Chittorgarh

This mountain fortified city encapsulates many threads of the romantic and terrible Indian heritage. These almost impregnable walls have housed nearly 100,000 people at various times in the last 15 centuries. Chittorgarh sits in the path of clashing and mighty religions and marauding civilizations. But it has changed hands relatively few times because of it's defensible position. "There are eleven water reservoirs within the walls" says our guide. As it turns out, these reservoirs are as big as lakes and more than 22 meters deep. There are hundreds of temples within the walls - Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Jane. Great gods out-stare each other across the reservoirs. One in particular looks out of the Hindu temple to Shiva the destroyer. The dark visage stares through fresh paint and burning incense. The temple is very much alive today and we line up with sari-wrapped women to pay homage. This city is home to tales of valor and romance that dwarf the poor bard Shakespeare. Here is where Sultan Allauddin Khilji laid siege to the city for many months in order to capture the beautiful Rani Padmini. Eventually, he offered a truce if he could only see her face. A complex system of mirrors was built to bar him from seeing her face but to allow him to view her reflection. What he saw moved him to treachery. Ultimately, this city is the site of three massive immolations in which women threw themselves into fire rather than be violated by conquering armies. In Rani Padmini's case, 13,000 women joined her on the funeral pyre.

Rani Padmini sat on the steps of this harem in the middle of a lake within Chittorgarh for Allauddin's pleasure. We test the viewing mirror and there sits a sari-wrapped woman in the exact spot!
We watch a beautiful light show at sunset from the Chittorgarh ramparts.