Effigies of Ravana at Kota and Pushkar

In North India the Dussehra celebrations are a spectacle not to be missed.

We witnessed brilliantly decorated tableaux and processions depicting various episodes from Ram's life. The whole maidan was reverberating with high decibel music. The sequences of the war between Ram and Ravana were played by many amateur troupes through recitations and with enthusiasm. All these celebrations would finally culminate in burning the effigy of Ravana.




As the actors dressed as Ram, his consort Sita, and brother Lakshman arrived, the crowd around cheered. There was Hanuman, the Monkey God too. They would later shoot arrows of fire at these effigies, which are stuffed with firecrackers.




The only disappointment was we could not stay back till midnight to witness the final act of setting the mammoth effigy of Ravana to fire.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

More from Chittorgarh Fort

Chittorgarh Fort Part 1 – here.

We spent around five hours here, yet we could not visit all the interesting spots inside the fort spread over 690 acres. Each spot had a story; some of them left us speechless.

After that first disaster of 1303, the Chittorgarh Fort regained its glory for a short period under Rana Kumbha when he built the Vijay Stambha, a nine storied massive structure. It was built in 1440 AD to celebrate his victory over Mahmud Khilji of Malwa.

Vijay Stambh built by Rana Kumbha, 1440 AD.

The second disaster that razed down the mighty Chittorgarh Fort further, was by Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat in 1532. Queen Karnavati who was holding on to the fort bravely, sent her sons Vikramjit and Udai Singh to safety. She also sent Rakhi to Emperor of Hindustan, Humayun seeking his protection from Bahadur Shah. (Rakhi is a sacred thread which a Hindu woman ties around the right wrist of a brother to ensure protection.) Unfortunately for the Queen, Emperor Humayun was at far east in Bengal. Honored, that a Rajput Queen had chosen him as her brother, he immediately set out from Bengal to protect his sister.

It was too late; once more the mass suicides were committed. This time it is told that Queen Karnavati and other women, 13,000 of them blew themselves up in one huge blast using gunpowder. Emperor Humayun reached Chittor, defeated Bahadur Shah and handed the fort to Vikramjit.

Mahasati, sacred place to cremate the rulers.

The final disaster, which proved to be fatal, was by Akbar, son of Humayun when Chittor was ruled by Udai Singh son of Karnavati. Both aged around 25 didn’t share cordial relationships. And Prince Udai Singh sought the easy way out fleeing the scene leaving the fort to his chiefs. Again pyres were lit, women leapt in to the flames and the men folk rode out to fight till death. It is said there was not a single living soul inside when Akbar entered the fort.

The battle raged from 20th Oct 1567 to23rd Feb 1568 (today is 23rd Feb too!); the Mughals too had incurred heavy losses. An angry Akbar plundered and razed down this mighty fort to such an extent that for two centuries it remained uninhabited and turned to a haunt of wild animals.

... where the Queens would have walked once.

Temples inside the fort.

This ghost town even today reverberates with the tales of its past glory and the sacrifices made by its people. I was shocked and numbed, choking with a mixture of feelings listening to the stories from the guide, thinking of the innumerable women who would have leapt to flames in this very soil… what were their last thoughts?

Centuries have passed, but this act of self immolation has not ceased. Women of Afganisthan are setting themselves to fire even today, some to save themselves from dishonor, some for other reasons. They are driven to such levels of desperation. Care to read about it? Read it here: Terror of a Different Kind. The article was fresh in my mind when I was touring Chittorgarh fort on 7th Oct 2008.

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Aero India 2009

We were sitting on the edge of our chairs! We were there, right in the first row, close to run way, witnessing an unforgettable, breathtaking and spectacular show of maneuvers by the magnificent flying machines. This was at the Aero India – 2009 at Yelahanka AF Stn. Bangalore.



The smooth take offs with a deafening roars, the upside down fly past; the dare devil pilots all, treated us to neat vertical climbs. One aircraft would touchdown and within minutes there was another which had taken off, a split-air maneuver and 360 degree turns… barrel rolls, half rolls… a Cobra maneuver… ballets in the air by helicopters of IAF… we could sense the adrenalin rush with each act!






The other highlights were:
Asia’s Premier Air Show! 7th edition of biennial aerospace exposition.
600 companies from 26 countries!

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in the passes and tickets were issued to the visitors to keep a tab on them during the air show… the first time for an air show in Bangalore.

Suman Sharma, a commissioned officer and currently a flying instructor with the Indian Military Academy (IMA) at Dehradun, became the world’s first woman to fly the mighty Russian MiG-35 fighter jet at the Aero India international air show.

Security check carried out by plain-clothed, armed and wired security personnel from Israel at their display of aircrafts. No other participating nations were permitted this facility.

Protestors protesting against the ‘alleged arms bazaar in the guise of aero-show’ were rounded up by the police.

More photographs here and here.



Another two years' long wait for the next AIR SHOW!!!


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Chittorgarh Fort

No other fort in India can match the fort of Chittorgarh for its legends of chivalry and glorious death, the Rajput’s obsession with honor and its tales of valor. The Rajput men died fighting war after war and the women and children preferred death to defeat and flames to dishonor!

It was built in the eighth century by King Bappa Rawal, after that the fort passed many hands, many dynasties for many generations. Many wars have been fought here, but three major sieges by Muslim invaders brought this mighty fort down.

Ruins of Fateh Prakash palace (top), Rana Kumbha Palace (below).

The first disaster was in AD1303 by Al-ud-din Khilji. He had heard so much of the beauty of Rani Padmini Queen of Rana Ratan Singh the then King of Chittorgarh that he wanted to possess her. He failed to capture the fort and sent a message to the king that he would return to Delhi after he gets a glimpse of Rani Padmini’s beautiful face. Khilji wasn’t allowed to directly gaze at Rani Padmini’s face; instead he was shown her reflection in a mirror. Khilji was so mesmerized by the hazy reflection of the Queen that he cunningly captured the King Ratan Singh who had come to see him off at the gate. He then demanded the Queen submit herself to him in return for the King’s life.

Rani Padmini's Palace.

The intelligent Queen then chalked out a plan and demanded for 700 palanquins for her 700 maids who would accompany her. Khilji immediately provided the palanquins. 700 brave soldiers in the guise women then set out to Khilji’s camp and rescued their King. Khilji attacked the fort again 13 years later. This time,Ratan Singh’s men could not withstand the attack and when defeat seemed certain 30,000 women and children led by Rani Padmini threw themselves in the liberating flames of Jauhar. When Khilji entered the fort all that was left was ashes and stench of burning dead bodies. He was so angry that he razed down the various structures inside the fort except Ratan Singh’s and Rani Padmini’s palace.

The Muslim invaders had built dome like structures on top of all the razed down buildings.

the place where Meerabai sang bhajans for Lord Krishna (below).

Adbhutnath Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

This is not the end!

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Souvenir - Kavad

When I travel I always tend to pick up a few souvenirs, nothing unusual, I am sure you do too. Sometimes it is confusing what to pick, but in Rajasthan I found myself confused over what not to pick. The wide range of knickknacks and keepsakes I saw there was astounding, all within a reasonable price range too!

One bright little thing that caught my eye was the Kavad, a portable temple made of wood. It was very light to hold and it measured less than ‘one foot by one foot’ in dimension. There were doors waiting to be opened, small little doors with what looked like angelic forms painted on them. I open them only to see folded doors again. I keep on unfolding them one after the other and the painted panels open up on either side. The first door that I had opened is now behind one of the open panels.

(Please click and enlarge to see the details.)

“If you observe carefully, there are different stories in the panels in either side,” said the sales guy as I stared at it in amazement! “It is like a book,” he stressed. I folded the doors and unfolded them again. Yes, stories of Lord Krishna on one side and stories of Lord Ram on the other. The last door conceals the supreme deities: Ram, Lakshman and Sita or Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Shubhadra.

(Please click and enlarge to see the details.)

It cost just Rs.250!

Will it provide at least a one time meal to the artisan and his family? I didn’t have the heart to bargain.


[Facts: These Kavads are made of Mango or Seasame wood, by the wood carvers of Bassi a small town 25 kilometers north-east of Chittorgarh. Men make these, small box like, temples with hinged doors; women paint them with stories from epics. They were the tools of professional bards, known as Kavadia Bhatts, who traditionally traveled from village to village chanting the tales of epics; the tradition is 400 years old.]


