Dzieci Maharadzy: Maharaja’s Children
The Maharaja's Children
Some stories are too important to be left only in books. DZIECI MAHARADŻY — The Maharaja’s Children — is one of them. A true story of compassion across borders, this extraordinary production by Bharatanatyam virtuoso Apeksha Niranjan brings to life a forgotten chapter of World War II: the remarkable bond between Maharaja Jam Sahib Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar (Jamnagar) and nearly a thousand Polish refugee children who found sanctuary, safety, and fatherly love in India during humanity’s darkest hour.
Torn from their homes, deported to Soviet labour camps in Siberia, these children arrived in India like shadows of themselves — hollow with hunger, shorn of childhood. The Maharaja received them with words that echoed across generations: \u201CDo not think of yourselves as orphans. You are now Nawanagarians — and I am your Bapu, your father.\u201D For five years, he kept that promise.
Affectionately remembered in Poland as Dobry Maharadża — The Good Maharaja — Digvijaysinhji was posthumously honoured with the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. In 2012, a park in Warsaw was named the “Square of the Good Maharaja” in his memory. In 2025, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid flowers at his monument in the Polish capital — a testament to a bond that history refused to forget.
- Choreography : Apeksha Niranjan
- Collaboration with :Monika Kowaleczko-Szumowska
- Performance Type: Talk and Visual Presentation by Monika
- Performance : Dance Presentation on The story of Jamsaheb Maharaja Digvijay Singh ji by Apeksha Niranjan
- Music : Recorded
- Duration : 1 hour 30 minutes
- Premiere (Location) : Warsaw - Poland
- Year : 2025
- Other Location :India, Poland, USA
The Performance
DZIECI MAHARADŻY is a unique confluence of literature, dance, music, and history. The evening brings together three distinct yet seamlessly woven elements:
Apeksha Niranjan — presents a solo Bharatanatyam recital inspired by Monika’s book Bapu — opowieść o dobrym Maharadży. Her paternal grandmother, Wanda Nowicka, was one of the Polish children deported to Siberia at the age of 12, who later found her way to India — and eventually a life in Mumbai. Apeksha’s dance is not just choreography; it is memory embodied.
Monika Kowaleczko-Szumowska — acclaimed Polish author and documentary filmmaker, presenting a powerful visual and narrative account drawn from her book Bapu: opowieść o dobrym Maharadży (Bapu: A Story of the Good Maharaja) and her historical webdoc. Her research brings archival testimony, rare photographs, and the voices of survivors into the room. Learn more at www.bravebunchinindia.pl.
Together, they close the evening with an intimate interview — Monika in conversation with Apeksha about her creative journey, her grandmother’s story, and why this history must be remembered now more than ever.
Why This Story, Why Now
At a time when the world watches children displaced by war once again, DZIECI MAHARADŻY asks a timeless question: what does it mean to open your borders — and your heart — to those who have nowhere left to go?
Through Bharatanatyam’s precise mudras and soul-stirring abhinaya (expression), Apeksha maps a journey from Siberian labour camps to the warm shores of Jamnagar — from sorrow to shelter, from exile to belonging. The dance captures the innocence of childhood interrupted, the unexpected warmth of a foreign land, and the unbreakable bonds forged between East and West.
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