India's pampered maharajas were well known for being able to resist everything except temptation - in the shape of jewels, gold, palaces, legions of servannts and of course luxury cars And the automobile that made them weakest at the knees was the Rolls-Royce which occupied pride of place in the royal garages over lower-ranking Buicks, Chryslers and Cadillacs.
A new book, Rolls-Royce and the Indian Princes, just published by India's Roli Books, relates the commercially heady and eccentric relationship between the luxury automobile firm and the maharajas, who during their heyday were international bywords for wealth and self-indulgence.
Author and motoring writer Murad Ali Baig says at least 20,000 Rolls-Royces purred their way off the production line before World War II - 20 percent of them bound for British-ruled India.
Rolls-Royce custom-built its models for what was known as the "Maharaja market," catering to every whim.
"Many were 'purdah' models with curtains to shield the maharanis (wives of the maharajas) from prying eyes," recounted Baig, whose book features pictures of some of the famous Rollers that made their way to the subcontinent.
"The Maharaja of Jamnagar sent the company his wife's pink slipper to ensure his Phantom II was exactly the colour he wanted," Baig told AFP.
A 1933 Rolls-Royce that belonged to Maharani Sethu Parvati Bai of Travancore had a small stool on the floor. "On it sat a dwarf who massaged the queen's legs while he remained invisible to onlookers," said Baig.
The 1927 Phantom I that belonged to Baroda's Sayaji Rao Gaekwad III had 24-carat gold-plated interior fittings and solid silver door handles.
The Maharaja of Vizianagaram wanted an auspicious car to ferry the family deity in ceremonial processions so he had a Rolls made in the shape of a boat. Since steel was seen as unlucky, the car had a silver body instead.
Stripped of their powers by British colonial rulers but still with colossal incomes, the only pursuit for many princes was one-upmanship which was displayed in their cars, said Baig.
"It was wealth without responsibility," he said. "They spent their money competing with each other to display their pomp and circumstance."
One of the biggest fleets belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad, reckoned at the time to be the world's richest man.
He had some 50 Rolls-Royces along with 12,000 servants. But he was also a renowned skinflint who wore the same battered fez for years and only used one of his old Buicks to do his rounds of Hyderabad city.
Some treasured their Rollers. But the Maharaja of Alwar used his fleet for collecting rubbish after he felt he had been snubbed by a snooty salesman in London's exclusive Mayfair district.
The maharaja demanded to see the manager and ordered seven cars which when they arrived he turned into garbage vans, said Baig.
One of the then British-based company's best customers was the Maharaja of Mysore who always purchased his Rollers in sevens. His buying habits passed into company lore as "doing a Mysore".
While the princes were enthusiastic tiger hunters, they did not like to be uncomfortable when going on hunts. So naturally they travelled into the jungle in Rolls specially adapted for the purpose.
These had footboards on which their servants could stand as the car raced through the jungle and a high power "shooting lamp" to dazzle the animal.
"The engine was so silent it could creep up on the unsuspecting beasts and bump them off," Baig said.
After India gained won independence in 1947, many of the maharajas fell on hard times. But despite their magnificence, the value of vintage cars was not appreciated in India until about the 1960s, said Baig.
"They went from being a status symbol to being regarded as expensive to repair and maintain," he said. "Many were sold for a pittance."
The Maharaja of Panna had two Silver Ghosts and in a burst of generosity gave one to his family priest and another to his friend.
Another Rolls was found in Lucknow, its back cut off for use as a delivery truck and later used as a chicken coop. One old 1919 Phantom I lay rotting for years in a palace stable with a tree growing through its floorboards.
"Restoring such neglected vehicles was a difficult and expensive task," said Baig. But "even after 60 or 80 years most engines would start up without a whimper and purr with a waxy sound."
Baig says he believes there are around 160 Rolls-Royces still in India, some in museums but most owned by private collectors. Many others were sold to vintage car buyers abroad.
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