Mesmerizing Mewar: A Dream Trip

Mesmerising Mewar: A Journey Through Time, Valour, and Heritage

If you’ve ever been enchanted by the echoes of medieval legends, Rajputana is nothing short of a pilgrimage for history lovers. For me, returning to Rajasthan, after wandering through the golden sandscapes of Amer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, and Jaisalmer, meant something different this time. This was the heartland. This was Mewar, Mesmerising Mewar, to be precise.

Why Mewar, Why Now?

My lifelong fascination with India’s storied past, fueled by riveting historical dramas, and especially by my admiration for “Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap", meant that this journey was more than just travel. It was a dream come true, a chance to walk the same soil that Maharana Pratap once called home, to experience the land he cherished and defended. I wanted to see the mosaic of history, culture, and resilience that is Mewar.

First Impressions: Time Travel in the Villages of Mewar

Arriving in Bundi and crossing into Mewar, I felt I’d slipped into a time machine. The roads named Kuthariyon ki Gali and Rani ki Bagh are plucked straight from centuries-old chronicles. Locals still refer to their royals as “Baisa,” and scenes of rural life remain anchored in tradition. Children play, women draw water, temples and lakes pulse with activity, and the forests are still alive with leopards, bears, and wild cats just as they would have been 600 years ago.

A drive through Mewar is a lesson in living history; the names, the customs, and the landscape itself echo the legends of valour and sacrifice for which this region is known.

What to Expect in the "Mesmerising Mewar" Series

This blog series, Mesmerising Mewar, will transport you through the very heart of Rajputana’s legacy, following my travels, my photographs, and personal experiences from each historical marvel. Here’s a sneak peek at the journey ahead:

Bundi: The Invincible Fort
Bijolia: The Nature and the History of a Small Town
Chittorgarh: The Dream Destination (with in-depth sub-stories on...)
- The Story of Sacrifices (Kumbha Palace, Sringaar Chauri, tales of Rana Kumbha, Rani Karnavati, Panna Dai, and Kunwar Pratap)
- The Towers of Faith and Victory (Vijay Stambh, Kirti Stambh)
- The Devoted Fort (Meera Bai, ancient talabs and temples)
- The First Jauhar (Padmini Palace, Jauhar Sthal, Padmavati’s legend)
- The Final Siege (Mohor Magri, historic battlegrounds)
Udaipur: The Modern Heritage
Eklingji, Nagda, Nathdwara, Ranakpur, Delwara: The Religious History
Kumbhalgarh and Gogonda: Witnesses of Turmoil
Haldighati: The First War of Independence
Chavand: The Maharana's Capital
Mewar: Food, Culture, and Dreams

The Journey Begins: An Itinerary Carved by History

Our expedition starts in Bundi, the neighbouring city to what was once the princely state of Mewar (now split among Udaipur and Bhilwara districts). From Bundi, a scenic three-hour drive brings you through Menal and Bijolia, famous for their temples and the tranquil Bhimlat Mahadev waterfalls, toward the fabled ramparts of Chittorgarh. After exploring Chittorgarh, we journey onward to Udaipur by cab, a four-hour drive laced with stories and ever-changing countryside.

From the lakeside haven of Udaipur, history stretches in all directions: you’ll be within an hour or two’s drive of Kumbhalgarh, Gogunda, Eklingji, Chavand, Kakroli, Rajsamand, Mt. Abu, Jaisamand, Ranakpur, Nagda, Nathdwara, and Haldighati. Each is brimming with tales, traditions, and visual splendour.

An Invitation to Explore

Through this series, I’ll reveal the living, breathing tapestry of Mewar. I’ll share my favourite photographs, the local scenes, and personal moments so you can feel the goosebumps I did as history sprang to life.

I invite you to travel with me, step by step, as we unlock the fortresses, unravel legendary sacrifices, uncover divine temples, and savour the cuisine and customs that keep Mewar’s heart beating strong. Patience will be your companion, as each part is a deep dive into the soul of this unforgettable land.

Welcome to Mesmerising Mewar. The story begins…

Moti Magri: Udaipur

Chittorgarh View From Guard House at Ram Pol

Marked here are the places I saw, and the arrow indicates my journey direction. One thing is wrong with this Map. Bijolia is situated between Bundi and Chittorgarh, 55 km from Bundi, and not near Udaipur as it is marked here.

