Mandu
About Mandu
Perched along the Vindhya ranges at an altitude of 2,000 feet, Mandu, with its natural def....
Enchanting Rani Roopmati
Posted by naresh_lalwani
I DO
It has been like this since last few years- the feeling of increased responsibility towards the parents, had suppressed the urge to spend the Diwali vacations at some exotic place and rather be with them making it a family reunion. The only change I thought was to steal a day out of the five days I had decided to be with my parents this time as compared to the usual three and also to give a meaningful answer to the question of my wife and kids Will we be staying at Indore (my native) for full five days? I planned a one day trip to Mandu hardly 100 kms from
The Location
I had half a mind to plan a nights stay at Mandu but the unspoken desire of my father (which I had come to read from his face by now) made me to restrict it to a mere day trip.
A trip with one more family added in, is like icing on the otherwise drab cake. I was fortunate enough to rope in one of my colleague. We made a motley group of 4 adults and 4 children. Chevorlet Tavera was chosen as the vehicle of convenience. The CD player with good LCD screen in the vehicle was the cherry on the cake.
Our Group including me
I would have preferred an early departure of around 8o clock, but it was again the middle path. We started at 9.00 from my house.
The condition of road surpassed my expectations. I was very lucky to see stretches of road among the potholes. The journey was historic and reminiscent of the past when royal mode of travel was bullock cart. We had best of both the worlds sans the bullocks. But surprisingly on reaching on the outskirts of Mandu the journey became quieter and smoother on to the roads which were of concrete luckily.
Trip down memory lane
The earliest reference to Mandu is available in the Sanskrit inscription of 555 AD, which tells that Mandu was a fortified city even in 6th century BC. It gained prominence in 10th and 11th century under the Parmars (who called it Mandavgarh), from whom the control was snatched by Khiljis in 1305. Mandu then went into the hand of Afghans. The Afghan governor of Malwa, Dilawar Khan Gauri, set up Mandu as an independent Kingdom and renamed it as Shadiabad City of
The Plateau of Mandu
It was only during the reign of his Hoshang Shah, that Mandu prospered and most of the architectural splendors were of those times.
After Hoshang Shah there were many rulers, some of whom had long reigns as long as 33 years but none could add further to the splendor of Mandu. Finally in 1526 it came under the control of Bahadur Shah of
The Visit
One feature which met our eyes on nearing Mandu, were old brick tombs constructed in lime mortar and arched gateways sprinkled here and there. These also acted as telephone relays for transmitting information like the Phantom Drummers in comic series.
We were solicited by a local guide at the entry point for his services (2-3 hours) for a measly sum of Rs.150/-. Mandu, as I had read about the place, is replete with monuments and without a proper guide it is difficult to shortlist the places to be visited and to get the feel of the place, what to talk of knowing the interesting and glorious past of the place. Without any second thoughts- he was in and his first job was to guide us to decent place for lunch.
Roopmati hotel was the place with good location, great food and quick service. The guide had passed the Litmus test. Energized and rejuvenated we set out to explore not only the place but its chequered past. It was over to the guide from now onwards.
The Tale by our Guide
What he told us in a nutshell was this.
Roopmati was a simple village girl (a shepherdess) from village on the banks of
In a filmi style Baz Bahadur, the independent vassal of Mandu met Roopmati while on his hunting trip and also had the good fortune of hearing her sing. He was done in. He invited her to come to Mandu and make home there as he was a lover and worshipper of music. She obliged but told him about her vow of not to eat a morsel before seeing the
The
Baz Bahadur readily agreed to this by finding a way out. He built two chattris- the pavilions or dome structures on the military watch post on the outskirts of the town from where Sacred Narmada was visible in a distance, as a silver thread, winding its way to sea. She could also see the
Rani Roopmati Mahal with the pavilions
Moved by her plight, it is said, Goddess Narmada came into her dreams and told her to get a pond excavated near the palace of Baz Bahadur where sacred water from Narmada was to be found linked through underground source. It happened as was said and this is the story of Rewa (another name of
Rewa Kund
Baaz Bahadur palace has halls where one does not need a loud speaker etc, as one can be herd at a distance of 60-70 by peculiar construction so that echoes are suppressed and sound amplified and is heard clearly.
This was demonstrated by the guide by singing a Hindi film song disturbing the souls of Rani Roopmati and Baz Bahadur. This technique of construction can be seen in most of the palaces spread all over India as there was no other way to make oneself heard to a fairly large audience without any modern day aids like amplifiers and loudspeakers.
The entrance to Baz Bahadurs Palace
But as is wont the happy times were eyesore for the jealous General in Akbars court and the backstabbing led to attack over Mandu ending in Baz Bahadur being killed. Rani Roopmatis fate was so entwined with that of Baz Bahadur that she did not blink an eye before swallowing the poison tipped diamond to free herself of worldly woes and not to fall in lustrous hands of people who gave more importance to her outer beauty than her singing skills unlike Baz Bahadur.
This was the end of her illustrious times making her name immortal. Her name shines in the annals of history even though she was not from royal lineage. There are other palaces and structures worth mentioning, which are covered in the travelogue sequel to this Enchanting Mandu.
