maharaja hari singh personal traits
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The Maharaja had very simple manners. From prime minister of the kingdom to domestic servants, all could converse with him without hesitation. Sometimes he did not refrain even from cutting jokes and was not cross at hearing jokes in reply. His memory was so sharp that he remembered names even of ordinary servants whom he would call by name. According to the needs of the occasion he would behave as old with the elders and young with the youngsters. He personally listened to supplications of the poor, sympathised, consoled, and distributed prizes and boons to them with his own hands. This is what made him extremely popular with his people. In spite of this, his awe and grandeur were such that even the highest officers would tremble with fear.
Fondness for Outings and Hunting
Ranjit Singh was fond of riding since his boyhood. As he grew up, he became such a fearless and expert rider that it was difficult to find a jockey to be his match perhaps throughout the country. For this reason, the Maharaja became extremely fond of keeping the best horses in his stable. The Maharaja's fondness for the chase also knew no bounds. Whenever he found some freedom from official work, he would take a few chosen braves with him and set out to follow the chase. He was specially fond of hunting tigers and leopards which he used to kill with spear or with the point of his sparkling sword. Munshi Sohan Lal has on several occasions written in his chronicle that whether on a march with the army or during a tour, whenever the Maharaja learnt that a tiger or a leopard had been spotted in a nearby forest, he would cancel every engagement and turn his attention towards following the chase.
The "youthful escapades" of Hari Singh included paying £300,000 for blackmail by a prostitute in Paris in 1921. That issue had resulted in a court case in London in 1924 during which the India Office tried to keep his name out of proceedings by arranging for him to be referred to as "Mr A."
Singh was known as a lavish spender of money. The funeral of his uncle and former ruler Partap Singh is believed to have expended much gold and jewellery in the funeral pyre.
Hari Singh's married life is dark. He married four times as his first wives failed to produce heirs. Each of them died within a few years of childlessness allowing Hari Singh to immediately take a new bride. His last wife, Tara Devi Sahiba of Kangra, produced a son.