The Prince of Mewar

Born on 16 March 1559 in the Kumbha Palace of Chittorgarh Fort, Bhanwar Amar Singh was the eldest son of Kunwar Pratap Singh (later Maharana Pratap) and Kunwarani Ajabdeh Punwar. As the first grandson of Udai Singh I, his birth prompted the Maharana's celebratory hunting expedition, during which a sage forewarned of impending danger. Heeding this, Udai Singh established a new palace by Lake Pichola, founding Udaipur as Mewar's capital. Amar Singh exhibited extraordinary valour from a young age, inheriting his father's martial skills and his mother's reputed compassion. His training commenced early; according to James Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, he participated in his first battle alongside Pratap at age eight. By ten, amid Chittorgarh's fall and familial divisions, he assumed responsibility for his siblings. Historical accounts recount his defence of the queens' entourage against enemy soldiers en route to Kumbhalgarh fortress. He shared a clo...

The Annals of Rajputana

Col. James Todd’s Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan describes Rajputana through History, Geography, Mythology, Folklore, Veer Gathas, Traditions, Cultures, Heritage, Rules, Valour and its people. However, one must remember that he was commissioned to write the narrative and his resources are not based on historical evidence. However, it is worth a read and very interesting. The following excerpts are from his book. Please take note that Todd's accounts are based on hearsay, stories, and commissioned by royals and hence aren't treated as historically accurate. However, his book is important as it is the first English-language book to have extensive work done on Rajputana. Rajputs are commonly believed to be people from Rajasthan; however, their branches have spread far and wide into Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and even parts of Bengal. The initial origination-based clans/tribes had been subdivided first in the book Prithvirajraso by Chand Bardai; howev...

Neel Kanth

In the vast tapestry of Hindu mythology, Neelkanth Sasti holds a significant place, as it honours Lord Shiva’s act of supreme compassion and courage. According to the Puranas, this day commemorates the pivotal moment during the Samudra Manthan, the cosmic churning of the ocean, when the deadly poison Halahal emerged. Halahal, described as the collective essence of all the universe’s negativity and toxicity, began to spread destruction among both Devas and Asuras. Its effects were so perilous that even the gods could not approach it, symbolising the universal truth that adversity and suffering make no distinction between divine or mortal beings. With the balance of creation at risk and the churning brought to a standstill, Mahadev Lord Shiva, the Destroyer and Transformer within the Hindu Trinity, was invoked for help. In an act of unparalleled self-sacrifice, he consumed the Halahal to protect all existence from annihilation. However, the potency of the poison was such that it threaten...

The Cortege That Shook The Raj: Kanailal Dutta

10th November, 1908 Around late morning, a procession of lacs made their way through the streets of Calcutta (Kolkata), India. Some were chanting “Vande Mataram”, others blew conch shells, and Ululation filled the air. Flowers were being showered from all directions, and garlands made their way through the crowd, being thrown at the procession in the middle. Bhagwat Gita and Ananda Math (Novel by Bamkim Chandra) were offered. No, this was no “ Sobha Jatra ” or celebration. There were no religious festivities either. That dawn, the Alipore Jail, which opened only two years back, witnessed the hanging of Kanailal Dutta, a twenty-year-old member of the “Jugantar Dol”, an anarchist group that was set up primarily by Aurobindo Ghosh (Later Rishi Aurobindo), his brother Barindra and their associates. Kanailal hailed from Chandannagore, and although he was not present in most of their meetings in Kolkata, he was still one of their early members from Chandannagore, then a French province. ...

Jahanara Begum Sahib: The Sufi Princess

Shah Jahan's quarters flanked on either side by identical bungalows for Jahanara and Roshanara. Background: The Timurid Dynasty, better (and wrongly) known as the Mughal Empire, ruled the Subcontinent from 1526 C.E. till the time the British East India Company successfully captured Delhi from Bahadur Shah II in 1857 C.E. (The size of the empire obviously varied). Hence, a large part of medieval Indian history revolves around the characters of this dynasty. Due to the extensive amount of contemporary records right from Babur, the founder of the empire, writing his own memoirs in “ Babar Nama ” to the accounts of court poets like Abu Talim and the extensive details of Abul Fazl, one has a clear idea about the functioning of the Timurid empire as well as the Harem involving the royal ladies of the dynasty. Almost nothing is left to the imagination when it comes to the lives of the first six and most famous and successful Timurid emperors, namely Babar, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir...

