Martanda Sydney Tondaiman
Encyclopedia
Martanda Sydney Tondaiman (22 July 1916 – 20 January 1984) was the one and only son of Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman
Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman
His Highness Raja Sri Brahdamba Dasa Raja Sir Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman GCIE was the ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai from 15 April 1886 to 28 May 1928.- Early life :...

, Raja
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...

 of Pudukkottai
Pudukkottai state
Pudukkottai was a princely state in the Madras Presidency which existed from 1680 to 1948. It was one of the five princely states that were under political control of the Government of Madras.- Location :...

 and his Australian wife Molly Fink
Molly Fink
Esme Mary Sorrett Fink , popularly known as Molly Fink was an Australian socialite and wife of Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman, the Raja of the princely state of Pudukkottai...

.

Early life

Martanda Sydney Tondaiman was born to Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman
Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman
His Highness Raja Sri Brahdamba Dasa Raja Sir Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman GCIE was the ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai from 15 April 1886 to 28 May 1928.- Early life :...

 and Molly Fink
Molly Fink
Esme Mary Sorrett Fink , popularly known as Molly Fink was an Australian socialite and wife of Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman, the Raja of the princely state of Pudukkottai...

 on July 22, 1916 while they were residing in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman had left India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 as the British government had refused to give official recognition to his interracial marriage with Molly Fink. Sydney was not baptised as he born to a non-Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 father.

Education

Sydney was educated at the Institut Le Rosey
Institut Le Rosey
Institut Le Rosey, commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a school, in Gstaad, Switzerland. It is described as one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the world. The school was founded by Paul-Émile Carnal in 1880 on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey near the town...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and the Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...

 from where he graduated in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

. At Le Rosey, his closest friend was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...

, who later sent Sydney a special invitation for his coronation in 1967. In 1938, while travelling between Cannes
Cannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....

 and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, Sydney met with a road accident and was left with a limp
Limp
A limp is a type of asymmetric abnormality of the gait. Limping may be caused by pain, weakness, neuromuscular imbalance, or a skeletal deformity. The most common underlying cause of a painful limp is physical trauma however in the absence of trauma other serious causes such as septic arthritis,...

. Sydney moved to the United State of America ans became an U. S. citizen on September 1, 1943.

Arrest

From his childhood, Sydney was a kleptomaniac. In 1945, Sydney was arrested in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 for stealing money from his rich friends. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

reported the prince as reasoning that "he had only a couple of thousand dollars in the bank, not nearly enough to maintain my usual style of living". Sydney was convicted and imprisoned, firstly at Sing Sing
Sing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...

 and then, at Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. As a result of his conviction, Sydney's U. S. citizenship was revoked. In 1946, when the Nawab of Palanpur
Palanpur
Palanpur is a city and a municipality of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the largest city and the administrative headquarters of the district....

 requested the government of British India for permission to marry his Australian girlfriend, the authorities opposed citing Martanda Sydney as an example.

Later years

After serving his sentence, Martanda returned to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and lived with his mother until her death in 1967. Sydney, himself, died sixteen years later, on January 20, 1984, in a room in Hotel de la Ville, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, of heart failure. His body was cremated at the Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....

and his ashes were interred beside those of his parents.
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