia, who died in a plane crash on Sunday.
The profound sense of desolation is evident in the sprawling Scindia family abode, which is bracing for the cremation of the town’s beloved “maharaja” today.
Gwalior is a city in deep mourning, suddenly orphaned by the demise of Scindia. His last rites will be conducted with state honors. The unending stream of mourners silently filed past the tricolor-wrapped coffin, some touching it with respect and then leaving the place.
The coffin was kept on the threshold of the Rani Mahal — the queen’s palace — the living quarters of Scindia’s mother Vijayaraje Scindia, where he shifted to after her death nine months ago.
It is a family tradition to place the coffin at the main doorway, as it symbolizes the beginning of the last journey, said a palace insider.
The doors of the palace were thrown open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. yesterday, giving more people the chance of a last glimpse. The public viewing was confined between 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, after the body was flown in from New Delhi.
The palace has fallen to neglect and has clearly seen better days. A dozen municipal workers were busy trimming the overgrown grass to spruce up the lawns for today, when many dignitaries are expected to visit.
Such were the serpentine queues that three doorways had to be opened to accommodate the visitors. And while leaving, the people stopped to put their name and address on the condolence book. In their bemusement, many could not come up with words to express their grief.
The people are loyal to their maharaja, uncomplaining of the obvious lack of development in the city.
