The timeless tale of Maharana Pratap, class 5.

Class 5 had an unusual opportunity to discover Maharana Pratap from Mr. Anirudh Rajput, a lover of history who is also an advocate of the Supreme Court. Mr. Rajput is a natural orator and spoke at length of Maharana Prataps bravery, courage and strong sense of self-respect. He comfortably descended, as it were, to the plane of the children and and encouraged them to also try and emulate what he articulated about the ruler from Rajastan. The Maharana's kingdom was resented deeply by Emperor Akbar who sought to wrest it from the Maharana and bring it under his own suzerainty. The story of how the latter fought for it's freedom to his last breath has lived down the generations.

 

The students listened intently to the story of the Battle of Haldi Ghati where the Maharana faced the Mughal army. His favourite horse Chetak matched his master's exemplary exhibition of bravery and courage. Though the kingdom was lost, the Maharana did not submit himself. He simply refused to accept Mughal supremacy. He slept on the floor, ate coarse food and wandered the forests of the Aravalli hills.

  The children were curious and wanted to know more. They asked why and how and what. They wanted to know what patriotism meant and why it is important. They were told about the Maharana Pratap Memorial, a life-size statue of the ruler astride Chetak built by Maharana Bhagwat Singh, his descendant, by the side of the Fatehsagar lake in Udaipur.  

[gallery columns="4"] Mr. Rajput remarkably used story-telling to bring alive the timeless virtues of heroism, valour and purpose. His narrative brought alive a historic tale even whilst conveying the value, that it was not as important to win. But most important, to give your best to try to win. Especially for the Motherland. As did Maharana Pratap at the battle of Haldi Ghati.  

The interaction made a useful exercise in Citizenship.

As filed by Ms. Neelima Sharma, teacher.