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Old 1st May 2020, 18:04   #31
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

Brilliant! Probably the most epic travelogue we have in Team BHP! Fantastic details. I was awestruck at the details of the first war of independence. It seemed I was back in those times seeing things first hand.
Thank you for sharing this.
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Old 1st May 2020, 18:38   #32
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

Quote:
Originally Posted by W.A.G.7 View Post
P.S: The pictures are wonderful! Did you source them all from Google, or did you have them somewhere in your collection?
I clicked the picture of Vishnubhat, the modi script etc from my copy of the book.
All other the photos/paintings, I found online.
Most of the pics of the aftermath were taken by Felice Beato


Except this one.
Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59-1857_jhansi_fort2.jpg

Now check out the closeup
Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59-jhansi-fort-closeup.png

The photographer has marked it with his initials.
Some investigation revealed, it was Lala Deen Dayal .
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Old 1st May 2020, 19:00   #33
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

@RedTerrano amazing piece of work. Congratulations for bringing this part of Indian history to life. I cannot even gauge the amount of time and dedication it must have taken you to analyse the century old notes & books. Keep it going mate.
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Old 1st May 2020, 22:47   #34
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

Wow! What a thread!
@red terrano, I bow to you for taking the time out to bring this wonderful piece of our history to us. Thank you.

Teambhp simply continues to amaze me on the material available.
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Old 1st May 2020, 23:33   #35
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@RedTerrano, thanks for bringing out this very exclusive travelogue. Even though I was not feeling well, the story excited me and I read it in one go.
The first hand account from a third person's perspective and the one who experienced it presented a vivid picture of the history which I don't think any historian would have detailed. Also I was moved by reading the horrific deeds of the invaders & their local partners.
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Old 1st May 2020, 23:58   #36
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

@RedTerrano, I have been reading this thread non-stop since I started on it. Beautiful and humbling that we have an Indian narrative of those times that shaped our history.
Thank you for the tremendous effort you have put in to make this such a wonderful re-telling.For someone who loves history, it felt like I was there at the battle for Jhansi. Has to be the best thread I have read here, by a mile.
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Old 2nd May 2020, 00:10   #37
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

I can't thank you enough Red Terrano. Even a zillion times of thanks would be insufficient. You took immense pain and did lots of research to come out with this. I cannot stop myself from praising your writing skills. You made me live each and every moment as if I was witnessing the whole scenes.

You made me realise:
1) The piousness and simplicity of common people in the period.
2) Made me feel proud of Marathas
3) The respect and generosity the common and the royal people had towards Brahmins (pious people)
4) People could just live off some other persons generosity (dakshina) and still carry on with this epic journey.
5) People welcomed freely strangers in their house and allowed them to stay for substantial period.
6) How cruel the British were. And how our curriculum history books have nicely kept their brutalities away from us.
7) How systematic the British were in looting not only the royal people but also the common people.
8) How many of the Indians sided with the british otherwise it would have been difficult for the british a handful of white men to rule such a big country. Yes the british were smart and used their smartness in all the wrong ways for looting India.
9) Importance of being non-materialistic and humble.

The story was not just a travelogue for me but also a lot of learnings from the character of Vishnubhat.

Your pictures and the geographic locations made the narration more realistic. Again many thanks. I feel indebted to you!
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Old 2nd May 2020, 02:48   #38
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

Awesome thread compiled by you from the book written by Vishnubhat. I read it in one go!
You have also added extra posts about how the Rani of Jhansi was in the end defeated by the EIC which enhanced the way the thread was composed.
I was glued to this thread till the end.

There is a lot of controversy why the Holkars and Scindias supported the British during the first war of independence.
Also lot of atrocities were done by both sides. One of them was Seige of Cawanpore. I guess this is well documented as the Britishers lost lot of their folks here.

I have few queries while reading the whole thread. Never understood their motive to reach Kalpi from Jhansi. Was it that the Yamuna river will take them down easily to Kashi?

And going from Chitrakoot Dham to Brahmavart via Banda, it's kind of going in opposite direction to Kashi right? Or they were just going to Brahmavart for recuperation?

