India

Rajasthan

This post covers day 14 of a 16-day journey around Rajasthan.

The size of Germany, Rajasthan is the largest of India’s 29 states. With the Thar Desert covering the north and west it is one of India’s less densely populated states, though with 200 people per km² (the same as Italy) it is hardly empty.

This penultimate post takes us across southern Rajasthan from Udaipur to Bundi

In the 11th and 12th centuries the rise of the Rajputs created some 20 or so petty kingdoms ruled by Maharajas - the ‘Rajput Princes’. These kingdoms, at first independent, later vassal states of the Mughal or British Empires survived until 1947, when the Maharajahs led their ‘Princely States’ into the new Union of India, creating Rajasthan (the ‘Land of Princes’). The rulers became constitutional monarchs until 1971 when the Indian government ended their official privileges and abolished their titles. ‘Maharaja’ is now a courtesy title, but most remain leading members of their communities and some are still immensely rich. Several, like their British counterparts, have supplemented their income by turning forts and palaces into tourist attractions and hotels.

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An Old Stronghold and a City by a Lake

After a breakfast interesting enough to deserve its own brief post, we checked out and met Umed in the lobby. He confessed to having a minor coming together with a motorcycle after he left us on Saturday and had chosen not to brave the narrow lanes again. After tuk-tuking out to where he had left the car we looked sympathetically at the minor scratches.

Tuk-tuking out of the narrow maze of streets around Lake Pichola, Udaipur

Udaipur to Chittorgarh

We set off for Bundi, 250km and a five-hour drive from Udaipur with an intended long stop at Chittorgarh (spelt Chittaugarh on the map above) around the half way mark.

On a cloudy and cool morning Umed drove us out of Udaipur rounding the Chetak circle on the way. Chetak is the name traditionally given to the horse ridden by Maharana Pratap at the Battle of Haldighati in 1576, though without any historical evidence. The legend of the horse bravely carrying the Maharana to safety before dying of his wounds dates from a couple of centuries after the battle.

Chetak Circle, Udaipur

We also saw a toddler standing in the well of a motor scooter, a sight we have seen so often in South Asia we sometimes forget to find it alarming.

Girl on a motor scooter

An hour or so later we passed a wedding party…

Wedding party near Chittorgarh

…and around midday reached Chittorgarh.

Chittorgarh

The modern city of Chittorgarh – sometimes just ‘Chittor’ – has 120,000 inhabitants and makes its living from concrete, marble and lead-zinc smelting. Itself of little touristic interest it sits at the foot of an 180m high hill with an extensive flattish top. The earliest inhabitants quickly grasped the hill’s defensive possibilities and the first fort (garh) was built by Chitrangada Mori – sources agree on this but no-one says who he was and when he lived so perhaps he was legendary. The fort grew into the biggest in India, or possibly Asia, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The hill is steep, the ascent involving several hairpins. At the top, inside two or three layers of outer walls, we met our local guide, a thin wiry man with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Chittogarh and a compulsion to share it, all of it if possible.

Muiltiple lines of defence on Chittogarh Hill

After looking down on the city below….

Chittor City from Chittorgarh

Kirti Stambh

…. we drove across the fort to Kirti Stambh. Just because we are in a fort, not everything has to be military. The 22m Kirti Stambh was built by a Jain merchant in the late 12th or early 13th century (though the top pavilion was added a century or two later). Jains are opposed to all violence and tower is dedicated to Lord Adinath, the first Jain Thirthankar.

Kirti Stambh, Chittorgarh

Next-door is a Jain temple….

Jain Temple beside Kirti Stambh, Chittorgarh

…. And both are adorned with sumptuous carvings, which would sparkle in the sunshine – if there was any.

Carvings on the Jain temple by Kirti Stambh, Chittorgarh

Suraj Pol, Chittorgarh

A couple of hundred metres along the curtain wall is the Suraj Pol, the ‘front gate’ of the fort (we entered through the back door overlooking the city).

Suraj Pol, Chittorgarh

The Suraj Pol is undergoing restoration. It is not unusual to see women manual labourers in India, nor is it unusual to see such flimsy footwear – or even bare feet – so near to a mattock. India’s record on industrial accidents is not impressive.

Restoration works, Suraj Pol, Chirrorgarh

Outside, the hill is steep but there is a graded path for horses and elephant, with the usual right-angle bends to stop a war elephant charging the door.

Outside the Suraj pole on an overcast and misty day, Chittorgarh

The view down to the plain, a long way below, shows the fort’s strength, but it also its weakness. The fort had ample water, the rocky soil retains it well and it is claimed they had enough for a garrison of 50,000 for four years, but all the food must come from the flat fertile land below.

Looking down from Chittorgarh to the plain below

The Story of Padmini

The fort was allegedly taken by Bappa Rawal, founder of the Kingdom of Mewar (later based in Udaipur) in the 8th century but that may be a story to account for the Mewar Dynasty (the Sisodias) holding the fort in the first place. They were to lose it (and regain it) three times in the next 800 years, each time with appalling consequences.

