The Stipple Master

A youthful prince charming, clad in a yellow jama, which is a belted tunic, holds a goad, which is like an emblem of strength, in his hand to control his elephant. His attendant sits behind him, holding the royal insignia, a flying whisk, which billows in response to the velocity with which the elephant is running. The best part is that the prince of Mewar, Amarsingh, is himself the mahout for the day. Maharana Amarsingh (1550-1620) was a lone warrior, almost a forgotten hero, who protected the independence of Mewar. Unfortunately, people forgot his incessant resistance to the vast Mughal Empire and his ability to protect Mewar from the Mughals.

The picture painting showcases the height of heroism, where Amar Singh of Mewar seems to carry the entire burden of combating the strong forces of the Mughal Empire.

Nitin came to his grandpa, who was relaxing in the home garden outside their home. Grandpa was reading the newspaper. Nitin wanted to borrow it to check the release of the movie RRR in the theater near their home. He had gotten the reviews of the movie from his friends and classmates. Being a big fan of history and its anecdotes, Nitin wanted to book tickets for the entire family, including his grandparents as well. As he disclosed this to his grandpa, he observed that his grandpa seemed to be interested in watching the movie. As they kept talking about the movie plot hearsay, grandpa started talking about many great warriors of our country from North to South and East to West of India. As they were in Kota, the desired topics would be connected to their own region, obviously.

After a lot of discussion, the topic about real heroes in history shifted focus to Maharana Amarsingh of Mewar by chance. Nitin had no idea about him, and when he expressed this to his grandpa, he got to hear so much about him. His grandpa started saying that Maharana Amarsingh was the eldest son and successor of Maharana Pratap Singh of the Mewar Dynasty. Maharana Pratap Singh made his son swear to him in front of his chiefs to maintain the fight against the Mughal invasions and re-conquer Chittorgarh from the Mughals. From his childhood days itself, Amarsingh was a constant companion and support to his valiant father's toils and troubles against the Mughal invasion. He proved to be a great warrior in the battle of Dewair, wherein the young Amarsingh was able to kill the Mughal commander in charge, Sultan Khan.

Nitin was listening spellbound and was trying to imagine how difficult it was for the Indian kings and queens who dared to fight their lives out against the British Empire and the Mughal Empire as well. For a moment, he felt so proud of his country and countrymen. He felt the same feeling would run through his mind and body when he would be watching the movie RRR that evening. This thought brought a wide smile to his face. His grandpa was happy that his grandson was sharing the same feelings of feeling proud about the great warriors of our country. It was the great sacrifices of these great souls that India became independent. Nitin asked his grandpa to continue talking about Amarsingh and his achievements. Grandpa continued, saying that Amarsingh had fought many battles against the Mughals, especially against both Akbar and Jahangir. Being a dutiful son, he did this as he wanted to keep the promise he had made to his father. Amarsingh reached a breaking point, which was unfortunate after the attack led by Shah jahan that caused much damage to life and property in Mewar. Temples and other religious places were vandalized. Nitin wanted to know what vandalism means. His grandpa explained it as destroying any property belonging to society and that too of a particular community. In the final interest of his community, state, and people, Amarsingh finally managed to sign a treaty of peace with the then Muslim ruler Jahangir, putting all types of misery and destruction to rest.