The Great Train Banquet

Chugging curiously, along a palatial dining table in Gwalior’s Jai Vilas palace, is a unique silver toy train. Commissioned by Maharaja Sir Madho Rao Scindia of Gwalior, grandfather of Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, this curious artefact is about 120 years old.

Madho Rao Scindia was the 5th Maharaja of Gwalior and ruled from 1886 to 1926. He was a great gadget enthusiast and one of the first Maharajas to own a car. He was fascinated by machines and technology. He started the Gwalior Light railway, which connected 28 stations in the Gwalior state. In fact, he even knew how to run an engine and, prompted by his love and knowledge of machines, became an engine driver just for the fun of it.