IN BHOPAL The Modern Day Royals

`MADHYA PRADESH IS LIKE AN INDIA WITHIN INDIA.
PEOPLE FROM OTHER STATES ARE ALWAYS ACCEPTED' ARUNESHWAR AND SAPNA SINGHDEO BUSINESSMAN, MADHYA PRADESH
INDEPENDENCE DAY HOLDS A special meaning for someone belonging o the erstwhile royal families of India.
That's because while most people were gaining a nation, they were losing theirs. However, Aruneshwar Saran Singhdeo, who hails from the erstwhile ruling family of Surguja in modern-day Chattisgarh, has a different take on the transition. “It is true that at a personal level, the princes lost a lot in terms of wealth and power at the time of independence,“ says the 46-year-old. “But some princes also played a role in fostering democracy, and many of them ended up as political or administrative leaders.“
Since independence, it has been a continuing process of integration for the erstwhile princes. For Arun, his marriage to Sapna, a year younger than him and in some senses his childhood sweetheart, also signified integration. “I come from a Punjabi business family while Arun hails from a princely background. So there was a lot of resistance to our marriage,“ explains Sapna.
Arun and Sapna were in the same class at Bhopal's St Joseph's Convent for a few years before Arun joined the all-boys Campion School. Later, she was sent to Simla to do a BA at St Beed's, while Arun pursued an MA in Economics at the Bhopal School of Social Sciences. They got married in 1988, and have two kids, Aaditeshwar, 21, who is studying engineering in Delhi, and Aishwarya, 17, who is in class 11.
While Surguja smoothly integrated with the Indian Union, Arun's father took his process of integration into independent India a step further. The late MS Singhdeo was a 1954 batch IAS officer and a former chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh. “He studied at Allahabad University and took the exam after being influenced by his father-in-law, Raja Digvijaya Singh of Jubbal, an ICS officer of the 1942 batch,“ says Arun.
Arun is keen to dispel any notion that he was brought up with a sense of entitlement.
“My upbringing was more like a civil servant's child,“ he explains. He's also proud to point out that, “Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh are like an India within India ­ there are numerous stories of integration. People who've come from other states have always been accepted.“ Arun's ancestors too, came from Palamu in modern day Jharkhand in 902 AD and set up Surguja state.
Arun and Sapna are a regular couple. They love holidaying together, even if, like many couples, they disagree about the choice of destination. “My ideal holiday would be a wildlife lodge in Africa, but we haven't been able to do it,“ says Arun ruefully. The `compromise' destination is either the beaches of South East Asia or an urban setting in the US or Europe, he explains.
Within India, the family is much-travelled, having covered almost the entire country except the North East. Their favourite destinations are wildlife reserves, as Arun, besides having a stake in the housing sector, has also diversified in jungle lodges at Kanha and Bandhavgarh. “Himachal and Kashmir are our favourite destinations, and we would like to visit the North East now,“ says Arun.
“Though we both love food, cuisine is a major point of disagreement,“ says Sapna.
While Arun likes to cook and relishes Indian food, followed only by Chinese, Sapna is fond of eating out and loves seafood. “My favourite restaurant is China Kitchen at the Hyatt, while Arun loves Karim's at Nizamuddin,“ she says.
But the couple have much in common, just like the country they live in. “Both of us like meeting new people,“ says Sapna. They also share similar views about the India of the future.
“I think my generation let down the country in some ways. If you speak to old people in the villages ­ in spite of the apparent prosperity that's come about in the last few years, people are not happy,“ says Arun. “Our next hope is the youth, our children's generation as they are truly global and independent thinking and will earn India her rightful place.“