my rajasthan visits and little thoughts

                                                     I had visited rajasthan twice and both visits were memorable . I will start with the second visit . It was to Chittorgarh . I had read in childhood about Rani padmini the queen of chittor who when she was confronted with the impending defeat at the hand of the treacherous Alauddin Khilji committed jauhar by jumping into burning fire with all the womenfolk and children . And true to rajput tradition the menfolk went into the final battle where they all died fighting rather than subjecting to capture by the enemy .
Rani padmini and her kingdom is no more but the fort of Chittor is still there in Rajasthan . And it is the largest fort in india .  The fort has to be seen for till date it is the most magnificient  thing i have seen in my life . Set atop
a huge hill the massive fort can be seen from many kilometres away .  And i feel , the architecture is so strong that it has stood the ravages of time like the proud rajput . Even today only an airforce attack can capture it and in that era there was no airforce . The  massive gate is as tall as two elephants height . And the gate is fitted with  huge iron spikes and the guide told us that it is to break the head of the elephant which tries to break in by ramming its head . As i told earlier the fort is set atop hills and any enemy foolish enough to climb the hill will be killed swiftly by the archers on the forts walls . And the forts walls also are huge .As i strained my neck to look at the fort ramparts only the small holes set obliquely were seen . The point is the archers can see you while you can see only the arrowhead .  (architecture is too good )  .Inside the fort there were all the amenities and at the height of its glory was so self sufficient that it had more than 100 water bodies in it .  I was curious to see an animal shelter which looked huge  and guide explained that it was the battle elephants resting place . Those who escape the archers had an excellent chance of getting crushed . Then there was the place where Alauddin khilji saw the reflection of rani padmini . It is designed in such a way that the place can only be seen by  a mirror while if you look directly nothing but a lake is seen. There are so many temples and huge 7 storey vijay stambh which one of the kings erected . Last but not the least the place where Rani committed jauhar with all the womenfolk . Since this was the fort of mewar kings the place had at least three times jauhar committed during different periods .

Another visit was to Kota Rajasthan but here though i could not visit any fort i was very impressed by the hospitality of the local rajputs .  Very friendly and smiling one of them a boy of around 18 showed me a video in his mobile phone . There are no wars now except for the rajput regiment . This guys video showed a goat running about in a compound surrounded by a group of people . Our friendly guy was holding a sword in his hand and after around five minutes with a single stroke the head of the goat was cut . He told me that it was part of the initiation for rajputs.

                                                I have travelled to many regions of india and in many places recently regionalism has taken hold . Its a fact that all parts of india have a long history and culture at par with any other region of india . No region is superior or inferior though many regions people feel they are in some way superior to the rest of india . According to me , only one region can claim superiority over any other part of india . That is the Rajputs of Rajasthan . For they only never gave in to their enemy and both the women and men didnt even fear death when their country or region was at stake . But still they never flaunt their rich past and claim superiority while they continue to extend their warm hospitality to people like me . And a visitor to many regions that is the true sign of belonging to a great cultural heritage .

P.S : If there is one place i want to visit again in india it is Rajasthan where petty politicians have not spoilt the mindset of people into thinking they are superior . Let it remain so in the land of Rana Pratap and Rani padmini

Dr Haroon H Marikar