Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c43.83

Language: English

v3.c43.83.1

this, however, only gave additional eagerness to his defence, as he assigned strong personal reasons for the neglect. But the son of ‘the tiger’ (Nahar Singh) shall speak for himself. Let the reader imagine a young man of twenty-five, above six feet high, of an athletic figure and chivalrous demeanour, his expression at once modest and independent, with those indispensable appendages to a Rajput warrior’s visage, well-trimmed *favoris* and moustache, and armed at all points : such was the lord-marcher (Simiswar), Man Singh. Having presented his patent for my perusal, he continued : “ Had I failed in my obligations to my brother, he would have been justified in this step ; but since you took Banwal from me, my retainers, at his beck, equalled his own in numbers ; what right therefore had he to resume Jethpura ? When Sangram Singh died, Lawa was in my hands : who could have prevented my keeping it, had it been my pleasure ? The son of Nahar Singh would have been preferred by the vassals of Sangram to one they had never even seen ; but I respected his rights, though even now he could not forcibly dispossess me. When the Thakur of Amet, on his way to court, beat his drums on the bounds of Lawa, did I not assemble my retainers and avenge the insult to my chief ? My head was Jai Singh’s—that is, with the kunguras (battlements) of Lawa ; but he never could have dared to take Jethpura, had not respect for the chief of Lawa, respect for the Rana, and for you, made me passive.

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Only bid me retake it, and I am not the son of Nahar Singh if he keeps it a day. Its little castle, erected by these hands, sheltered my wife and children, who, now expelled from my patrimony, are compelled to seek refuge elsewhere. The lands assigned me in lieu of Banwal are waste. For every rupee I can hope to derive from them, I must expend one ; and on Jethpura alone could I raise any funds. Reckoning on this, I paid my fine of two thousand five hundred rupees for my *patta* (grant), and from its produce I looked to maintain my family and followers until the first should be made productive. When I lost this support, my creditors assailed me : to satisfy them, I sold all I had of value, even to my wife’s jewels, and the horse you saw me ride when I came to meet you at Gangapur. I laid my case before Prithinath,¹ and here is his reply, deciding in my favour. I represented it through Jawandas (a natural brother of the Rana), and five hundred rupees were demanded and agreed to by me, provided *bachan* (security) was given me of success. The Bikaneriji’s¹ was given; but the purse of the Thakur of Jethpura is not so long as the chieftain of Lawa’s, and one thousand rupees, offered by him, made his the juster cause! It is [612] this that makes me negligent of my duty; this which incited the Pathans to carry off my little harvest from Salera; and Bhairawi² is still in the hands of the foresters.

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Here is my case: if I demand aught that is not just, or that is contrary to usage, deal with me as you please. There is Fateh Singh, who holds in separate grant from the Rana an estate of thirty thousand rupees; but as a younger brother of Bhindar, he enjoys five thousand from his brother: and Ajit Singh of Asind,³ though richer than his immediate head of Kurabar, yet, as the son of Arjun Singh, holds his allotment (*bat*) from him: but you know all this, why should I repeat it?” Here the Thakur concluded, without any interruption being given to his animated harangue, the interest of which was enhanced by his natural eloquence, and his manly but modest deportment. He is a noble specimen, not of his tribe alone, but of the human character. His appeal was irresistible; and would almost have carried conviction of its justice, even to those who could not have understood his tongue. Still it was requisite to steel myself against impulses; and I recommended, as the best mode of enabling me to advocate his cause, that he should repair to his post, and establish fresh claims to his sovereign’s regard, by punishing an atrocious act which in all probability his absence had occasioned. With the gift of a brace of pistols, and the usual leave-taking hint of *itr-pan*, Man Singh quitted my tent.