Sahis’ Anecdotes
Updated: 2 days ago
I: Clash of Egos
The train was booked, and a coach was reserved for the Raja of Tamkuhi and his staff. It had been a busy day, and everyone was eager to reach Tamkuhi. Raja Sahib, along with Babu Kodai Roy, Lallan Babu and a retinue of staff, had left the councillor’s residence and were on the way to the railway station.
On the way, Raja Sahib was informed by his private secretary, Lallan Babu, that only one coach was booked, and it was set to change at one place in between. Given that Raja Sahib was a Member of the Legislative Council and an important zamindar of the province, protocol was followed and staff of the railway department escorted him to the coach.
It was a busy day, and there were more people at the railway station than usual. The steam from the engines and the smoke from the coal added in, making the atmosphere around the platform hot. Among the staff were the khansamas, tahloos, pahalwans, the driver, and a few more people. Raja Sahib had an entire cabin for himself where he had already started to come into relaxation mode. Babu Kodai Roy and Lallan Babu were in another cabin, and the other cabins were occupied by the staff along with the luggage.
While Raja Sahib was resting, there was a commotion at the entrance of the Tamkuhi coach. Staff of another entourage, that of Raja M Chand, were having an argument with Raja Sahib’s staff. They wanted to enter the coach reserved for the Tamkuhi party and claim seats for their Raja M Chand, an influential zamindar of Benares.
The argument continued for a while before Raja M Chand himself arrived, along with a police constable. Noticing this was getting out of hand, Tamkuhi staff informed Lallan Babu and Babu Kodai Roy about the situation.
Lallan Babu and Babu Kodai Roy came rushing to greet Raja M Chand before trying to explain very politely that the coach had been reserved for the Raja of Tamkuhi. Their discussion continued for a while, and after overhearing the continuous discussion, Raja Sahib came out.
The Rajas greeted each other, and by this point, a big crowd had gathered. Raja M Chand, who looked tired and perplexed, told Raja Sahib that his men were undisciplined and needed controlling. This complaint annoyed Raja Sahib to such a degree that he visibly showed displeasure. Raja M Chand smirked and made a passing comment about Tamkuhi being a rogue zamindari, to which everyone was shocked. For a moment, everything was silent, and suddenly, a pistol was pointing in the face of Raja M Chand.
Raja Sahib Tamkuhi, in a rage, took out his pistol and pointed it at Raja M Chand’s face. In the meantime, the station master and other senior police officers arrived, noticing the huge crowd. Before anything untoward could happen, Raja Sahib was dissuaded and calmed down. Raja M Chand was given a place in another coach, and the train started.
A couple of days later, the commissioner of Gorakhpur invited Raja Sahib for tea. When they met, the commissioner started talking about the train incident and casually informed Raja Sahib that Raja M Chand was making a formal complaint, and the governor was also made aware of this decision because of which the commissioner had to bring up this conversation. It turns out that Raja M Chand wanted the Raja Sahib to apologise by coming to Benares. Raja Sahib listened patiently, thanked the commissioner for tea and without responding to the pistol episode, left the commissioner’s residence.
After much persuasion, Raja Sahib was ready for a compromise but on the condition that the other party should come to Tamkuhi. It was a clash of egos which had now been inflated. For a while, no solution could be reached until the commissioner came up with an idea. He proposed to invite both parties to Gorakhpur for a compromise. Since Raja Sahib was adamant about not going to Benares since it could reflect on him being submissive, the commissioner told Raja Sahib, “You are the biggest landlord of the district, and by virtue of that, Raja M Chand is coming here.”
On the other hand, he sent a message to Raja M Chand that the meeting would be held in Gorakhpur and not Tamkuhi. Since this decision was a middle path, both of them accepted it. A day was fixed when all parties met, and a compromise was made, thus ending the clash of egos.
II: Horse & Car Track
Chakkarbagh, as the name suggests, is a round garden where chakkar means round and bagh means garden. Located about 1.5 km from the main palace of Tamkuhi, it’s basically a grove used as a horseback track. Built-in the time of Raja Krishna Pratap Sahi, it was used by the local zamindars and English officers; sometimes, it was the venue for the local horse race. What was once a well-maintained track is now where the villagers take goats and cattle to graze, and only parts of the track can be seen.
In 1902, the sister of Raja Indrajit married Maharaja Kumar Gopal Saran Singh of Tikari Raj. He was a man of modern tastes and preferred cars over horses. Later in life, he even went on to be India’s first motorcar racer in Europe. When he married the princess of Tamkuhi, it became necessary to have a motor track prepared for him so that he could be entertained during his visits to Tamkuhi. This was when the horse-riding track of Chakkarbagh turned into a route for motorcars.
The first visit of Maharaja Tikari to Tamkuhi was not just a normal one. Along with the Maharaja came a car he would ride at leisure, and this would be the first time a car would roam freely in Tamkuhi. What a scene it must have been when the young Maharaja sped along the dusty roads, and what a surprise it would have brought to the faces of the innocent villagers.
One day, while the Maharaja was on the course, some Europeans came over from the nearby indigo factory, and a shamiana was set up. Tea, cookies, cakes, and some savouries were prepared. The young Raja of Tamkuhi and his cousin were also there to enjoy the scene. Maharaj Kumar of Tekari, driving his car, had a smile on his face similar to that of a teenager showing off a prized possession.
