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Chetak Country

...land of the Marwari horse

Long after his glory days, the Rajput lives on with a devotion to his heritage. Whatever the Indian Republic may say, royalty is still venerated. In arranging marriages, lineages are studied and correct linkages are made. Almost unlike any other caste-group the Rajput will contract marriage with any one across the length and breadth of India as long families are of warrior descent! Thus a RajasthaniRathore may marry a Verma from Kerala or a Gajapathy from Orissa, ignoring linguistic and cultural differences! In Rajput homes there is a formality in address, conduct and speech. Their ceremonial occasions can transport you to other times.

Nowhere is this fascinating play more widespread than in Rajasthan. Even if you are not admitted to their inner chambers, it is easy to perceive what I am talking about. Take for instance the horse. The Rajput and his horse are inseparable!

It is impossible to travel in Rajasthan and not hear horse talk! In ballads, in folklore, in puppetry, in art and in crafts, their beloved Marwari horse will feature!

The most famous of the Marwari horse is of course, the immortal Chetak, the steed of the equally immortal Maharana Pratap, the guerilla king who is supposed to have inspired Shivaji. I can't think of another state in India where there are memorials for horses...monuments to horses are strewn across the length and breadth of Rajasthan", says Satyendra Singh Chawra. [read a feature on him elsewhere in this site].

He should know; he is a keeper of the Rajput soul. A handsome, reserved man, Sunny as he is known, is unstoppable when triggered on Rajputs and the Marwari horse!

I spent a memorable evening at Kot Kaladwas, the campus he has created outside Udaipur, where the Rajput that he is, may live as his ancestors expect him to.

I notice that even the architecture of his rambling homestead is influenced by the horse. Throughout the evening we spent in the court-yard, his horses stared out of the port-holes that you can see [behind the bluish pillars] in the picture here!

"A Rajput always slept close to his horse", says Sunny. "For, on it depended his life. There may be a surprise attack on him or he may have to respond to a call in a hurry!

A Rajput's life was lived out on a horse back! Sunny quotes a couplet and then helpfully translates it: "The horse is your home and the sword, your mate. You have only your hands and your heart to keep your life. And maybe a free moment now and then, to bake a bread at the end of your spear!"   [NEXT PAGE]