a good friend of the raja – had also ordered a cousin of mine, an Isotta Fraschini, with a very special hunting body by Windovers (in the UK) who as per the maharaja’s request, had lacquered the body in colours of khaki, yellow, green and blue for camouflage! The following year, the Maharaja of Baroda had got himself one of my siblings too, and in 1928 the Maharaja of Cochin purchased one. That same year the Aga Khan acquired one of my siblings, and at least two more were

raja who – naturally – was excited to try me out with my many horses of power.
On the first outing it must have become obvious to him that in some ways I was an easy drive, but in one way I was difficult. I was big, bony – and heavy – so to make me change directions called for a lot of effort. Those days they used to say that you could recognise an Isotta driver by the muscles on his arms! My raja was strong, other than being tall and very handsome! And though driving me called for a lot of muscle

dab of the throttle and a jab at the brake pedal to modulate speed. Oh, yes, retarding momentum was easy with me too, because I had brakes on all four feet when most automobiles of the period had brakes on just two.
For three years we roamed the streets of Edinburgh, making an impression wherever we went. But then my raja completed his studies and it was time for him to head back to India and take on his monarchical duties once again. Bidding adieu to Scotland, I set off

imported via Bombay. In other corners of the world, my siblings were in the garages of the Emperor and Empress of Ethiopia, the Queen of Romania, King Faisal of Iraq and Benito Mussolini, amongst others. In Hollywood, many stars owned Isottas, including actors Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Magnates, dignitaries and celebrities the world over owned members of my family: even Pope Pius Xi had one. But i’d like to get back to my young

power my heart was so big that all he needed to do was to get me going in first gear, get to walking pace, and then double declutch and get into top, which was third, and from then on just floor the throttle – and I would serenely surge forward, gathering speed quickly and quietly. Before you knew what was happening I was doing about 140 kph, which was a lot in those days. In fact, we would cruise all day long in third, slowing down when necessary, picking up speed when it was possible; just a

on ship, to exotic India.
In the summer of 1932 I found myself in a strange and exciting land. My new home was the beautiful Anwalhare Palace. Kotwara, the town in which the palace is located, is in the Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh – some 160km north of Lucknow – and bordering Nepal from Dudhwa National Park. The nearest railhead is Gola Gokarannath, which has one of the oldest temples of Lord Shiva (built by the rajas of Kotwara). Set amidst an undulating landscape of