A member of the powerful Rai Rayan family, Sham Raj built a magnificent personal library inside his palace containing 45,000 rare books, which he later generously opened to public.

[3][4] Born to a Hindu Brahmin family which traces its roots to Raja Krishnaji Pant, a watandar of Devagiri under Shah Jahan.

Newspaper Editor of Bennett, Coleman & Company, Sir Francis Low says, "Raja Shamraj Rajwant is a lover of Art and Literature and his museum contains a valuable collection of Old Indian Paintings".

II says,[15] "Soon after getting the estates in his charge, by a firman (decree) of H. E. H the Nizam on the 1 July 1927, the young Raja cleared a large amount of arrears of office work and systematised it properly under his own supervision.

Raja Sham Raj is a pattern of a thorough gentleman, keeping before him those great types of manhood depicted in the ancient scriptures of the country.

[16] On the birthday of H. E. H the Nizam (Mir Osman Ali Khan) in 1930, He honoured Raja Shamraj Bahadur with the unique title of "Rajwant".