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Rajasthani Hospitality

As I keep writing about my tour of Rajasthan, I am constantly reminded of the warmth with which we were received at the hotels and a palace we stayed there. At some of the places we were received with drum beats and blowing trumpets, at other places we were garlanded and showered with sweet scented flowers. The welcoming trumpet call and drum beats would go on for a couple of minutes... It was overwhelming!



The locals there feel very happy when the tourists wear the traditional dresses of the region, especially the lady tourists. Women of the region keep their faces covered, so the lady tourists dressed in foreign revealing attires attract unnecessary attention.

The Rajasthani delicacies… how I miss them! And the way the waiters hovered around us to make sure we had our fill! If anything was too spicy; it would be immediately replaced with something mild. And this was just not in the big hotels there; even in the small eateries there we got pampered. We were entertained by the musicians, magicians, and folk dancers while having our dinners.




One has to be there to experience the emblematic Rajasthani hospitality!

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Brinjal Has A Cap

Yet another brinjal (eggplant) inspired post. My previous one here.

This time the brinjals I purchased were of proper form. Culling away the brinjals my thoughts wandered... I was reminded of a recent conversation I overheard between two mothers of first graders.

One of the mothers was pouring out to the other
Mother1: My son lost the full score in science by one mark.
Mother2: Oh! How?

Mother1: The question was “Circle the odd one out of Brinjal, Cucumber, Pumpkin and Bitter Gourd and give the reason why it is odd?” He circled Brinjal.
Mother2: That is right answer, why was the mark deducted?

Mother1: Oh! He gave the wrong reason, he stated: Brinjal has a cap!
Mother2 (Suppressed a giggle and put across a serious face.)

Mother1: The teacher circled the wrong answer and put a big red cross. X


Stirring the culled pieces, I was thinking about the boy: how differently he thinks. His world of imagination must be filled with caps and balloons may be of clouds and kites and there his teacher is drilling in to him facts of plants and creepers.He knows the brinjal grows in a plant but that everybody knows. He is more fascinated by the ‘cap’ the brinjal has.

And as my thoughts ramble on, I wonder:

Is the red ink used in correction helpful or harmful? We have grown up seeing the red blotches in our answer sheets. Teachers have for long used red ink; the reason being red ink makes it easier for children to spot errors and perk up.

But a recent news headline read: Teachers in UK banned from using 'confrontational' red ink in case it upsets children. In Australia too, the educational strategy is: Don't mark in red pen (which can be seen as aggressive) - use a different color.

I don’t think red is demotivating for a child? I think it is just a protocol and not meant to demotivate. And use of different color is going to be no different. After some years there will be a ban on that color too. (Disabled became handicapped and now handicapped is not acceptable it should be differently abled.) I hope this kind of banning does not spread all over the world.


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Saheliyon ki Bari, Udaipur

We were at Udaipur, finally, at the city of lakes. I was eagerly looking forward to our visit to this exotic city which is described as the 'most diversified and most romantic spot on the continent of India' by Colonel James Tod in his Annals and Antiques of Rajasthan (1828).

Unfortunately, it rained there heavily that day. The city was experiencing a spell of extended monsoons much to the relief of the locals there. Broken branches of trees blocked not only the roads but also our plans to take the boat ride to the beautiful and luxurious Lake Palace Hotel in the Pichola Lake.

(This Lake Palace Hotel is situated inside the Pichola Lake on a raised land and the water around is not due to rains. Boats are the only means of access. Please click and enlarge to see its beauty.)

Change of plans and we set off for the Saheliyon ki Bari (Garden of Friends) through a long circuitous road. It was built in the 18th century by Maharana Sangram Singh for the royal ladies. His Queen was accompanied by her 48 friends and maids at the time of her marriage as a part of the dowry. The King designed the garden himself and offered it to His Queen and her friends to provide them with pleasurable moments away from the political intrigues of the court.



Later Maharana Bhopal Singh built a pavilion of rain fountains in the pools which he imported from England. The main pool has four black marble kiosks and a white marble kiosk in the centre. The pigeons sculpted at the top of these kiosks were part of the fountain and spurting water in to the pool.


Seeing the crowd there we could make out, the Saheliyon ki Bari is a pleasure park and a green retreat for the Udaipur dwellers.

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