Thursday, January 17, 2013

Jhansi - A tribute to Rani Lakshmi Bai


We reached Jhansi at around 11am on our way to Orchha. 


We visited the Jhansi fort which is very well maintained. It has a long and fascinating history that you can read here.


This fort was built in 1613 by Raja Bir Singh Deo of Orchha. It changed many hands before Rani Lakshmi Bai ruled Jhansi after the death of her husband and used the fort as her residence. 


Panch Mahal (Five storied palace of Rani Lakshmi Bai)


Inside the palace


Along the walls of the fort


A view of Jhansi city from the fort


A statue of Dhyan Chand (India's greatest hockey player) atop the hill

In 1858 she led forces against those of the British East India Company.  Jhansi was besieged by the forces of General Hugh Rose in March and April 1858; it was captured on 4 April 1858. Rani Lakshmi Bai was able to make a daring


escape from the fort and the city when a British victory was imminent by jumping over the walls of the fort astride her horse with her son.


There is the Kadak Bijli cannon used in the uprising of 1857. The Central India Campaign was one of the last series of actions in the Indian rebellion of 1857, (also known as the First Indian War of Independence or Indian Mutiny).  At Jhansi, British officers, civilians and dependents took shelter in the fort on 5 June. They emerged three days later and were murdered by the rebellious sepoys and irregulars. Rani Lakshmi Bai had no complicity in this act but was nevertheless blamed by the British (the rebels were then the only armed force in the city and no British forces were there to oppose them).

How to reach Jhansi:

By train: Jhansi is well linked by Indian railways. Jhansi is an important railway junction in the Delhi-Mumbai route. Jhansi is connected to all major cities in India by rail.

By air: Nearest airport to Jhansi is Gwalior airport. Gwalior airport is 103 km away from the heart of the city.

By road: State public transport buses connect Jhansi with all major cities around Jhansi. Regular bus services are provided between Gwalior and Jhansi (103 km) and between Khajuraho and Jhansi (175 km). Deluxe private buses also ply between these cities.

53 comments:

  1. A very interesting account of Jhansi.. I wonder why they have buried the cannon in the platform?
    The fort looks in good shape, unlike many forts that r in poor shape

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. They must have been worried that it would be stolen lol!

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    2. I was about to ask the same question but your answer left me speachless.
      LOL

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  2. Beautiful I have visited this fort when I was in class 7th.

    Regards

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  3. What a lovely, historical account of this fabulous place.
    I didn't know about the tribute to Dhyan Chand. Thank you for sharing all the pictures.

    Regards

    Jay
    My Blog | My FB Page

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  4. Great to read your post. Nice description & photographs.

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  5. The pictures gave me goosebumps, I always wonder if actually such people existed! She is always been my hero.

    Thanks for sharing the pictures!

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  6. Very interesting read. Lovely pictures

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  7. this is one place i always wanted to visit. will do that soon.

    this is a lovely lovely post!!

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  8. She is one of the women heroes in Indian History. Interesting fort, and good to see it being well maintained.

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  9. Thankyou so much for this ----The Rani is my favourite character in Indian HistoryI have read a book on her by Vrindavanlal Verma more than 20 times and every scene is printed in my mind these pictures will help me locate those happenings which are imprinted and its great to see these pics---thanks once again
    regards
    rajni

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  10. Good write. The photos do take us back to the British Raj and how many sacrificed their lives for Indian Independence. Rani was one such brave heart who fought the British tooth and nail.

    Thanks again for the memoirs.
    Fayaz

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  11. Nice pictures narrating the history. The fort is quite maintained.

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  12. Your pic of the archway inside the palace is quite impressive. Love it!

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  13. It's not very often we see canons looking like this one here. This one's pretty safe, let's hope. Let's also hope fort from the 1613 has a long life.

    I agree with Meoww -- the archway-and-corridor picture does stand out. :)

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  14. A lovely post which captures the spirit and history of Jhansi:)

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  15. awesome....I don't know whether I will be able to visit all these places....thanks for sharing

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  16. A wow, there is so much history in the air, thanks for sharing ~

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  17. Good coverage of Jhansi, hope you visited Khajuraho too dear

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  18. Nice narration of a beautiful place.....

    http://debnature.blogspot.in

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  19. To this day any brave lady is compared to Jhansi Ki Rani :)

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  20. Very Interesting Post... My tribute too...

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  21. Thank you for bringing us an interesting read and nice pictures. While my first visit to Jhansi was a short drop in the railway station for alighting connecting train. I am not sure when I ll get a chance to visit this place again, will surely keep the thought alive in mind.

    http://concurrentmusingsofahumanbeing.blogspot.com/

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  22. Awesome post!

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

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  23. A neat slice of history, isn't it? I would have felt goosebumps standing at the spot from where she jumped off. I still remember her statue in Nagpur, which had become the landmark for us, never failing to inspire awe in me every time I passed it.

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  24. Hey Deepak, my comment has vanished! I have since rectified the link issue.

    Hope you can retrieve my earlier comment.

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    Replies
    1. Strange yes. No idea where your comment has vanished!!

      Delete
  25. As a kid, I used to visit Jhansi all the time as some of my family lived there but never visited the fort. But I am really fascinated about the Dhyan Chand statue. I will be again visiting Jhansi in a month or so but not sure if we will get the time to visit it. The photos you have captured are excellent.

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  26. As a kid, I used to visit Jhansi all the time as some of my family lived there but never visited the fort. But I am really fascinated about the Dhyan Chand statue. I will be again visiting Jhansi in a month or so but not sure if we will get the time to visit it. The photos you have captured are excellent.

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  27. Hey I am from PAkistan i wished i could visit all these historicals places in India BAngladesh and PAk kash Hmare Govts ma sary conflicts khatam ho jain

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  28. Hey i am from Pakistan i wished i could visit all these historical places in the sub continet kash hmare Govts ma sary conflicts khatam ho jain after all Pakstann India and Bangladesh aik mother k 3 bety han lov and respect for whole sub contenent

    ReplyDelete