Part VIII Heading back home via Khajua

Hi There
  After almost a week in Varanasi and Bihar it was time to head back home.However while I was planning my route home I chanced upon this place Khajua,near Bindki,famous for its temples and other historical monuments.I decided to travel back through Khajua.

  Route                         Sasaram-Varanasi-Fathepur-Bindki-Khajua-Bhognipur-Jhansi

  Road side assistance  You will find a lot of help on the road.

  Road condition            Excellent

  Eating joints                I did try local delicacy 

Khajua 52 Imli

  Khajua town is located at about 10 kms away from Bindki. The town is famous for its ancient brick temples,52 Imli and Bagh Badshahi.As one enters the town the first monument is the memorial of 52 Imli,it is located next to forest office inside a huge garden. 

    As the first war of Independence gather momentum a large number of people from Fathepur district participated in it,one of the prominent person was  Thakur Jodha Singh Attaya a rich prominent person from Rasulpur village.On call of Nana saheb he  a started a guerrilla  warfare against the British along with his two trusted aides Dariyawa Singh and Shivdayal Singh.

   On 10 June Jodha Singh attacked and captured govt treasury at Fathepur.On

 07 December 1857,the british started a march to free the besieged Kanpur garrison accordingly a field force under Maj Rinard and Havlock started moving towards Kanpur,however the force was held  and many british were killed by Thakur Jodha Singh and his revolutionaries.However they could not hold the early gains since the british brought the guns from behind and started pounding the position of revolutionaries.

   On 09 December they attacked tehsil office in Jehanabad and imprisoned the Tehsildar,also captured the govt treasury.Due to this guerrilla tactics  the british got harassed  and launched a massive operation to capture Jodha Singh.On 04 Feb 1858 the british  were able to captured son,brother and other family members of Dariyawa singh.The british tortured them to death to know the were about of Jodha Singh,Dariyawa  and Shivdayal Singh.

  With the cruel death of relatives of Dariyawa singh, an all out war broke between British and Jodha Singh.Jodha Singh killed a lot of british informers as well as few white soldiers.

  On 28 April 1858 as he was returning from a operation along with  51 other revolutionaries he was arrested by the british.To extinguish the fire of free India a sham trial was conducted for half a day and Jodha Singh along with his 51 revolutionaries were handed over death sentence .To instill fear amongst the locals they were all hanged on a Tamarind tree ,since 52 people were hanged it came to be known as 52 Imli .As per the locals the growth of tree stopped from that day onwards .Each year till today a martyrs memorial day is celebrated at the same place on 28 April.

  The place is very quite ,kept very clean and beautiful a must visit place.

On road to Khajua

Main monument pillar

Statue of Veer Jodha Singh

The stones have 52 names of martyrs at rear 

Names of 52 martyrs

    After paying respect to this gallant men I moved to the next monument the Bagh Badshahi .While I was crossing the small town I came across this beautiful shiv temple which had this very old paintings ,very unique.

    Such beautiful paintings but this temple is not even mentioned any where,nor are there any sign boards posted.

Bagh Badshahi

   It is located in the middle of the town of Khajua.

    This place witnessed one of the fiercest battle ever fought in India which took place on  05 Jan1659 between Aurangzeb and his brother Shah Shuja .In the battle Shah Shuja and his son  were brutally killed by Auragzeb. To commemorate his victory Aurangzeb constructed various buildings, talab, pavilion, sarai, mosque etc. at Khajuha.

    Two pavilions made of lakhauri brick masonry ,lime mortar , having ornamental sand stone work, stand over a 3.00m high platform measuring 280Mt x35Mt of size. Two sets of flight of steps leading to the garden as well as two fountains are also present.

     Bagh Badshahi was originally a well laid Mughal garden surrounded by a 3m high enclosure walls having entrance gateways at west, south and north sides of the garden, out of which the western one was the main entrance gate to this premises from Khajuha town. 

   The monument is surrounded by encroachment in fact there is farming going on inside the premise of ASI protected monument!!!.

  To go to the monument one has to take a small road next to the post office ,which will take you to the main monument.There is nothing much to see accept large buildings ,slow restoration work is under progress

 

Main monument with fountain

 

Original brick pillars

  Fish design on water fall

Farming inside the monument complex

   As the the north Indian heat was becoming unbearable it was time to move to home.This was the first long solo trip of mine,and it was a beautiful experience,which will remain in my memory for a long time.Till my next blog,

  Ride safe Firm saddle .Adios

   

Part VII - A day in Sasaram

Hi there
  After Rohtasgarh ride by the time I reached the guest house,I had a steady rise in temperature and loose motions had set in,I did not eat in the night just had curd and lot of water with ORS,some fruits,tried to sleep but was not able too.
  Next morning I fixed up a appt with a doctor,once I met the doctor he immediately gave me medicines and after learning that I am on a bike tour,he was very amazed,did not even charged me in fact he took me for breakfast.After about an hour I started feeling ok and with spirits again high it was time to hit the saddle again.And today the ride was dedicated to historical monuments in Sasaram city.

Tomb of Sher Shah Suri

  On 13 May 1545,during the siege of Kalinjar fort there was a accidental gun powder explosion in which Sher Shah suri died .The Tomb was  designed by architect Mir Muhammad Aliwal ,it was build from 1540-45.

   In fact Sher Shah suri himself gave the design its a very unique thing that a persons tomb is build and designed by himself.He designed it like a floating island in a deep pond,extremely grand, its a treat to see the monument.

    Build in Indo-Islamic style with heavy influence of grand hindu temples, it is constructed of red sand stone and is  125 ft in height.The main tomb is octagonal in shape  and has a huge dome which once had glazed tiles .The final construction was completed in Aug 1545,by his son.