The car took a few rounds seated with the Maharaja Kumar of Tikari and his European friend. And the two made quite an entertaining show. After a few rounds of speeding, the show came to an end with tea and cookies served. A few of the European ladies tried sitting in the car, and almost everyone seemed delighted. However, one person, the Pandit ji, was not pleased. The roar of the engine and the smoke seemed quite devilish to him. He even appears to have suggested to Chote Sarkar, who was the uncle of Raja Sahib, that such a thing should not be encouraged in Tamkuhi as it might affect the mind of the young Raja.
Maybe that or the lack of passionate riders caused Tekari cars to go into oblivion in the long run. The last of the vehicles that Maharaja Kumar of Tekari owned went on to be scrapped. It was left in such a state that a tree had grown out of it.
III: A Herd of Cows
At Tamkuhi, the zoo, elephant stables and gaushala all needed animals, and it had been almost six months since one of the leopards, Sultan, had passed away. Our Raja Sahib and his nephews wanted to go to the animal fair in Sonepur. Even today, Sonepur Mela is a yearly event that is most looked forward to. Raja Sahib’s entourage had a pretty exciting journey, hopping on and off cars, trains and steamers.
All arrangements for the visit had been made, and the Tamkuhi camp was already set for the nephews, Babu Kodai Roy and other staff, accompanying Raja Sahib on his visit. What a fair, rather what an animal fair. The Gandak meets the Ganges, and that confluence was the venue of the fair. The mildly cold weather, with the sound and smell of animals, along the mighty Ganges was a sight to behold. Fauna of all sorts was on sale, right from small white mice to a giant elephant. A circus was also arranged with jugglers and shows of monkeys and bears.
The entourage of Raja Sahib spent the first day looking for elephants and cows. The gaushala needed some nice bulls & few cows, and the best breed suited for Tamkuhi was the Hariana breed. A few beautiful milch cows were purchased, along with three pairs of bullocks. The entourage also visited other sections of the animal fair, but the only place which attracted Raja Sahib was the section on elephants. Although the usual supply of elephants was fulfilled through the Balrampur Raj or from Nepal, this year, Raja Sahib needed some female elephants for his shikar and making an exception was no problem, especially since it was for shikar.
The second day was spent looking for animals for the zoo. Often, orphan cubs of tigers or leopards, fawns, etc., would be up for sale. But this year, nothing was attractive enough to be taken to Tamkuhi. A few purchases of some wild birds were made, and the party was supposed to leave after breakfast the next day.
The morning was sunny, and the Sun had dispensed the little fog in the air. While Raja Sahib was having his tea in the camp, he saw a man herding some 150 to 200 cows. Babu Kodai Roy was next to Raja Sahib, and he enquired who was buying those cows. Babu Kodai Roy sent a man to enquire, and after a while, it was found that a butcher was taking those cows towards Bengal. Now, what was just an enquiry had turned into an issue. Raja Sahib looked at Babu Kodai Roy, and the looks meant that something had to be done. The plan to leave was postponed, and after about half an hour, the butcher was presented in Raja Sahib’s camp.
The butcher didn’t care much for the Raja, and naturally, why should he have? He was not doing something illegal; it was his job, and moreover, there was no law forbidding what he was doing. The Raja offered him the price at which he purchased the cows with a few more rupees and his fare. The butcher turned out to be a businessman and said he would sell it to Raja Sahib at a price at which he would have sold them in Bengal. The face of Raja Sahib turned red, and a frown appeared, but that was all he could do. Now it was his turn to make the decision whether to let the butcher take the cows and have them slaughtered and sold as beef or protect them by spending some money and getting them all to Tamkuhi.
It took three days for the cows to reach Tamkuhi from Sonepur. The old cows were sent to an orchard, where they lived till their end. Some of those which were good enough were sent to the dairy. The male calves were donated to some farmers. The trip to Sonepur, although it turned out to be an expensive affair, in the end, made the Raja Sahib a “Gaurakshak”. Even today, the elderly of villages in and around Tamkuhi remember how Raja Sahib would not let any old cattle get sold and had made arrangements for their shelter and grazing.
Footnotes
Raja Indrajit Pratap Bahadur Sahi:
One of the longest-serving Rajas of Tamkuhi, who has greatly impacted the people of Raj Tamkuhi. He was a very upright man with a broad vision for the development of the Raj. He served in different public capacities as a Member of the Legislative Council, District Board chairman, and member of many committees. He was politically active and affiliated with the All-India Hindu Mahasabha. He established hospitals, schools and places of religious importance for the public. In order to provide employment, he founded two indigo factories on his estate. A visionary, he made primary education compulsory and free in Raj by providing midday meals. During his reign, Tamkuhi developed as a cultural centre in the district of Gorakhpur. He was a good horse rider, hunter, and football player. He promoted musicians, poets, artists, wrestlers and writers in his kingdom. He died in June 1945.
Zamindar:
A landowner, especially one who leases his land to tenant farmers.
Khansama:
Head male servant equivalent to a butler.
Tahloo:
A person who would run errands for the senior servants.
Pahalwans:
Wrestlers
Babu Kodai Roy:
He was amongst those who could be considered the gems of Tamkuhi Darbar. He served not just as a private secretary to the Raja, but was also one of the settlement officers of the Raj.
Lallan Babu:
Mr B N Singh, alias Lallan Babu, was Raja Sahib’s personal assistant.
Pandit:
Priest & Raj Pandit: Royal Priest
Gaushala:
Place where cows are kept (cow shed).
Mela:
Fair
Gandak:
A river coming out of the Himalayas, which joins the Ganges.
Shikar:
Hunt
Credits
This collection was written by Vaidurya Pratap Sahi, reviewed by R. S. Chintalapati, and edited by Edlyn D’souza.
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