Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chhatri Cremation Ground
Kantilal took us to the Chhatri (cenotaphs) cremation grounds, founded by Rao
Khengarji I; a dynasty that ruled over Kutch in 1548. This royal cremation ground contained
memorials to former rulers, their consorts, warriors, and managed to survive intact until the
2001 earthquake. The Raolakha Chhatri was the oldest, largest and most elaborate of these
memorials until then, but is now reduced to pieces. A stone tablet commemorates him, and
his
15 consorts
.
Quite a few ornate cenotaphs still stood. A stone block with two footprints that, despite
Kantilal's explanation, I still don't understand. Beautifully decorated exterior walls, and even
a few suttee stones, completely unlike the suttee handprints I'd seen in Rajasthan. Instead of
little red handprints, there was a stone with an
arm
on it that signified this particular woman
had committed suttee. “
Suttee,”
is an act performed by a Hindu widow who is willingly (or
unwillingly, from what I've read) is cremated on her husband's funeral pyre to show her de-
votion. Eewwww....
Photographs were allowed in the cremation ground but no video. Tomorrow, we'd head into
the far north permit area, closer to the Pakistani border.