Asuras are not Demons

Demons in the Abrahamic religion are not the same as Asuras of Hinduism. Originally deities of Iranian origin, they were seen in the tribal context as no different from Devas but as counterparts to maintain balance. In early epics and Puranas, asura meant a chosen leader of great capacity. Only later, perhaps due to the Iranian link, their image declined. It was with the Brahmanas that the sharp divide appeared: devas as divine, asuras as evil. Puranic myths demonised them mainly to assert the superiority and immortality of devas, while asuras were cast as symbols of the "other." Since Tribes still worshipped them and embraced their power of negativity, being important to balance, they soon became synonymous with tribes, which was not the case mythologically. There are instances of Bali or Ravana being Kshatriya or Brahmin Asuras and competent kings. Indian demonology itself is vast and layered, shaped by surviving tribes, each with unique myths. Celestial, aerial, and terres...

Bijolia: Her Home

Journey to Bijolia: Lost Kingdoms and Timeless Temples of Mewar Bijoliya translates to a stop between two cities. Nestled in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district, Bijolia sits 55km from Bundi and 105km from Chittorgarh on the well-travelled Bundi-Chittorgarh road. Once part of Mewar, this seemingly sleepy town guards a rich and layered past: it was ruled from the 11th to the 13th century by the Punwars (or Parmar Rajputs) before falling under the Chauhan dynasty, who shifted the region’s capital to Bhilwara and constructed the imposing fort there. After a brief Chauhan rule, Bijolia was reclaimed by Rana Kumbha and became an integral part of the Mewar kingdom, with the Parmars serving as local Raos, representatives and stewards of the royal house. Despite its history and the famed Bijolia inscriptions (a treasure for historians), Bijolia has never found a seat on Rajasthan’s primary tourist circuit, especially if you’re venturing out by public transport or private car. While a handful of...

History: A Political Storytelling

History, as we know, is the study of the past. The primary sources of such study include coins, scriptures, seals, weaponry, architecture, things of daily use, palaces, forts, etc. However, when we talk of wars, events, and characters of people in the past, it is very difficult to be accurate about what we are reading hundreds of years later. Nowadays, History has become a hot political topic, changing narratives of what we have known for so long as history and challenging the past. In reality, all versions are somehow biased, and all in their entirety untrue. The art of storytelling plays a major part in the narration of history. We grow up hearing moral stories all our lives, right and wrong, heroes and villains. Our belief system starts functioning like that, as we believe that in every story there has to be a good and a bad. However, the reality is far from that. In reality, we don’t really have people who are pure evil or pure good like stories often suggest. Herein, the art ...

DAMODAR GANGADHAR RAO : The Ill Fated Heir

In the shadowed halls of Jhansi's royal palace, a nine-year-old boy named Ananda Rao stepped into a destiny of struggle he was not born into. Born in 1848 to Vasudeo Rao and his wife, Ananda Rao was surrendered to the childless King Gangadhar Rao and his fierce young queen, Manikarnika (Manu), better known as Rani Laxmi Bai. It was November 19, 1853, on the king's deathbed, amid whispers of adoption rites that bound the boy to a throne teetering on the edge of empire. Queen Laxmi Bai was just nine when she married the 29-year-old widower Gangadhar. She had already endured heartbreak. Her biological son, Damodar Rao, arrived in 1851 but slipped away after three short months. With Gangadhar's death in 1853, Vasudeo, a distant royal relative, was instructed to hand over Ananda's adoption papers. Renamed Damodar Rao, the boy became Jhansi's last hope. But hope was fragile under British eyes. Enter the Doctrine of Lapse, Lord Dalhousie’s ruthless policy that devoured pri...

Rakhi Tales

A Rakhi to the Enemy: The year was 1535 CE. The Rajmata of Mewar, widow of Rana Sanga, was in a dilemma. On one hand was an attack from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat as a threat to her capital, Chittorgarh, and the throne of her beloved teenage son Vikramaditya. On the other hand, there was the son of her husband's archenemy, Humayun, who could be of some help. Rani Karnavati wrote a letter to Humayun, who was in the east at that time. Along with it, she sent a Rakhi, a thread of brotherhood, asking him, as a sister, for protection against the enemy. But the road was too long, and time was of the essence. Humayun arrived at Chittorgarh, in response to her letter, keeping his end of the bargain but a little late. Rani Karnavati had already performed the Jauhar. They never met. Humayun established Rana Vikramaditya on the throne of Mewar, as he had promised as a brother, and returned to his post. Two dynasties, political rivals and sworn enemies, from Sanga-Babur to Pratap-Akbar and even R...

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