Hathwa Raj

Hathuwa Raj was a zamindari belonging to Bhumihar Brahmins which encompassed 1,365 villages, was inhabited by more than 391,000 people, and produced an annual rental of almost a million rupees.[1] It is located in the Saran Division of Bihar.

Sir Kishen Pratap Sahi Bahadur, who was the Maharaja between 1874 to 1896 "had the heart of an ascetic. Soon after he was installed... he set out on a pilgrimage to the shrines of Northern India and travelled through almost the whole of India. Later on he used to pass a portion of the year in travelling and pilgrimage, mostly in, Benares.[2]

Because Hathwa was the hub, it was the seat of the raja's residential palace; and Hathwa and its nearby villages housed most of the key retainers of the estate.[3] In addition to the estate Kachcheri (office), located in the Hathwa cluster of villages, were the estate manager's bungalow, the Diwan's house, the Hathwa Eden School, the post office, the Raj dispensary, and the temple called Gopal mandir.[4]

By the 1840s Hathwa was described as having large "bazaars" and bi-weekly markets. Fort, palace and bazaar: all the markets reflecting and exercising the power and authority of this great estate were thus in place by the early nineteenth century. An early twentieth-century account describes Hathwa as an impressive standard market, its shops offering a range of agricultural and consumer goods and its specialists providing a variety of services. The presence of schools and temples further accentuated its centrality in the locality. Its salience - and its value to the estate - can also be quantified: the estate collected Rs. 1,400 per annum as professional tax from traders stationed there.[5]

Durga Puja

Reminiscing the grandeur of yore, Maharaja Bahadur Sri Mrigendra Pratap Sahi, the 105th Maharaja of Hathwa says "All family members descend on Hathwa (Gopalganj) for paying obeisance to our 'kuldevi' Thawe Maiyya and stay on till Diwali.[6] Many traditional rituals like the Maharaja travelling in a 'chaukri' (a buggy pulled by four-six horses) to the Gopal Mandir, and then to the Sheesh Mahal for the annual durbar and onwards on an elephant for darshan of the Maiyya on Vijayadashmi have stopped.[7] However, we still continue with a puja of our armoury, after which we have the guard of honour."[8] The Hathwa family still upholds the custom of sacrificing buffaloes and goats during 'sandhi puja'.[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 69). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  2. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 140). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  3. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 193). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  4. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 194). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  5. ↑ Yang, Anand A. (1999). Bazaar India: Markets, Society, and the Colonial State in Bihar. University of California Press. pp. 305 (at page 193). ISBN 978-0-520-21100-1.
  6. ↑ Gayatree Sharma (2012-10-22). "Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja". The Times of India. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  7. ↑ Gayatree Sharma (2012-10-22). "Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja". The Times of India. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  8. ↑ Gayatree Sharma (2012-10-22). "Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja". The Times of India. Retrieved 2012-10-22.
  9. ↑ Gayatree Sharma (2015-03-10). "Ex-zamindars' tryst with Durga Puja". The Times of India. Retrieved 2012-10-22.

References

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