Pune : Poona as we knew it has always fascinated me for the best war hero India ever produced in its history – Chhatrapati Shiva Ji Maharaj. What a man! He is my hero, my idol. Of course for Mughals he was a terrorist. Much like Bhagat Singh was to the British. But let me tell you there could not be a better or worse man pitched against the barbarian Aurangzeb. We as Indians are thankful that he was born when the Mughal tyranny was at its worst. He confronted Mughals head on. When I went to the forts he won and brought under the Maratha flag, I felt charged. He could have led a luxurious life but he chose to fight a guerilla war against Mughal forces. Much later Vietnamese would fight a similar battle against the mighty Americans. It took courage. His life was always at stake. However at 56 he developed arthritis and had to restrict his movements. The most fascinating and dare devil win was capturing Singh Garh. Shiva ji sent his general Tanaji Malusare to get it. I had goose bumps when standing by his memorial inside the fort where Tanaji got martyred but not before killing the Mughal general Uday Bhan who was much heavier and taller. The guide was very informative. The adventure reads like a Hollywood thriller. Imagine a cavalry of 342 Maratha men climbing a steep hill with a vertical fall. Tanaji carried a monitor lizard. In Hindi it is called ‘kho’ or ‘po’. It has steel like claws so that if it is thrown over the parapet or ramparts of the fort wall, It’d clench it so tightly that tones and tones of weight pulling can’t make it loosen its grip. This fort was well fortified except from where Tanaji decided to attack. It was left defenceless coz no one would imagine anyone breaching fort from that side. Tanaji did. However 60 marathas at the tail end fell to their death as the rope broke due to corrosion on the rock. You can see it in the pic. Once inside, they set upon Udaybhan and his men. Udaibhan was the fortkeeper in the service of Jai Singh 1. Udaybhan managed to rid Tanaji of his shield, who then continued to fight by tying a cloth over one of his hands and using it to ward off Udaybhans sword attacks. Tanaji fought fiercely in spite of losing his shield. He managed to acquire another sword and was thus fighting Uday Bhan with two swords while the latter fought with a sword and a shield. At the climax of the battle, each one struck a fatal blow to the other, both collapsing and succumbing to their injuries. The fall of Tanaji created a panic amongst his soldiers who tried to use the ropes as an escape route. Legend states that the ropes were then cut by Tanajis brother Suryaji forcing the soldiers to either fight or jump down the sheer cliffs to their deaths. I had since my school days had fascination over the phrase Gad aala, pan Sinha gela - We won the Fort, but lost the Lion. These words were uttered by Shiva ji when he heard the news that the fort had been won but the brave general Tana ji had died. What kind of men we had. They were the kind coz of whom no one could enslave or erase us for long. The Spanish had done it to INCA culture in South America and the Portuguese had attempted it in south west India but such patriots are stuff legends are made of and treading the path on those high, rugged hills where these monumental figures once walked is thrilling. I went twice on 2 days to see Sinh Gaddh.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 07:16:49 +0000