It took all but a week in Mewar, Rajasthan for me to realise that the history that I had learned in school, from books and from the liberals differs so much from the what the locals believe.
My journey began from the birthplace of Maharana Pratap and ended at the place where he was laid to rest.
The first place I visited was Kumbhalgarh fort, a place where Maharana Pratap was born. The fort is so well placed that it is not visible till you reach the gates (called Pol) of the fort. When you reach the first gate of the fort, you do not see the palace. Kumbhalgarh was founded by the grandson of Emperor Ashok but was built by Rana Kumbha. The fort has a 36 km wall which comes second after the Great Wall of China and has 360 temples some of which are thousands of years old.
History taught me that the fort was captured once by the Moguls who could retain it for 2 days. The locals believe otherwise that the fort was never captured. Looking at the condition of the fort and the temples my conclusion is that fort was never captured. In every fort captured by the Moguls the temples was desecrated in true ISIS style. The condition of the temples and the idols clearly indicate that it was never taken. That was the first history lesson proven wrong,
From there I moved to Chittorgarh, the seat of the Mewar kingdom where Maharana Pratap grew up. This place is not for the faint hearted. The fort has been ruthlessly destroyed thrice by Alauddin Khilji, Bhahadur Shah and Akbar.
Three places at Chittorgarh will stay with you forever
1) Johar Kund - Locals believe that post war, the women were captured as trophies to be handed out. Only alternative was Johar or Sati. There were 3 main Johars done at the time of attacks of Aladdin, Bahadur Shah and Akbar. All of them resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. The Johar Kund was initially a 50 feet deep pit lit up in flames. Next to the pit is a small house wherein the women would dress up in bridal wear. Amid chanting of vedic shlokas, they would jump into the pit. 'Dignity in death' was chosen over been taken over as a trophy. The pit today as covered up as seen the photo below but the place is haunting to say the least.
Locals tell me the johars took place only when the Rajputs would fight with the Moguls. There is no incidence of johar when the Rajput states fought each other. When you walk across the fort, you will many small stones with tilaks. They are in memory of many other satis.
History taught me that sati was a common Hindu ritual. I often wondered why none of Dashrath's wife committed sati in Ramayana ... the answer came from the tragic story from Chittorgarh.... sati was never a Hindu custom ... its was a reactionary activity to prevent being taken away as a sex-slave.
Walking across Chittorgarh made me feel miserable ... History taught me that Akbar was great, benevolent king but how can anyone who is great bring about so much of destruction and death and then revel in it.
2) Mira Mandir - The temple were Mira prayed and sang her bhajans. Mirabai then moved to Dwarka. While the idol is recently replaced ...the small temple is perhaps the only place where you can be at peace in Chittorgarh
3) Padmini Palace - Rani Padmini was considered one of the most beautiful women in the world. Alauddin Khilji attacked the fort for his lust of Rani Padmini. Locals will tell you of a Rani who was not only beautiful but also very brave. There is small and destroyed palace of Rani Padmini in the middle of a small lake. The palace was vandalised by Akbar the great who took away its bronze gates to Agra for his own palace. Wikipedia and historians will tell you that there is no historical evidence of her.
The story of Chittorgarh is of Mira's Bhakti, Rajput 'Shakti' and 'Balidaan' of many a brave women from Rani Padmini to Panna Dai.
From Chittorgarh. I left for Haldi - Ghati where Maharana Pratap fought. History taught me that Hindus are a very caste driven society. People of one caste never co-operate or work with another caste. And yet when I went to Haldi Ghati, I was told the story of a brave Rajput king who gave up everything to fight for his motherland. Helping this brave Rajput king were Bhils or tribals or SC/ST in today's vocabulary. The commander in chief of this army was a Muslim and funding was provided by a trader from the Jain community.
History has taught me that Hinduism needs to reform - needs to be more secular, tolerant and address the ills of caste. I saw none of it at Haldi Ghati ... what I saw was an integral way of life.
As I made my way to Chavand, the resting place of Mahara Pratap ... I wondered what did history really reach me ..... as I entered Chavand......I saw written on the gates
"Jo dridh rakhe dharm ko tahi rakhe kartar"
It means that God protects those who protect Dharma. From Maharana Pratap to his horse Chetak, from Panna Dai to Rani Padmini .... they are all remembered today for one thing - they followed their Dharma.
Thank U for posting first hand account.
ReplyDeleteThank U for posting first hand account.
ReplyDeleteThank you for putting in words what I and others have also felt when visiting these places, incredibly proud and sad at the same time, but your voice adds the clarity to the history.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words
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