As Mayo College commemorates its 150th Anniversary, I am honoured to share a rare and priceless treasure from the Awaraj Library — an original 1909 album of Mayo College, Ajmer.
Preserved for generations, this album offers a glimpse into the institution as it stood in its early decades, capturing the spirit, architecture, and vision that shaped one of India’s most iconic schools.
The early 1900s were a time of immense transformation in India.
Railways were weaving together distant regions, modern education was evolving, and princely states were preparing their heirs to lead in a rapidly changing world. It was in this era that Mayo College and Daly College the school where I studied rose to prominence — founded with a singular mission: to educate the young princes and noble sons of India.
Conceived as the “Eton of the East,” Mayo College was designed by British architects who drew inspiration from the elegance of Indo-Saracenic architecture.
The photographs in this 1909 album reveal that splendour in its purest form: stately arches that framed the campus, carved pillars that told stories of craftsmanship, sweeping verandahs that echoed with youthful footsteps, stone domes built with timeless grandeur, and vast lawns where future leaders once played, studied, and dreamed.
The Kishengarh Trophy is an annual legacy match, played every year between Daly and Mayo, celebrating the highest spirit of sportsmanship and discipline.
For the House of Awagarh, this album carries deep personal significance. Generations of royal families like ours have called Mayo their second home. My brother, the fourth generation to study at Mayo College, proudly continues this legacy.
