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Grand
Reservoir
You’ll have to trek about 3.2km south of the monuments around the
village to reach this group of buildings. The Rewa Kund is a tank of
sacred water from the Rewa, another name for the revered Narmada.
This is where the love of the musician-prince Baz Bahadur and Rani
Roopmati flowered.
Palace of Baz Bahadur
Perched on the hill is the Palace of Baz Bahadur (1509), once
supplied with water from this very kund or tank by a water lift. An
interesting blend of Rajput and Mughal styles, it was actually built
well before Baz Bahadur came to power. The main part of the palace
is a spacious open court with halls and rooms on all four sides. On
the northern side, beyond the colonnade is a projecting octagonal
pavilion with arches overlooking an old garden.
Rani
Roopmati’s Pavilion
To the south of Baz Bahadur’s Palace, near the edge of the fort are
Roopmati’s Pavilions. Built in three different stages, probably
early 15th century with extensions later, these pavilions were
occupied by Baz Bahadur’s beloved mistress, Rani Roopmati.
It is believed that the pavilion
was originally built as an army observation post. It was initially a
massive low hall with two rooms at each end and a thick sloping
plinth. Subsequently, the building was extended westward alongside
the plinth, but it is the latest addition, the pavilions, that made
this building special enough to house the love of Baz Bahadur’s
life. The pavilions are square in design with hemispherical domes.
These pavilions were special to Rani Roopmati too because she could
see the Narmada in the valley below. Indeed, the view from here at
sunset or by moonlight across to the Narmada valley 305m below is
truly sensational.
Love At The Time of Akbara
Baz Bahadur, ever so fond of music, was the last independent ruler
of Mandu. Once out hunting (typical setting for a
king-meets-peasant-girl love story), Baz Bahadur chanced upon a
shepherdess frolicking and singing with her friends. Smitten by both
her enchanting beauty and her mellifluous voice, he begged Roopmati
to accompany him to his capital. Roopmati agreed to go to Mandu on
the condition that she would live in a palace within sight of her
beloved and venerated river, Narmada. Thus was built the Rewa Kund
at Mandu.
The End of The Love Tale
Unfortunately, the fairytale romance of this Muslim prince and Hindu
shepherdess was doomed to failure. The great Mughal Akbar decided to
invade Mandu, spurred partially on by the accounts of Roopmati’s
bewitching beauty. No match for the great Mughal army, Mandu fell in
the hands of Akbar. Baz Bahadur fled the fort while Rani Roopmati
stoically poisoned herself. Thus ended this magical love story
steeped in music, poetry and beauty.
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