Rana, Prabhakar S.J.B., Pashupati S.J.B. Rana, Gautam S.J.B. Rana 2003. the Ranas of Nepal (Book Review‪)‬

Rana, Prabhakar S.J.B., Pashupati S.J.B. Rana, Gautam S.J.B. Rana 2003. The Ranas of Nepal. New Delhi: Timeless Books, 272 pp. 178 colour illustrations and 140 B/W. 1 map. ISBN: 2-8313-0374-5. NRs 5,600. This lavishly produced volume was published in India (but printed at Jagadamba Press in Nepal) a year after the original Swiss edition. (1) The book is the work of many hands, including Prashant Panjiar as photographer and Brindat Datta as designer, but it is primarily the work of three prominent members of the Rana clan. Prabhkar Shamsher is a great-grandson of Maharaja Juddha Shamsher and a highly successful businessman with interests in the hotel industry, hydro-electric power, tobacco and other fields. Pashupati, a grandson of Mohan Shamsher, is now a leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party as well as scholar and businessman. Gautam, a great-grandson of Chandra and nephew of Gorkha Parishad (and then Nepali Congress) leader, Bharat Shamsher. The title page carries acknowledgements to Rani Juni of Saila, who apparently inspired the project, and there are prefaces by the heirs to the royal houses of Mewar and Kashmir and to that of the central European state of Moldavia. The book is thus very much a production by the Nepalese aristocracy, stressing both their status within Nepal and also their links to their counterparts in India and beyond.