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A slice of Himachal in the scenic fishing port of St. Tropez, France, with a fairy tale romance that lives on even today

Union minister Anurag Thakur relives Himachal’s special link to France during a visit to this beautiful place. He offered flowers at the busts of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, princess of Chamba Bannou Pan Dei and her that husband General Jean Francois Allard in St Tropez.

Around the world, everyone knows that the name “St. Tropez” in the South of France is associated with the world’s most posh, chic, and the jetsetting glitterati. It’s a name in the same brackett as Versace, Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin or Harrods of London; a name of exclusivity and class. 

But did you know that the St. Tropez has a very close and intimate connection with India, more precisely with Chamba, a picturesque place in Himachal Pradesh. 

It is a tale steeped in the fairy tale romance of a French soldier, with a strikingly beautiful lady from the kingdom of Chamba (Himachal), Princess Bannou Pan Dei.

The French soldier in question was none other than General Jean Francois Allard. A promising officer in Napoleon’s court, Gen Allard entered into the service of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and rose to command the maharaja’s army. Maharah Ranjit singh was the first Maharajah of the Sikh empire.

The daughter of Raja Menga Ram of Chamba and Banni Panje Dei at Chamba on 25 January, 1814, Princess Bannou bore seven children from her marriage with Gen. Allard. Two   of them died in infancy. They are  buried beside the grave of their father Gen. Allard, who died in Lahore in 1841.

Tracing this slice of Himachal Pradesh’s history with in France, I&B Minister Anurag Thakur on Wednesday, May 18, paid floral tributes to Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Princess of Chamba Bannou Pan Dei and her husband Gen allard at St Tropez, the scenic fishing port in the south of France.

Upon his arrival, the Minister was received by Mayor of Saint Tropez Ms Sylvie Siri and Deputy Mayor Mr Allard Frederic along with former Deputy Mayor Henri Privost Allard.

The Minister invited the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor to the International Film Festival of India in Goa to witness the gala festival and also promised to take them on a trip to the mountains of Himachal from beaches of Goa. 

He later visited the Allard Square in Saint Tropez. A boat ride away from Cannes, the prestigious and equally talked about Cannes Film Festival. 

The busts of the Maharaja and Bannu Pan Dei were unveiled in St Tropez in 2016 as a mark of growing India-France relationship.

It is a tale steeped in the fairy tale romance of a French soldier, with a strikingly beautiful lady from the kingdom of Chamba (Himachal), Princess Bannou Pan Dei.

Speaking on the occasion the Minister said the India connect of Saint Tropez has not been lost even after four generations. The family of Princess is immensely respected in Saint Tropez and the family has preserved its Indian roots.

A day later, the minister headed an 11-member delegation to the glittering Cannes Film Festival festival. 

After his marriage in 1826, Gen Allard took Princess Bannou of Chamba, with him to St Tropez, France in 1834. 

The reason given to Maharaja Ranjit Singh for the journey back home to St. Tropez was that the children needed a Christian education. However, in a newspaper interview in France, Gen Allard spoke of another reason. His wife being much younger than him and belonging to a strict Hindu family, he feared she would be obliged to commit sati if he died in the Punjab.

In July 1835 Bannou Pan Dei settled down in Saint Tropez and remarried Allard in a French civil ceremony. Since she was a Hindu, they could not be married in a church.

In 1841 after the demise of her husband at Peshawar, she decided to convert to Christianity (Roman Catholic) and was baptised in the church of Saint Tropez, the King and the Queen of France having accepted to be her godfather and godmother.

Bannou Pan Dei continued to live in a large house built by Gen Allard in St Tropez. She died at Saint Tropez on 13 January 1884, and is buried in the Allard family tomb in the \’Cimetiere Marin\’ of Saint Tropez.

Saint Tropez residents love retelling the romantic story of General Jean-François Allard. Born in Saint-Tropez, the General served in the Napoleon army until the Battle of Waterloo. In 1820, Allard drifted around the Middle East before travelling to Punjab, India in 1822 and serving under Maharajah Ranjit Singh’s army.

Saint-Tropez village has a population of only 5000, but over 5 million travellers visit the place  annually. To add to the growing list of globetrotters, the Tourism Office of Saint-Tropez has their eyes all set on the Indian luxury traveller

The royal dwelling of General Allard and Princess Pan Dei on Rue Gambetta has been turned into a 3-storey luxury boutique hotel, the Pan Dei Palais, preserving the legendary 19th century love story. 

Decorated with Indian and Asian elements, the hotel’s interior decorator Francoise Piault explains, “I really wanted to bring back something of the life of the Princess to whom I felt very close. I imagined that she left her roots here.”

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David Solomon
David Solomon
(For over four decades, David Solomon’s insightful stories about people, places, animals –in fact almost anything and everything in India and abroad – as a journalist and traveler, continue to engross, thrill, and delight people like sparkling wine. Photography is his passion.)

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