Persona Creation – Rajpal Ganeshan of Rajasthan

By Anne Harwood

For the Scholars of St. Thomas Aquinas, 2008

            Rajpal was born in the year 1540 in the city of Jaipur, a city bordering the northwestern edge of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan. He is the eldest son of Uma, the daughter of an embroiderer in Gujarat, and Khirpal, an incense maker. He has one younger brother, named Sanjiv. They are members of the second highest Hindu caste, the Kshatriyas, traditionally rulers and warriors.

            As a very young boy, Rajpal spent most of his time with his mother, who taught him the embroidery skills she learned from her father. She also imparted to him many stories of the brave and honourable Rajput princes, mighty warriors of the same caste as Khirpal and herself. When he was five, Khirpal employed a learned man, called a pundit, to teach Rajpal his letters and mathematics. This education happened in the family home, and in addition to writing and reading (taught in that order)[1] in Marwari, Rajpal is taught some basic history and the tenets of the Hindu faith. His education, though sufficient for his role in life, is sadly deficient when compared to that of a Brahmin child. As the highest caste, Brahmin children also learn science, astrology, philosophy and in-depth study of the Vedic Scriptures and rituals.

When Rajpal is finished his schooling in two or three years, he is prepared to begin learning his father’s craft, which is the making and selling of incense and perfumes. Sanjiv is also taught these skills, but it is understood that, as the eldest son, Rajpal will inherit the business from their father, and Sanjiv’s lot in life is to work for his brother thereafter.

When Rajpal is twelve, Khirpal arranges a marriage for him. The bride is a young girl of ten named Asha, whose father is a camel trader in the Thar Desert. Asha is brought to Khirpal’s home and the ceremony performed, but immediately afterwards, she returns home to her father’s place in the desert until the day she begins her menses, three years later. At this point, Asha comes to live with Rajpal as his wife in Khirpal and Uma’s home. Hindus believe it is a sin to allow a female to reach puberty without being married, so while the Islamic Emperor Akbar frowns upon child marriages, it is nevertheless a common practice.

The influence of the Mughal Emperor in Rajasthan at this point is more of a theoretical point, so ignoring Akbar’s injunctions is relatively easy. Rajasthan’s cities are ruled by Rajput princes, who have proven to be rebellious thorns in Akbar’s side. For several years during his adolescence and early adulthood (during which a son and daughter are born to him), Rajpal hears the exciting tales of these defiant Hindu rajas, and delights in them. The Emperor is less amused, and in 1567, Akbar marches into the city of Mewar in an attempt to assert his authority. Mewar[2] is ruled by the raja Udai Singh, who flees the city and leaves the fort of Chitor in the hands of two generals. While not impregnable, the difficulty with besieging Chitor is approaching the fort walls while exposed to blistering enemy fire. Although he loses about 100 soldiers daily to the Hindu guns, Akbar eventually reaches the walls of Chitor by constructing large covered approach corridors called sabats. These sabats are large enough to accommodate an elephant and rider! Still, the rebels put up a spirited defense, and when Akbar finally breaches the walls, the Hindus inside perform jauhar. Jauhar is a ritual in which the wives and children of the warriors commit suicide by immolating themselves so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. Their husbands, meanwhile, drink opium and rush against Akbar’s men in a furious, if futile, attack and are slaughtered.

Akbar is enraged by this tactic, and orders the slaughter of anyone left alive in the fort. Udai Singh retires to a mountain refuge, and gives up his fight against the Emperor. The stories of the noble and defiant rajputs, however, have kindled the latent Kshatriya in Rajpal, and he resolves to leave his quiet home in Jaipur to join the resistance. Khirpal, Uma and Asha all beg him to stay, but he is determined, and armed only with his pride and a dagger, he travels to the Fort of Ranthambhor, which is held by a vassal of the Rana of Mewar. It is considered one of the most powerful forts in all of India, and Rajpal anticipates a glorious victory. However, terror over the carnage at Chitor is uppermost in the minds of his leaders, and the fort surrenders to Akbar after a token resistance. In the skirmish, Rajpal is wounded in his right arm, a wound that will stay with him his entire life.

What also stays with Rajpal is a renewed respect for the Emperor Akbar. As he recovers from his wound, he is able to see firsthand the Emperor’s compassion and generousity, which is extended to the defenders of Rathambhor. He returns to Jaipur a changed man, to the great relief of his family.

A year later, Khirpal decides that he has reached that phase of his life where he must consider his spiritual needs. Therefore, he does what many Hindu men due upon reaching middle age and abdicates all of his temporal responsibilities into the care of his eldest son. He puts on a simple dhoti, gives his blessings to his family and travels to Pushkar, in the Thar Desert. Pushkar is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus, and there, Khirpal will take up a spot outside the Temple, living only on the food and alms given to him by those visiting the site. His wife, Uma, does not accompany him, but stays with her sons and their wives, helping them to raise their children.

It is now the year 1570, and Rajpal is now formally in charge of the family and the business. His brother Sanjiv and his wife, Kimaya, are expecting a child. Little Khirpal (Rajpal’s son) is now thirteen, and his sister, Ratnavali, ten. Business is good, but Rajpal is constantly busy, looking for suppliers and new customers. As well, he is ever watchful for suitable brides for his son, and husbands for his daughter.