The Sisodias first lost Chittorgarh in 1303 to Alauddin Khalji, the Sultan of Delhi. Rawal Ratan Singh put up a stout defence and, allegedly, Alauddin Khalji offered to withdraw if he was allowed a single glimpse of Padmini, the Rawal’s queen and a woman of legendary beauty.

Padmini's Palace with its island annexe, Chittorgarh

Ratan Singh had made a long and dangerous journey to her home in Sri Lanka to win her hand after hearing of her beauty from a talking parrot, so the request required much thought. Eventually he allowed the Sultan to enter Padmini’s palace alone, climb the mirror tower and see not her, but her reflection in the surface of the lake.

This probably is not the mirror tower but the next one along. It is, though, a prettier tower and a better picture.
And as it never really happened the designation of one tower as the 'mirror tower' for the benefit of tourists seems pointless

Maybe the Sultan was satisfied by this, maybe not or perhaps it had all been a subterfuge because as he left his entourage grabbed Ratan Singh and hustled him away. The Palace now has a beautifully kept rose garden, perhaps this was where the kidnapping took place.

The rose garden by Padmini's palace, Chittorgarh

Padmini dressed the palace guard as women and sent them in curtained palanquins as a gift to the Sultan. Beware of Greeks and Sisodias bearing gifts as the saying almost goes. Bursting from the palanquins, the soldiers rescued Ratan Singh but lost 7,000 of their own men (surely a 'magic' number and certainly far more than could be transported in all the palanquins in Rajasthan) in the process.

Ratan Singh was free, but at such a cost he knew his cause was lost, Padmini led 13,000 women in committing johar, throwing themselves on to a huge funeral pyre, while their menfolk rode out to certain death at the hand of the Sultan’s soldiers.

Not a happy tale, and not the first mass suicide of this trip (see Jaisalmer). Strong historical evidence exists for Sultan Alauddin Khalji taking Chittorgarh in 1303, and for a mass suicide. The rest is fable; poets, story-tellers and Bollywood producers have embellished the story at their whim, but however the yarn is spun the objectification of women remains uncomfortably at its heart.

Vijay Stambh and the Johar Place, Chittorgarh

Despite the death and destruction, the Delhi Sultans were not that interested in Chittorgarh and 20 years later it was back in Sisodia hands. Two centuries of stability and prosperity followed, though not without continued military activity. We drove north to the Vijay Stambh, erected 1458-68 by Rana Kumbha to commemorate his victory over the Sultan of Malwa. It looks very like the Kirti Stambh, though it is 250 years younger and 15m taller. This is a typical Jain tower but built by a Hindu – pacifist Jains would never commemorate a military victory.

Vijay Stambh, Chittorgarh

Stability came to a jolting end in 1535 when the Sultan of Gujarat besieged Chittorgarh. Again, the result was johar, the women and children leaping onto a funeral pyre while their men rode out to die in battle. The Johar Place stands directly in front of the Vijay Stambh. Now a patch of green surrounded by ruins, some say the spirits of the dead still inhabit this terrible place (though I remain a sceptic on such issues).

The Johar Place, Chittorgarh.
Two 16th century johars took place here but Padmini's was at the Ratan Singh Palace further north

The Sisodias regained the fort, but Rawal Udai Singh was aware of its vulnerability and sought out a new capital, founding Udaipur in 1559. He was therefore not present in 1567 when the Mughal Emperor Akhbar embarked on Chittorgarh’s longest and bloodiest siege which ended in yet another act of johar. The Mughals handed Chittorgarh back in 1616 on condition it would not be refortified, but by then the era of castles was over.

Samadhisvar Temple and Gaumukh Reservoir, Chittorgarh

Several ruined buildings and a couple of temples surround Johar Place. Finest is the 11th century Samadhisvar Temple. It resembles a Jain Temple but….

Samadhisvar Temple, Chittorgarh

…Nandi at the entrance proves it to be a Shiva temple.

Nandi at the entrance to the Samadhisvar Temple, Chittorgarh

Inside Shiva is shown in the Tripurti form which holds that Brahma and Vishnu are forms of Shiva and not different deities.

Shiva in the Tripurti form, Samadhisvar Temple, Chittorgarh

Behind the temple is the Gaumukh (lit: Cowmouth) Reservoir. Perched on the edge of the hill, it is fed by a spring, the outfall in the cliff carved as a cow's mouth. It was an important source of water during numerous sieges.

Gaumukh Reservoir, Chittorgarh

Chittorgarh has more to see, but it was time to move on. We said goodbye to our guide, left the fort and stopped at a restaurant half way down for a paneer curry and a bottle of Kingfisher.

