Looming large on a narrow strip of a solitary hill, about 170 meters above the plains, are the ghostly remains of Rajasthan’s greatest fortified citadel. It is Chittorgarh — the capital, for over eight centuries: AD 734-1567, of Mewar state and strikingly reminiscent of the heroic, stranger-than-fiction sagas of valiant Rajput warriors, of men who’d rather break than bend, of brave women who’d rather die of self-immolations than suffer dishonour. With a comprehensive historical overview of Chittorgarh and how it has been seen by historiographer of yester years, Irmgard Meininger meticulously delineates this awe-inspiring citadel, as a splendid example of Indian defensive structure. Suggesting that Chittorgarh still holds out much of its former grandeur, she takes you around its majestic palaces, its wonderful temples in the finest Hindu and Jaina architectural idioms; besides its bazars, tanks, lakes and mountain springs — and, thus, veritably transports you to another world, far away from the everyday life of humdrum. Including exquisite illustrative material, the monograph presents all that you would want to know about Chittorgarh and see for yourself.
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