Gayatri Devi’s grandson Devraj Singh pays tribute at the newly built chhatri in Jaipur on Monday ; Gayatri Devi. Picture by Surendra Jain Paras

Jaipur, July 29: Gayatri Devi has at last got a chhatri — exactly four years after her death. Never mind the memorial is still incomplete.

It was where Jaipur’s last maharani, once described as among the 10 most beautiful women in the world, was remembered today.

Hoshiar Singh Jatrana, the administrator overseeing the building of the cenotaph, confirmed that a small puja was held at the incomplete memorial to mark the late queen’s fourth death anniversary.

“It (the chhatri) is not yet complete, some polishing, laying of plaque enlisting the queen’s achievements and some other minor work is still left to be done. But the puja could be held here today,” he told The Telegraph.

Jatrana refused to reveal how much the memorial would cost. “But yes, it would be something in lakhs,” he said.

At the puja, Rajmata Gayatri Devi’s grandson Devraj Singh was the only one present among her extended royal family, apart from staff of Lilypool, the French-style villa where she lived.

Conspicuous by their absence were her stepsons Jai Singh and Prithiviraj Singh, who is engaged in a bitter legal battle with Devraj over her will. Other members of her extended family, including the current Jaipur princess, Diya Kumari (Gayatri Devi’s granddaughter from her first stepson Bhawani Singh), were also not present.

The maharani’s descendants are locked in legal wrangles over the Jaipur royals’ properties, said to be worth over Rs 1,000 crore, though it is not clear if the dispute has come in the way of building the chhatri.

Chhatris are memorials for kings and queens and other Jaipur royals, with a carved canopy at the top. Built of marble, sandstone or other local stones, these monuments represent a blend of Mughal and Rajput architecture and are said to reflect the character of the person in whose memory they have been built.

However, Gayatri Devi’s chhatri at Maharani Ki Chhatri — the place designated for the cremation of all Rajput maharanis and other royal female family members — is similar to the chhatris of Sawai Man Singh II’s earlier wives Maharani Marudhar Kunwar and Maharani Kishore Kunwar.

“The cenotaph of Gayatri Devi is the same as the other two maharanis. It was decided to build it with marble and does not look any different from other cenotaphs,” said S. Sharma, curator, Sawai Man Singh Museum.

Gayatri Devi’s cenotaph does not reflect the strong-willed, feisty character of a princess who shot her first panther when she was just 12 and went on to kill at least 27 more before she turned into a conservationist. Born as the fourth child of the Maharaja of Cooch Behar on May 23, 1919, Gayatri Devi had adjusted to the life of a Rajput queen with ease, accepting the restrictions of the zenana (ladies) mahal, but also strived in her own way to take the palace women forward.

She had opened a school for girls, especially Rajput princesses, in 1943 with 40 students and an English teacher. Maharani Gayatri Devi School is today one of the finest schools in India.