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Royal repast

Past glory Kumbalgarh

“Idhar se aap dekhenge to aapko poori (puri) Mewar dikayidegi…aur udhar se Marwar,” my guide Firoze smiles “You can see all of Mewar from here and from there, Marwar,” translates Rashmi Dhanwani, a human rights activist from Mumbai.

I am at the Kumbalgarh fort in Rajasthan with a group of achievers who have been part of the “Cerebrate team.” Rashmi from our group takes on the role of translator.

Standing almost at the roof of the fort, I see a 360-degree landscape of modern-day Rajasthan spanning out in front. Kumbalgarh fort built in the 15th Century by Rana Kumbha in the Aravalli Range had forked Mewar and Marwar and was a political asylum for many princes, including Rana Udai Singh who later founded Udaipur, about 90 km away from here.

Firoze continues as Rashmi translates, “Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Kumbalgarh form Mewar, while Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Barmer are Marwar.”

My eyes trace the 36-km length of the wall of the fort, said to be the second longest in the world after the Great Wall of China. The soft hues of the setting sun caress the walls.

My reverie is interrupted by Rashmi, who narrates the story of Kumbalgarh. Rana Kumbha attempted to build the fort, but failed until he met a saint who offered himself as human sacrifice.

The martyr apparently advised the king to construct the fort after his death. “He wanted him to build a temple where the head fell and the main fort where the body lay… a wall was built along the entire stretch.”

We pause as Firoze shows us the two spots, which are now worshipped.

There are nine gates to the fort, the most massive being the Ram Pol or the Ram Gate. We walk past the various gates and gather around Rashmi as she explains: “This is where the lamp was lit.”

According to legend, Rana Kumbha used to light a massive lamp that used to shine brightly across all of Mewar. “It is like a symbol of power,” translates Rashmi “and attracted even the queen of Jodhpur to abandon her husband and come here.” The story, however, did not end like that of Helen of Troy, as the Rana apparently made the queen his sister and a war was averted.

There are more than 300 temples within in the fort, a mix of both Jain and Hindu temples. “This is where the legendary Rana Pratap was born as well,” she continues. They patiently wait for us to take pictures, before resuming the narration, “Here, you can see the royal queen’s rooms, including her toilets!” We walk down the fort and sit on the steps of a temple overlooking it. And then, the fort relives its glory for a few minutes when the lights come on. We take in the scene as silence reigns.

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