Raamnagar is situated at a distance of 100 Km from Jammu in Jammu-Kashmir's Udhhampur Jilla. To be frank, every state of India has at least one place called Raamnagar. If you look for 'Raamnagar' on Internet, you will get a whole list of such places. One fact, however, remains - be it a village or a city, every Raamnagar has an interesting story. Same goes for Jammu-Kashmir's Raamnagar. It is just that the story is a bit difficult to find. It is an ancient historical city. There are 3 important buildings here - Puraana Mahal, Naya Mahal and Sheesh Mahal. There is also a fort constructed by the rulers of the Dogara dynasty (from Jammu). This dynasty believes that they descend from Lord Rama.
Puraana Mahal - this is the oldest building. Though it is called Mahal (a palace) it looks more like a fort. The main courtyard has rooms on both sides. There are 3 floors. Maybe the place was inhabited by the royal family. Now it is in dilapidated condition. But still you can see the remains of Pahari Paintings. You can read about these on the internet. Though these painting on the walls and wooden roof have lost their sheen after all these years, you can guess that at one time they must be really breathtaking. The topmost floor commands a grand view of the entire Raamnagar. It is said that this place was constructed by king Suchet Singh.
During 18th century, Jammu consisted of 22 princely states. Raja Ranajit Dev, who was considered the mightiest king of his time, brought them together. He had 3 grandsons - Gulab Singh, Dhyan Singh and Suchet Singh. When Maharaja Ranajit Singh conquered Lahore in 1798 the entire Dogara family started working in the royal court there in one capacity or another. Maharaja Ranajit Singh conquered Jammu in 1815 and brought the 3 brother here. After Ranajit Singh's death in June 1839, Suchet Singh fell out with the Sikhs. Then a time came when the situation turned so bad that Raamnagar saw one king in the morning and another one at night. Then Ranajit Singh's son Kharak Singh died. Dhyan Singh (who was the Chief Minister then) was assassinated. His son inherited his designation but he too died. Suchet Singh died in the battle with the Sikhs in 1844. He didn't have any children so the son of his elder brother, Ranabir Singh inherited the throne. After him it was the turn of his younger son Ramsingh. After Suchet Singh, it is Ram Singh who is considered as the most important king here. Ram Singh constructed Naya Mahal behind Puraana Mahal. The walls of Naya Mahal also have similar Pahari paintings but they have better endured the ravages of time.
The best paintings can be seen in Sheesh Maal. This building also was constucted by Ramsingh. There are 3 parts of this building - Darabar or Diwan-e-khaas, Rangmahal and Sheesh Mahal. It is said that the paintings here are so beautiful that they will give any art gallery in the world a run for its money. Unfortunately, to preserve them as they are the ASI does not allow any tourists to take photos or do video shooting here. That is the reason these paintings were not shown during this program. But it was mentioned that not even an inch of the walls is bereft of paintings. A lot of them contain golden color. The credit for the paintings goes to kings Suchet Singh and Ram Singh. If it were not for the patronage of these kings, the paintings wouldn't be here.
Suchet Singh also constructed a fort at a distance of about 800 meters from here. This small fort is called Ramnagar Fort. Maybe the reason behind constructing this fort was to make sure that the army guarding Ramnagar would get some sort of protection in case of any attack. During those days, it was customary for every ruler to have one such fort. This region has about 100 forts like this. In fact the Dogara dynasty got its name from the word 'Durg' which means Fort. Suchet Singh used to be mostly at Lahore or Peshwar. Maybe he built this fort for the safety of his family.
Though the fort is being looked after well these days, after Ram Singh's death in 1899, there wasn't anyone to look after it in those days. In 1947, Jammu-Kashmir became part of India. Even after that no one paid any special attention to Ramnagar and it had fallen into neglect. By the time Suchet Singh died the custom of Sati had been banished from India. But his wife did follow the custom. Her resting place is nearby.
Puraana Mahal - this is the oldest building. Though it is called Mahal (a palace) it looks more like a fort. The main courtyard has rooms on both sides. There are 3 floors. Maybe the place was inhabited by the royal family. Now it is in dilapidated condition. But still you can see the remains of Pahari Paintings. You can read about these on the internet. Though these painting on the walls and wooden roof have lost their sheen after all these years, you can guess that at one time they must be really breathtaking. The topmost floor commands a grand view of the entire Raamnagar. It is said that this place was constructed by king Suchet Singh.
During 18th century, Jammu consisted of 22 princely states. Raja Ranajit Dev, who was considered the mightiest king of his time, brought them together. He had 3 grandsons - Gulab Singh, Dhyan Singh and Suchet Singh. When Maharaja Ranajit Singh conquered Lahore in 1798 the entire Dogara family started working in the royal court there in one capacity or another. Maharaja Ranajit Singh conquered Jammu in 1815 and brought the 3 brother here. After Ranajit Singh's death in June 1839, Suchet Singh fell out with the Sikhs. Then a time came when the situation turned so bad that Raamnagar saw one king in the morning and another one at night. Then Ranajit Singh's son Kharak Singh died. Dhyan Singh (who was the Chief Minister then) was assassinated. His son inherited his designation but he too died. Suchet Singh died in the battle with the Sikhs in 1844. He didn't have any children so the son of his elder brother, Ranabir Singh inherited the throne. After him it was the turn of his younger son Ramsingh. After Suchet Singh, it is Ram Singh who is considered as the most important king here. Ram Singh constructed Naya Mahal behind Puraana Mahal. The walls of Naya Mahal also have similar Pahari paintings but they have better endured the ravages of time.
The best paintings can be seen in Sheesh Maal. This building also was constucted by Ramsingh. There are 3 parts of this building - Darabar or Diwan-e-khaas, Rangmahal and Sheesh Mahal. It is said that the paintings here are so beautiful that they will give any art gallery in the world a run for its money. Unfortunately, to preserve them as they are the ASI does not allow any tourists to take photos or do video shooting here. That is the reason these paintings were not shown during this program. But it was mentioned that not even an inch of the walls is bereft of paintings. A lot of them contain golden color. The credit for the paintings goes to kings Suchet Singh and Ram Singh. If it were not for the patronage of these kings, the paintings wouldn't be here.
Suchet Singh also constructed a fort at a distance of about 800 meters from here. This small fort is called Ramnagar Fort. Maybe the reason behind constructing this fort was to make sure that the army guarding Ramnagar would get some sort of protection in case of any attack. During those days, it was customary for every ruler to have one such fort. This region has about 100 forts like this. In fact the Dogara dynasty got its name from the word 'Durg' which means Fort. Suchet Singh used to be mostly at Lahore or Peshwar. Maybe he built this fort for the safety of his family.
Though the fort is being looked after well these days, after Ram Singh's death in 1899, there wasn't anyone to look after it in those days. In 1947, Jammu-Kashmir became part of India. Even after that no one paid any special attention to Ramnagar and it had fallen into neglect. By the time Suchet Singh died the custom of Sati had been banished from India. But his wife did follow the custom. Her resting place is nearby.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment