The inception of the kingdom of Dhundhar (later the princely state of Jaipur) is ascribed to Dulha Rai, who is remembered as the progenitor of the Kachwaha dynasty of Rajputana. His career and rise to power is deeply linked with the district of Dausa and its principal seat of power, the enigmatic Dausa Fort. Details of his life and achievements (late 10th-11th Century), however, remain a murky subject, while his family background and its history are also topics which are largely unexplored till date.
This is due to the lack of first-hand information of the early medieval period in which the events of his life transpired. In his debut novel Dulha Rai’s Conquest of Dausa: The Early History of Kachwahas, which is published by Rupa Publications, Maharaj Devraj Singh—the grandson of Jaipur’s last ruling Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II, and his wife Maharani Gayatri Devi—pieces together various clues and analyses historical records in an attempt to narrate the history of his ancestors in the centuries prior to their move into Rajasthan when they were known as the Kachaphaghatas of Gwalior and Narwar.
Born in Bangkok, Maharaj Devraj Singh of Jaipur graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in business administration and hospitality management in 2003. In 2006, he completed his master’s degree in international development studies from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok. He then worked for the late King of Thailand’s The Chaipattana Foundation for two years, and was involved in various rural development initiatives. He later moved to Jaipur to care for his ailing grandmother towards the closing months of 2008, and after her passing in July 2009, he decided to stay back in the city. We speak to Maharaj Devraj Singh about his latest book and more. Excerpts from the interview.
What was the inspiration behind writing this book?
Having studied IGCSE and IB History, subjects I always enjoyed, I would have liked to have read history, archaeology, or historic conservation at university. However, life took a different turn, but history was always a topic which I enjoyed as a pasttime. My non-history enthusiast friends would often fall into a state of languid stupor as soon as I would touch on the subject, though, thankfully, the history buffs would find our discourses engaging.
Since your work is inspired by ancient texts, there must be an extensive amount of research involved...
In studying the history of Jaipur, I was rather dissatisfied that the early period, especially the part concerning the founding story of Dhundhar Raj, seemed inadequately explained. I, along with many others, knew that the history of this family must certainly go back further than Dulha Rai, but perhaps for some reasons, the true history of this family was not brought forward, beyond A History of Jaipur, which my grandfather had commissioned in the early 1940s. About 70 years after that book was published, I visited the castles Dausa and Ramgarth, which respectably served as the first and second capital of Dhundhar (as Jaipur state was known), I became more intrigued with the early history of the clan. I strongly felt that the founding of Dhundhar deserved a more thorough investigation and thus, started doing my own research gathering all available materials over the years. In the mid-2010s, I also began working on the manuscript.
What can a reader expect from this release?
Readers would not only get to learn about the founding of Dhundhar, but also about the environs and culture of the early medieval era, a lesser-known period (for non-historians) that is sandwiched in between enigmatic but popular ancient India and late medieval India, which is amply documented and read. I also take a critical look at James Tod’s version of events, which he penned down over a hundred years ago, which from the medieval and Mughal period are quite authentic. The stories he heard and penned down from the earlier periods however, are based largely on oral accounts of the various peoples he encountered in Rajasthan, each of whom had their own version of what transpired based on what each community wanted to convey.
Another insight which readers may gain is the fantastic history of imperial Kanyakubja, which for over 500 years was the principal seat of power in north India, long before the rise of Indraprastha (as Delhi was known). This history of the Gupta empire, particularly with regards to their influence in eastern Rajasthan and the forgotten domain of Gopaksetra, is also included. It is only through the study of how the Gupta period ended and its effects on the political scenario and climate of north India that one would be able to appreciate the history of the Kachaphaghatas, as Dulha Rai’s family was known at the time. Lastly, I wrote about the sites of antiquarian interests, which I visited during my historic survey of Dausa. It is my sincere hope that readers would gain some insight into this lesser-known epoch from this book and for history enthusiasts (may I dare say) some enjoyment in doing so.
Apart from writing, what other interests do you have? Also, what next?
History is far from being my main and only interest, I am therefore starting to consider what the next project should be about. Oddly enough, my close family and friends have suggested I venture into historical novels, which to me seems more of a challenge than non-fiction writing of which I rather enjoy reading. Having settled most of my court cases in India at the beginning of 2022, I now hope to explore other parts of India, which is by all means an unending learning process, which would also inspire me for my next project.