Udaipur, popular in the world tourism as the Land of lakes and Venice of the east , is the abode of the Rajputs , the brave warriors of India . It is named after Raja Udai Singh and built up by Raja Rana Pratap. Both of them fought their whole life against the Mughal empire.A small group against a large army has always been written in the annals of history in golden letters .History is not always written by the winners .
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| Statue of Maha Rana Pratap on his chetak |
Arriving at Udaipur Airport we were welcomed by a statue of Raja Maharana Pratap on his famous horse Chetak .The climate was cool and pleasant compared to Chandigarh. We were looking for options to reach the Gayathri Medical College where we had to attend a conference. The prepaid service was too costly and hence we decided to hire a " Vikram", a larger version of autorickshaw. A slow moving vehicle, it is a major contributor to the noise and air pollution in the city .This is, however, a common man's vehicle and should in no way be questioned .We didn't get Vikram , but hired a mini Tempo pet named "Chupa Rustham"(silent lover).
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| The chupa Rustham(the silent lover) |
Udaipur is a pleasant place with many mountains and lustrous lakes.Contrary to my belief that desert dominates Rajasthan , Udaipur is full of granaries.The atmosphere was cool and there was an intermittent refreshing drizzle the whole day.It was a great relief for us hailing from the hot and humid climate of Chandigarh.We had arrived a day earlier and had ample time to visit the city.
We visited the City palace of the Kings of Mewar, the second largest palace of India after the Fort of Tippu Sultan at Mysore . The palace has a splendid display of the history of the Mewar . I would like to share some incidents in the history which took to my heart .
Maharana Udai Singh , the founder of Udaipur was a baby when his uncle Vikramadithya Singh was assassinated .In those days it was a command practice among rulers to get rid of any potential threat to their throne , Banbir therefore decided to remove young Udai Singh too . But Udai's nurse Panna Dhai decided to sacrifice her own son to save Udai from his uncle Banbir by taking him to Kumbhalgarh. Knowing that her own child had no chance to live , she left her child in Uday's cradle to be killed instead of her master, the gravest ordeal a mother can undergo. Her name will be remembered as long as Udaipur exists in the world map.
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| Battle of Haldigatti |
Maha Rana Prathap was the only King of Mewar who really staged Resistance to the mighty Mughal Empire . His famous battle of Halidigatii is a shining stone in the history of struggle against oppression. During the battle his famous steed Chetak is reported to have jumped over the elephant of the Mughal general Mann Singh. Maha Rana Pratap 's lance throw just missed Mann Singh by a whisker . But Chetak was wounded on his leg by the tusk of one of the elephants He fell in the battlefield with his master. Seeing this the Mughal army advanced towards their enemy leader . But Chetak stood up and escaped limping from the battle field, jumping across the 22 ft Gomthi river on his way taking his master to safety . The loyalty of the animal moved even the heart of Shakti Singh, brother of Maha Rana Pratap who had allied with the Mughal Emperor . Chetak took his final breath there .This incident is famous in Rajasthani folklore, a song “O Neele Ghode re Aswar” (O Rider of the Blue Horse) commemorates it. The loyalty of an animal surpassing even a brothers love .
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| view of udaipur from the City palace |
Jhala man Singh , a soldier in Raja Rana Pratap's army exhibited extraordinary valour, bravery and sacrifice . Seeing that his King was wounded in the battle he wore the crown and royal emblem of Raja Rana pratap to confuse the Mughal army into thinking he was the king, an ancient version of camouflage He took the entire attack of the Mughal army on himself ultimately sacrificed his life in the battle .In Present day Udaipur, the descendants of Jhala still carry the emblem of Mewar as their coat of arms as conferred upon them by Maharana Pratap.
If you happen to go through newspapers and watch visual media your eyes would be weary of seeing news of human betrayal, . husband cheating his wife , children assaulting their parents for money , servants stealing the property of their masters , people deceiving their own life by committing suicide , neighbour feuds , even pet animals attacking their masters in a state of madness . Do we hear such stories of loyalty and sacrifice now a days ? Do our children know what it means to be a real human being .
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| Me with my friends at the city palace |
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