Bhupinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala, was not just any provincial ruler. By the time of his death at the age of 47, he was the Sikh numero uno, patron saint of the perilous ‘Patiala peg’, and captain of the first-ever Indian cricket team to play in England.

In the over eight decades since, Singh’s infamous exploits have seeped through the cracks of historical writings into popular imagination — from tales of his extravagant lifestyle at the Moti Bagh Palace to his overly vigorous sex drive or his outlandish spending sprees in Europe.

Yet, his legacy has been a subject of contention, with some reducing it to that of a hedonist on steroids, and others painting him as an “unhappy man” who “deeply regretted wasting his early youth in gargantuan dissipation”.

Read more in the book.

By K Natwar Singh