Kumbhalgarh (Ekaant, Epic Channel, 16th July 2015)

Did you know that there is a wall that is 36 Km long and 24 Feet wide in India? That at first glance it looks eerily similar to the Great Wall Of China? That in fact, as far as long and wide walls go, this one ranks second after the Great Wall worldwide and first in India? Well, I didn't - until Ekaant's 16th July episode told me about it.

This wall happens to be around the fort of Kumbhalgarh, that is located at around 80 Km from the Rajasthani city of Udaypur. This fort was built by the ruler Rana Kumbha(1443-1468). The construction started in 1433 and got over by 1448. Like many places in India, this fort too has a legend associated with it. It is said that when the wall began to be constructed, it kept on crumbling to pieces. A holy man told the King that the Gods are not happy and only if a human being sacrifices his or her life would the construction go as planned. The catch was, of course, that the sacrifice must be made willingly. Obviously no one came forward so finally the holy man offered himself. He instructed that when his head is cut off, they should start builing the wall from the spot where his head landed. Guess they must have followed his instructions otherwise the wall wouldn't be here. The spot has a memorial dedicated to that holy man.

History tells us that Mewad saw happy days during the reign of Rana Kumbha. He built 32 forts and did a lot to decrease the influence of Alauddin Khilji on Rajasthan. Unfortunately, he was murdered by his own elder son. The son took to the throne but as the people of his kingdom were against him he had to leave. He did reach Malawaa but legend has it that he could not stay alive for long - a bolt of lightening killed him. The Gods certainly didn't waste time in meting out the punishment it seems.

The next story associated with this fort is known to almost every Indian. It is about an infant prince who was about to be murdered because another person, Banbir, wanted the throne. Banbir walked into the prince's chamber and asked the servant lady taking care of him where the infant was. She pointed to an infant sleeping soundly nearby and Banbir lost no time in killing the prince. The twist in the tale was that the servant lady had dressed her own son in the prince's clothes and sacrificed him so that the prince could live. Her name was Pannadai and the young prince who returned to Mewad at the age of 15 to claim his right to the throne was Udaysingh. He was crowned the King in 1540. His son Rana Pratap was born in this very fort.

Rana Pratap made sure that Akbar would never realize his dream of conquering Mewad and make it a part of the Mughal empire. Akbar sent a mighty army led by Mansingh to conquer Mewad in 1576 which led to the famous battle of Haldighat. If you were awake during your history classes you would remember that Rana Pratap's horse Chetak has been immortalized in the pages of the history along with his brave master. :-)

Kumbhalgarh was conquered by the Mughal army that was led by Shahabaz Khan in 1578. And history tells us that there were two reasons for this - one, the Mughal army polluted the water sources that Rana Pratap's forces were using and two, there was a sudden (!) explosion in the ammunition stored by the Rajasthani army.

Rana Pratap passed away in 1597. His son Amarsingh was crowned as the King. After Akbar's death in 1605, his son Jehangir came to Mewad to conquer it. A treaty was signed in 1615 and Mewad was more or less war-free after that. India became independent in 1947 and the fort was probably abandoned soon after that.

It has been years since I visited Udaypur and Jaipur. I didn't know about Kumbhalgarh then. But since I have started watching Ekaant, I know it in my heart that one day I will go around the country visiting these forts which have largely been forgotten by everyone else - except for the pages of the history.