On to Bundi

Another three hours driving took us to Bundi. On the way we passed overcrowded buses…

Overcrowded bus between Chittorgarh and Bundi

…and overloaded lorries. Marble being a local industry, we passed many lorries carrying unrestrained stone slabs. They are stable under normal conditions, but in an accident the lorry could tip over or come to a dramatic stop launching several tonnes of masonry at passers-by, or the driver himself.

Transporting marble, seen between Chittorgarh and Bundi

We reached Bundi just after five. It looked a nice little town built round a lake with a palace climbing the hillside opposite.

Bundi Palace across the lake.
This photo and the one below were taken the following morning when the weather and light were better.

We checked into a charming old Haveli down a narrow lane and met our new local guide.

Bundi Haveli

Bundi

Our itinerary said we should see the palace, but it was already closing for the evening. Our guide apologised, as though he was personally responsible for dusk, but we have seen many palaces recently and Bundi was never the grandest of Rajasthan’s many princely states. He offered to show is a stepwell and conduct a walking tour instead if we had the energy. It was our only chance to see Bundi, so we found the energy.

Bundi had seemed small as we arrived, but the old centre clusters below the royal palace on the hillside and the city has grown away from the hill rather than round it as we first thought. Bundi has a population of 100,000 and has or had 50 stepwells. All are abandoned, most have fallen into disrepair and many are used as rubbish dumps.

Dabhai Kund, Bundi

Dabhai Kund, one of the largest, was a ten-minute drive away. Built in 1658 it has undergone some restoration, though more is needed. I do not expect the authorities to replace the water, but they could remove the rubbish.

Dabhai Kund stepwell, Bundi

Step wells are major excavations. It is a moot point whether the ability of everybody to fetch water at once rather than queue for a bucket on a rope is worth the digging, but they are remarkable structures. Close up, the repeated lines of steps have a pleasing Escher-like effect.

Dabhai Kund stepwell, Bundi

Next to the well is the royal cremation site.

Royal cremation site, Bundi

And why, you wonder are there two domes, each above its own memorial? One is for the ruler, the other for his wife, because once her husband dies the best thing a woman can do is to set herself on fire. The voluntary (?) burning of women has occupied too much of this post. Under pressure from Hindu reformers and Christian missionaries, sati was banned state by state from 1829. There seems to have been little resistance to this particular colonial interference in local customs – perhaps they had all had enough.

Royal cremation site, Bundi

Fine Samosas, Bundi

Nearby we passed a stall selling ‘the best samosas in the world’ or so our guide said. They make 5,000 a day, he told us and for a few rupees we had one each (as did the guide and Umed) to put his statement to the test. We have eaten many samosas, perhaps not enough to judge the world’s best, but these were outstanding. They were fresh, with fine pastry and the subtlest spicing of the vegetable filling.

The best samosas in the world, Bundi

Sukh Mahal, Bundi

Our walking tour continued by car (!) to the Jait Sagar Tank, an artificial lake on the edge of town. The Sukh Mahal was built beside the lake around 1800 as a pleasure palace/hunting lodge for the Maharao of Bundi. Rudyard Kipling stayed here at some time in the 1880s and either wrote Kim here or was inspired to write it here, depending on source. As Kipling left India in 1889 and Kim was published in 1901 this may be fanciful. It is open to the public, but not at this time of day.

The Sukh Mahal, Bundi

Bundi Market

Back in the town we let Umed go and continued on foot.

Back to Bundi market

We walked through the flower market….

Flower market, Bundi

...and the vegetable market where some stalls were well stocked…

Larger stalls, Bundi Market

….while and others sold whatever meagre produce the stallholders could get or grow.

Small vegetable stall, Bundi market

We stopped to taste some carrot-based sweets.

Sweet stall, Bundi

Beyond the gate into the old city...

Through the gate, Bundi

…were more stalls, clothes shops, weavers, welders and knife sharpeners. In small offices and banks high enough off the ground to avoid the monsoon floods, clients sat on soft floor coverings and leant against pillows while business was conducted on desks only inches high.

Business, Bundi-style

Krishna Tea Stall, Bundi

Our guide suggested a stop at Krishna's tea stall.

Mr Krishna boils up his tea, Bundi

This place is something of an institution and we clambered up to the only two seats while Mr Krishna crushed the spices for our masala tea with a stone and set about boiling up the sweet milky tea.

His tea, peppery with a hint of cardamom, was quite exceptional and if ‘the best tea shop in the world’ is as extravagant and unprovable a claim as the best samosa, the combination of quality and ambience was truly memorable. His vast visitors’ book has comments from customers from across the globe, and we added our two-pennyworth.

Mr Krishna, Bundi

While drinking our tea we were entertained by a passing wedding party.

Wedding party, Bundi

We may have missed the palace, but the evening had been far better than yet another palace visit. Back at the hotel we dined on vegetable biryani and lamb mughli.

07/02/18

Bundi Morning Photographs

The morning weather was much brighter, and before leaving we had a short stroll to see what we could see. Our sightings included a small hairy piglet…