Bharat Dev Varma
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Maharaja Bharat Kishore Dev Burman (Bengali: মহারাজা ভরত কিশোর দেব বর্মন) (b. 1941)[1] also known as Bharat Dev Varma or as Bharat Deb Burman (literal phonetic rendering in Bengali) is a minor Tripuri royal, currently living in the city of Kolkata, formerly Calcutta. He is best known as the husband of actress Moon Moon Sen and the nephew of Maharani Gayatri Devi, and as the father of Bollywood actresses Raima Sen and Riya Sen (who use their mother's surname professionally and socially).
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[edit] The Dev Varma house, formerly reigning in Tripura
The Dev Varma family [2] ruled the Indian princely state of Tripura, a small north-eastern state in India, with a status of 13 gun salute, meaning that the state and family were of moderate significance among the Princely States[3]. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the head of the family became significantly influenced by and associated with Bengali literary icon and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. After Independence, Tripura became a State in the Republic of India; the current head of the family and his immediate relatives now live in Tripura House in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).
The most well-known members of this family in modern India are however the father-son duo of Sachin Dev Burman (film director) and Rahul Dev Burman (the music composer and lyricist R.D. Burman), both deceased.
[edit] Early life
Bharat Dev Varma was born the younger son of Maharaja Ramendra Kishore Dev Varma (Prince of Tripura) (d. Calcutta 1975) and his first wife Ila Devi (Princess of Cooch Behar) (1914-1945)[4], the eldest daughter of HH Maharaja Jitendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur, Maharaja of Cooch Behar and his wife Indira Raje, Princess of Baroda. The father Ramendra Kishore Dev Varma was himself a grandson of a ruler of Tripura and thus nephew and cousin (and later brother-in-law) to successive rulers.
He had one older brother Manabendra Kishore Dev Varma, better known as Bhim Dev Varma (now deceased) (1937-2002) and one sister Devyani Devi (b. 1938, who was previously married in 1961 to her aunt Gayatri Devi's stepson Prithviraj Singh, Prince of Jaipur). His mother Ila Devi died at a relatively young age in 1945 at Darjeeling, aged only 30 or 31.[5] . His father remarried some time later, this time choosing as wife his first cousin Kamal Prabha, Princess of Tripura. Bharat Dev Varma has one half-brother and two half-sisters by his father's second marriage.
His nickname is apparently Prince Habi[1]. It is unclear if this was a childhood nickname, since it has rarely been used in the Indian press, whereas his older brother was always known as Bhim Dev Varma until his death (and later).
Bharat was probably raised by his father and stepmother in Calcutta. His father died in 1975. Details of his education and career are currently unknown.
[edit] Family
Bharat Dev Varma married circa 1976 Moon Moon Sen (b. 28 March 1948 Calcutta)[6] (better known as the only child of Bengali actress Suchitra Sen. His wife later entered the Bengali film industry, and achieved some successes, but has since starred more in TV serials.
In interviews, Moon Moon Sen has praised her husband's character and his support of her professional life. Notably, she says "I give him 100 per cent credit for the success and stability of our marriage. Going by film marriages, ours is a pretty steady one. ...He is protective of all of us. His sense of humour, tolerance, understanding and love is just beyond words. He thoroughly enjoys my being in my profession because it opens up a whole new world for him."[7]
The couple have two daughters, both Bollywood actresses.
- Raima Sen (b. 7 November 1979 Calcutta)[8] or (11 November 1979)[9] and [10]; and
- Riya Sen (b. 24 January 1981)[11], who is often described, incorrectly, as the older daughter.
The family leads a private life in South Kolkata, but make occasional appearances in the Page 3 sections of Indian newspapers, usually at polo events or film-related events.
Bharat Dev Varma was probably brought up his maternal grandmother Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar (Princess Indira Raje Gaekwad of Baroda) , an erudite and progressive woman of her time, after his mother Ila Devi's premature death followed by his father's second marriage. He spent his childhood partly in Agartala and mostly in 'Woodlands' in Alipur Road, the Calcutta residence of the Cooch Behar royal family.
[edit] References
- Christopher Buyers, Salute States, showing the Maharaja of Tripura entitled to a hereditary salute of 13 guns. The highest salute of 21 guns was accorded to only five princely states - Hyderabad, Mysore, Jammu & Kashmir, Baroda, and Gwalior. Cooch Behar was entitled to a hereditary salute of 13 guns as well.
- Christopher Buyers, History of the Royal Family of Tripura covering some history of the state and its rulers.
- Christopher Buyers, Genealogy of Bharat Dev Varma showing his descent from the rulers of Tripura, and some of his relatives (but not his two half-sisters).
- Henry Soszynski, TRIPURA (Princely State) (13 gun salute) royal family of Tripura. Soszynski states that Riya is the elder daughter and was born in 1979, but this contradicts information given in interviews by Raima Sen where she specifically describes Riya as her younger sister.
[edit] External links
- A portrait of a younger Bharat Dev Varma by Norman Hutchinson, who has also painted his aunt, is visible in this article from The Telegraph (Calcutta), 17 February 2005.
