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Their independence and colour make a lasting
impression on anyone who beholds their wooden carts and kilns. The
Gadia Lohars are the legendary Blacksmiths from Rajasthan.
The colourful Gadia
Lohars of Rajasthan are perhaps, the only nomads who have their
origins shrouded in legend. It is said that their ancestors who were
blacksmiths to the army of the Rajasthani chieftain Rana Pratap Singh
of Mewar, moved from place to place with him, manufacturing weapons
for the army. When Rana Pratap’s army was defeated at the
battle of Haldighat in 1576, the Gadia remained loyal to him,
following him into the forests to which he fled, skirmishing with the
Mughal army in a long drawn out struggle that continued even after
his death. After the fortress of Chittor, the capital of the Mewar
kingdom, fell to the Mughals, the Gadia Lohars took a vow never to
return to their homeland, and never to settle anywhere else until the
Rana’s hegemony was restored.
Yet for all their
wandering, the Gadia are unmistakably Rajasthani. One only has to
look at their features, and their upright postures to recognize this
fact.
Small Lohar groups can be
seen on the outskirts of any large city in the north where they live
in small settlements centered around their beautiful carts. Low mud
walls enclose each cart, demarcating a place of residence but not
ownership. Even their name—Gadia—originates from the
bullock carts which are their homes. Gadia Lohar, literally meaning
metal workers of the bullock carts.
Notice a Gadia settlement
and you will see lithe laughing women in swirling skirts, often with
mirror studded garments and silver jewellery glittering as they go
gracefully about their business, bending to kindle a small fire in
the most casual fashion or working a pair of bellows with practiced
ease. Their men, tough and sturdy, lounge beside the makeshift
smithies, occasionally getting to their feet to work alongside their
wives. The children play in the dust beside the clutter that
surrounds them.
It is a hard life yet
despite the vagaries of weather and the uncertainties of their trade
they are a handsome and cheerful lot, and remain buoyantly dignified,
unmindful of their hard life. They breed cattle, sharing and selling
the milk, and in their tiny smithy they forge various soft iron wares
needed in our daily life. When the weather turns hostile, they
spread sheets of plastic or tarpaulin over their mobile homes, taking
shelter within. During winter, thick patchwork quilts protect them
from the chill of the nights.
A tribe of happy and
upright people, the Gadia remain children of the desert committed to
braving the hazards of nature and environment.
BRAVE BISHNOIS
The Bishnois are known as
the conservationists to whom the preservation of animal and vegetable
life is a religion and has been so from the early 15th
century. Their spiritual mentor, Jambeshwarji was a wise ecologist
and it is a result of his religious teachings that the Bishnois have
continued to protect their environment.
When Jambhoji was 25
years old, a great drought swept over Rajasthan. The people, driven
by desperation and hunger hacked the trees and began killing deer and
other animals. It was at this point that Jambhoji realized that the
indiscriminate cutting of trees and killing of animals could only
mean the end of all existence. No human or animal life could survive
on land bereft of vegetation. It was Jambhoji’s dream to see
the land covered by trees. He offered the people protection if they
followed some very simple principles he laid down. Almost 90 per
cent of the farmers of this region gladly accepted the 29 principles
he laid down. (Bees –twenty, noi—nine was
how this sect came to be known.)
Predominant among these
was the preservation of trees and wildlife. Over the years, the
Bishnois grew in number and spread to other regions. But no matter
where they went and how prosperous they became, they followed the 29
principles very strictly.
The Bishnoi women with
their attractive attire, silver trimmings and some of the most
gorgeous jewellery—heavy nose rings, earrings, bangles and
anklets and solid, chunky necklaces—are an attractive sight. In
contrast, the Bishnoi men are usually dressed in spotless white
shirts and dhotis with loosely tied white turbans.
Some Bishnois who were
killed protecting the trees are buried in Khejrli where a simple
grave with four pillars has been erected. In 1980 it was decided to
honour their memory by planting 363 new khejri trees around
this spot every year. And every year, in September, Bishnois from
various parts of the country congregate here to offer their prayers.
The entire ceremony, the
tree plantation, the gathering of so many beautifully dressed women
and impressive men and a trip to the Bishnoi huts can be an
unforgettable experience.
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