This bridge was constructed later 

Lake surrounding the monument

Chhatri like structure on second floor

The main shrine

   The monument has been kept very tidy and a visit is must to see its grandeur,.Located within the city limits infact one can take a walk from railway station.Small entrance fee is charged per person.

Tomb of Islam Shah Suri

  After the death of Sher Shah Suri ,an council of ministers choose Islam Shah Suri to ascend the throne ,rather than his elder brother.Islam Shah continued his father policies of centralization and efficient administration .When he was in Agra, his elder brother attacked him,in ensuing battle Islam Shah Suri emerged victorious.

  On 22 November 1554 he died and he was succeeded by his 12yr old son ,who was later murdered by nephew of Islam Shah Suri.

  The tomb of Islam Saha was made on same lines as of Sher Shah Suri but with much bigger tank, however it got neglected over the years.

Approach path to the tomb

Lake surrounding the tomb

Once beautiful archs now ruins

Inside view,however one cannot make out exact Islam Shah Suris resting place

   The place is located again very near to railway station,however it is not popular even locals have less knowledge of the place,the approach road is almost not existing due to encroachment,however the location is great and very peaceful.

  My tour of Bihar is over and now it was time to head back to other destinations,even though my health was still not upto the mark,but I know once I am mounted on my Saddle it will be all fine.Adios

Part VI - Motorcycling to Rohtas and Rohtasgarh

Hi There
  Today I woke up with slight temperature and upset stomach but was determined to visit Rohtasgarh and as I mounted my Thunderbird felt really good. Rohtasgarh is a very historic fort which was in prominence till 1859.

 Route                                 -Sasaram-Dehri on Sone-Rohtas-Rehal-Rohtasgarh.

Roadside assistance           - Limited,absolutely no help from Rohtas to Rohtasgarh via                                                         Rehal .

Weather                              - Very warm and cater for adequate water.

Food                                   - I did not have food anywhere.

Rohtasgarh fort

Inside Rohtas town

First glimpses of fort from the town

  I reached Rohtas town pretty early in the morning.Before I started in the morning the local caretaker of the guesthouse warned me,since I am going to a far of place I should fill both my stomach and petrol,somehow I took it jokingly and ignored his warning only to repent it later.

  

  While I was having tea at a local shop in Rohtas,I asked for directions for the fort to reach by bike,I was told that the ride is about 60kms and it will take around to 2h to reach the main gate,to show me the  way to start of the road to fort ,a  boy came with his own bike,such a great experience,in this small sleepy town people have such a big heart.Before I started the ride i noticed that fuel was low so filled fuel in an adhoc shop and remembered the warning of the caretaker I repented my decision of not topping up the fuel in the city.

The boy on right showed me the track to the fort

Start of track to fort

Thunderbird shinning before the start of climb to the fort

   The ride to fort was easier said than done,it was absolutely through wilderness and in between who ever  I met told  gave me different distance to base of the fort,and on top of it there was no mobile coverage so my google was off,initially the ride seemed to be fine but thereafter the track become absolutely bad full of dirt and very difficult to negotiate,but some how I pushed myself.Many times thought came to abandon the ride since I was not sure how many kilometers I have to cover,as well as the  health was  also playing spoilt.

    

Powdery track

Empty village

   After struggling for an two hours I saw the sign of Rehal village,and spirit immediately soared ,once I reached Rehal from there the drive to fort is just 12 kms and the track is pretty firm.

Rehal village

Main gate first glimpses

Thunderbird after reaching the main entrance, fine red dust all over

Main Entrance 

End of ride at the main entrance 

   Once I reached the main gate I felt so great as if I have reached the summit of mount Everest,I forgot about my growling stomach ,felt very happy.

   As per local history the Rohtas hill was named after the Rohitasva,  son of the Raja Harishchandra. In 1539 AD, it came under rule of  Sher shah Suri. Sher Shah Suri had just lost the Fort at Chunar in a fight with the  Humayun and was desperate to gain a foothold for himself.

   Sher Shah requested the ruler of Rohtas that he wanted to leave his women, children and treasure in the safety of the fort, while he was away fighting in Bengal. The king agreed and allowed the movement of palanquins.The first few palanquins had women and children,but the later ones contained fierce Afghan soldiers, who captured Rohtas and forced the Hindu king to flee. 

   In 1558 AD, Raja Man Singh made it his headquarters as he was the governor of Bengal and Bihar.He built a splendid palace for himself, renovated the rest of the fort, cleared up the ponds and made gardens in Persian style. 

  In 1736 it went  to british.In his two months of stay the british Capt Goddard not only killed many captured soldiers,but destroyed many buildings in the fort and made it untenable for living. Thereafter in 1857 in India's first war of Independence,fierce battle was fought for months between british and soldiers led by ,Amar Singh, the brother of Veer Kunwar Singh( Hero of 1857 from Jagdispur). There were many encounters with the British where the latter were at a disadvantage, for the jungles and the tribal who were of great help to the soldiers of Amar Singh. Finally, after a long drawn out military blockade and many clashes, the British overcame the Indians, and who left a small garrison to guard so that it would never be used again in future.

  The fort was actively being used by Naxalites during peak,however now it is completely safe,however most of the buildings are in Ruins.

While coming back I also visited the royal burial ground near the Rohtas town,nothing much to see .

Entrance to burial ground

  Turrets on corners

Inside the ground

   As it was getting warmer and growling had increased a lot it was time to call it a day and head back to Sasaram.It is worth visiting at least once and if you are a fan of off roading this place is a bliss,given a chance I would love to visit this fort again once.Adios