(ORDO NEWS) — In 1903, in Delhi, India, an event called the “Delhi Durbar” was held – a large-scale celebration in honor of the coronation of the British monarch Edward VII.
It was supposed that the king himself would be present, but for some reason he refused to come, and it was decided to make the event even brighter and more magnificent in order to compensate for the absence of the hero of the occasion.
Preparations for the holiday went on for almost two years, and on December 29, 1902, the ceremony began.
First, brightly dressed elephants passed through the streets of Delhi, which were watched with delight by both ordinary citizens and numerous Indian rulers from different places and their crown princes.
On January 1, 1903, numerous pavilions were opened on a large plain near the outskirts of Delhi, designed to emphasize the glory of the British monarchy and the vast British Empire.
Among other things, there was a collection of gems on display that was rarely seen in one place. According to one of the eyewitnesses, the British Lord Curzon, Indian princes and their fathers were fascinated by the sight of these jewels.
Curzon himself arrived at the pavilions with them, sitting on an elephant whose tusks were decorated with a gold lining. But the most impressive sight in this place was not the jewels and magnificent elephants, but two huge guards who completely “stole” all the attention of the audience.
These two giants were said to have been brought to Durbar by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. Many, looking at them, boldly called them “the highest of all living on earth.”
The growth of one of the Kashmiri giants was 2.36 (8 feet) meters, the other – 2.23 (7.7 feet) meters. According to sources, they were twin brothers. High hats were specially put on their heads, which created the illusion of even greater growth of giants.
These brothers were elite marksmen who dedicated their lives to the service of their Maharajah. It was reported that they were from a place called Balmokand, but this place says nothing to modern historians and geographers, no one has yet figured out where it was.
The brothers arrived at Durbar armed with spears, maces and even hand grenades. They seemed to be ready for any situation to protect their Maharaja at any cost.
Each of them had a personal elephant and accompanied Maharaja wherever he went. The international journalists and photographers who gathered for the Durbar were also fascinated by these giants and wrote many enthusiastic articles about them. These giants glorified the ruler of Kashmir throughout the world.
Many photographs of these brothers have been taken, but the most famous is that of the American traveler and photographer James Rickalton between the giants.
His head is at a level below the chest of his brothers. After the Durbar, Rickalton and fellow photographer George Rose traveled to Kashmir, where they took some more pictures of the giants.
What happened to the giant brothers later is unknown. Among other things, it remained unknown what disease caused such a large growth, whether they had health problems, at what age they died, and whether they had children.
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