Quote:
Originally Posted by RedTerrano View Post
Divine intervention

The resumed their journey and following the prescribed route, they eventually reached Banda.
Need a connecting thread between the motive of the duo to go back to Brahmavart.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RedTerrano View Post
Teertha yatra

The Godses stayed in Brahmavart till the end of Kartik month.
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Old 2nd May 2020, 07:10   #39
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

It's an epic travelogue and just goes on to show how much we have lost during the British empire reign in India. They say all of London was rebuilt after World War 2 with funds looted from India. Thank you for sharing it. It is an amazing way to start my day.
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Old 2nd May 2020, 08:52   #40
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

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Originally Posted by ThePatientMan View Post
I cannot even gauge the amount of time and dedication it must have taken you to analyse the century old notes & books.
I think some clarification is required.
Vishnubhat's original manuscript is in the safekeeping of Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, Pune. I do not have it in my possession, nor can I read Modi script (Learning Modi is on my todo list before I die though).
Vishnubhat's student, Chintamani Vinayak Vaidya, published it as Majha Pravas in the Devnagri script.
I have attempted to translate this into English.
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Old 2nd May 2020, 09:07   #41
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

Quote:
Originally Posted by rst89 View Post
I have few queries while reading the whole thread. Never understood their motive to reach Kalpi from Jhansi. Was it that the Yamuna river will take them down easily to Kashi?

And going from Chitrakoot Dham to Brahmavart via Banda, it's kind of going in opposite direction to Kashi right? Or they were just going to Brahmavart for recuperation? .
Vishnubhat's uncle Rambhat, had served the Peshwa in Brahmavart. In the whole north India, the only people they really knew were in Brahmavart.
This probably drew them there.

The Kashi yatra was not the original intent. When they set off from Varsai, they left with an intent to participate in Baijabai Shinde's Yagna, and earn dakshina to pay off debts. Kashi yatra and Ganga Kavad were ideas which materialised later on.
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Old 2nd May 2020, 09:16   #42
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

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Originally Posted by akshay_ritz View Post
It's an epic travelogue and just goes on to show how much we have lost during the British empire reign in India. They say all of London was rebuilt after World War 2 with funds looted from India.
This is technically not correct. The timeline is wrong.

The first war of independence was fought in 1857.
The loot was done by the East India Company. (Queen Victoria was a share holder in the company.)
In 1858, control of India was wrested away from EIC, via the Govt of India act, which was passed in the British parliament in 1858.
WW II ended in 1946.

But there is no doubt, the British (EIC as well as the crown) bled India right from the start. Even in WWII, Churchill diverted grain from India for the war effort. This was the root cause of the devastating Bengal famine of 1943, in which 3 million died of starvation and hunger.
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Old 2nd May 2020, 13:46   #43
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

As a history buff, I hadn't expected to read an Indian survivor's account of the mutiny. And that too, here in this forum!

Many salutations to Sri. Vishnubhat ji for penning one of the most detailed account, and to you, RedTerrano, for all the intention and effort taken to translate and share it with us.

Indebted indeed!

To me, this account of yours stands very high amongst all the travelogues and any amount of 5 star rating would still stand pale in comparison.
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Old 2nd May 2020, 14:28   #44
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Nice! I read this book many years ago and was instantly transported to a different era. Thanks for adding some pictures to the tale as well

The excellent English translation, by Mrinal Pande, is available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.in/1857-Real-Stor...8409821&sr=8-1)

Quote:
Originally Posted by RedTerrano View Post
I think some clarification is required.
Vishnubhat's student, Chintamani Vinayak Vaidya, published it as Majha Pravas in the Devnagri script.
I have attempted to translate this into English.
Wait- pardon me-but why did you need to do the translation? This is already done and widely available, right?

Last edited by Chetan_Rao : 5th January 2022 at 16:08. Reason: Merged consecutive posts.
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Old 2nd May 2020, 16:12   #45
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Re: Varsai to Kashi on foot : 1857-59

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Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks View Post
Wait- pardon me-but why did you need to do the translation?
Why would I need to go through the trouble? Because I can.
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