Let me tell you the tale that will give you goosebumps. Certainly, Chetak was not just a horse, but a hero of IndiaвЂ™s history, who created a tale of courage. But, the mark of its friendship, bravery, and loyalty towards the king is to be remembered till date with wet eyes. Sadly, the battle of Haldighati brought doom for the Chetak and it died on 18 th June 1576, after a long brave fight. Moreover, with its consciousness at the highest level of its alertness, Chetak had lifted the king on his back during a major period of his kingship and accompanied him bravely in multiple battles, including the battle of Haldighati. Chetak had shown its immense loyalty and reverence to the king till its last breath. His ability to take hardship in his stride would be to his advantage in later years, when he would have to live in conditions of severe adversity.Chetak, a Hindi word that signifies вЂњthe one who remains consciousвЂќ, is by no wonder the name of Maharana Pratap horse. Pratap fell into the habit of eating his meagre meal sitting alongside his men. The rations allocated to him from the royal stores were frugal, barely enough for his men and himself. This was scarcely the norm for the firstborn son of the ruler of Mewar, who would normally have lived in the designated Kunwar-pada Ro Mahal (palace of the prince) within Chittor fort, and had a much larger retinue attending on him. He was attended by just a small contingent of ten Rajputs. For example, when Pratap was living in Chittor as a youth (according to a later text, the Amarsar, written in the reign of PratapвЂ™s son, Maharana Amar Singh by Pandit Jivadhar 7 ) arrangements were made for Prince Pratap to live in a village near the sprawling base of ChittorвЂ™s fort. As a result, Pratap did not receive from his father the respect and privileges that were his due as the eldest son and heir apparent. In his eagerness to please Dheer Bai, Rana Udai Singh was perhaps blind to the virtues of Pratap and the faults of Jagmal.

No doubt the RanaвЂ™s favourite wife put pressure on him to declare her own son Jagmal as his heir, but Udai SinghвЂ™s indifference to Pratap may also have sprung from his reluctance to acknowledge that Jagmal was a pale shadow to Pratap, and that Udai SinghвЂ™s eldest son was a better warrior and rider, a keener student, a wiser decision maker, more courteous and even-tempered and far better liked by the nobles as well as the common people. Despite his privileged upbringing, Prince Pratap never enjoyed his fatherвЂ™s affection as a boy because of Maharana Udai SinghвЂ™s preference for the children of the queen he loved best вЂ“ his Bhattiyani clan wife, Dheer Bai. But even as he gathered up the reins and mounted his horse, several of his fatherвЂ™s senior courtiers and kinsmen suddenly arrived and stopped him.They told Prince Pratap that he was the peopleвЂ™s favourite as well as theirs, and that as Maharana Udai SinghвЂ™s eldest son he was now their king. Prince Pratap, refusing to squabble over the throne of Mewar with his half-brother вЂ“ a move which could have plunged Mewar into civil war вЂ“ decided to leave quietly with his small retinue, while everyone was busy with the royal funeral. As the eldest son, and widely regarded as the most able and gifted, the thirty-one-year-old Prince Pratap should have succeeded him, but the dying Rana had declared that his chosen heir was PratapвЂ™s younger half- brother, Prince Jagmal, born of his favourite wife. Within the ramparts of Gogunda, the funeral rites of MewarвЂ™s ruler and PratapвЂ™s father, Maharana Udai Singh II, were taking place. Wherever fortune would take him, he would carry the soil of his beloved Mewar with him. Bending down to gather up some earth from the ground, he applied a pinch on his forehead, and tied the rest in a piece of cloth which he tucked away in a corner of his turban. But before he left, there was one last thing to do.

Everything was ready for Prince PratapвЂ™s quick and quiet departure. The horses were saddled and waiting at the outskirts of the rugged fort of Gogunda, nestled in the hills of Mewar.

But did you know that he almost wasnвЂ™t king? HereвЂ™s an excerpt from вЂMaharana Pratap The Invincible WarriorвЂ™ by Rima Hooja. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share on Google+ Maharana Pratap remains one of our most iconic leaders and kings.

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