one dot of red: Chittorgarh & the Ranthambore National Park

Today we had to wake up really early to get to the Tiger Preserve. We drove through the streets of the city in an open air jeep covered up in blankets.15 people could fit into a jeep. Along the way the locals all shouted and wished us luck. There were many other hotels that had similar jeeps loading up for the day/

Our jeep and one other were assigned to Zone 4. The park is divided up in many zones. There are ancient ruins throughout the park. It was the Maharajas personal hinting grounds.There are 35 Bengal Tigers in the park along with leopards, monkeys and other wildlife. We spent about two hours tracking the tiger.

The driver and his assistant would shush us til we were absolutely silent and still. We could the hear the sounds of the jungle/forest. A warning cry from a monkey, a flock of birds suddenly wooshing off in the air in a particular pattern. These were all signs in the tracking.

We did find tracks in several locations. There were two private jeeps with movie cameras, microphones etc... also there to spot a tiger. They had all their heavy camera equipment set up which was something to see.

One of our tiger tracks:

Unfortunately our group didn’t spot a tiger or a leopard. One Palace on Wheels group in another zone did get a glimpse of one in the distance. Maya was bummed but we did see some “big cats” but she took some nice pictures of peacock and a huge alligator on the bank of a lake:

After breakfast on the train we arrived at Chittoraga, which was founded in 734 AD. This fort was under attack three times during the reign of the Moguls. The people from this era ar known for always choosing death over surrendering. it stands as a symbol of bravery to all Ragputs.

There are many rmantic stories surrounding the fort. The most memorable is about the Princess Padmini. A sultan had heard of her beauty and attacked the fort. He wanted to see her beauty .According to the Rajputs, no man should look upon another's wife, especially the Queen! The first attack was not successful but many soldiers died on either side. The sultan approched the Maharja (the king) and struck a deal: he would stop attacking and save the soldiers if he could see the queen. In order tosave his soldiers the king devised a room set up with mirrors so that the Sultan could see the queen without looking directly at her. Two sodeirs escorted the Sultan to the room. As he faced the mirror they each held a sword to the back of his neck,if he turned around, his head would be instantly cut off.

The palace is usually surrounded by the lake and will be filled up again during the monsoon(rainy season). the red color is created by a red moss.

After the sultan saw Queen Padmini, he decided he must have her for his own. So he launched another attack on Chittor. The Maharaja fought to the death to protect his fort and Queen. Unfortunately, he was defeated and killed. As was the custom of the time a the women performed "Jauhar". This is the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. Once th women hear of their kings death a huge fire is lit in the courtyard and the queens, concubines and harem women all enter the fire. They would rather die than be captured by the enemy. When the sultan arrived at the palace all he found was a huge pile of ashes. This sacrifice was preformed 3 differnet times at the Chittorgarh Fort over the centuries.

Also surrounding the fort is a beautiful Hindu temple for the god Shiva. Here ar some of the temple monkeys outside: