Reasi
Reasi
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The story of Reasi
K D Maini,The story of Reasi "Daily Excelsior" 10/7/2016
The Name of Reasi is derived from the first Raja Raspal of this area, who had shifted from Bajalta to this place. At that time this place was a cluster of some houses. Raja Raspal converted it into a township and named it as Rasyalsi after his name. With the passage of time this named changed from Rasyalsi to Reasi.
Later on the name of this town was extended to the whole principality. Earlier this area was known as Bhimgarh principality which was established by Raja Bhim Dev in 8th century AD.
Reasi got the status of District in 1904. However, in 1950 the status of Reasi was reduced to tehsil and the area was merged with district Udhampur. Reasi again became the district in 2007 which was carved out from district Udhampur. Reasi is 72 Km from Jammu city located on the northern side. It is predominantly a hilly district surrounded in the east by district Udhampur west by Rajouri in the southern side by Jammu and in the north by Ramban while a part of Reasi is touching the boundaries of district Shopian on the northern fringes. Chaneb is the major river flowing through the district while there are number of streams like Ans, Plassu, Ban Ganga etc.
The Reasi district is known for Shri Mata Vashino Devi University located at Kakrial (Panthal). A cancer hospital unique of its nature in the state is coming up in this university. Katra is an important town and center of religious tourism because the famous Mata Vashino Devi shrine is 13 km from this town located in Trikuta hills. Katra is linked with railway line. This railway track will be extended up to Reasi, Khouri, Surakote through Sangal Dan, Banihal and finally it will link with the valley. The highest railway arc bridge in the world is under construction near Khouri. This shrine is an important pilgrimage center where more than one crore pilgrims visit every year from all over India and abroad to pay obeisance. Shiv Khori is another important Shrine which is about 42 km from Reasi in the south western side. It is a renowned cave of Lord Shiva. A big mela is organized at this shrine on the eve of Shivratri festival which continues for three days. The Dera of a great Saint and Soldier Baba Banda Singh Beragi is also located in Reasi, who was a warrior and General of tenth Guru Gobind Singh ji and fought number of battles against Mughals in Punjab. The Shrine of Baba Jitto is also located in Reasi area. Baba was a spiritual devotee of Shri Mata Vashino Devi and was a great social reformer. He sacrificed his life for the right of farmers by fighting against the Jagirdar Bir Singh because the land lord had denied him to give committed share of agriculture products cultivated by Baba Jitto. The Zairiat of Baji Ismile near Barakh is an important Muslim Shrine of Reasi. The famous warrior General Zorawar Singh had resided in Reasi near Vijaypur and his old Haveli still exists in the locality. The Bhimgarh fort is situated on the top hillock near the entry of town spread over 3 acres lands. Initially it was constructed with mud Later on this fort was reconstructed with stone masonry by Raja Rashipal Rana. The repair of this fort was started in 1817 by Gulab Singh of Jammu on the orders of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The repair work was completed in 1841. Most of the construction work took place under the supervision of General Zorawar Singh who was the care taker of this area on behalf of Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu. It is one of the strongest forts constructed in Jammu area. The town is built on the flat area on the foot of the mountains. As per C. E. Bats, the author of the Gazetteers of Kashmir, a route from Reasi was leading towards Konsarnag Lake in Shopian District which was originally known as Vishnu Paadh (the foot of lord Vishnu). The Hindus of Reasi crossed the pass and visited Konsarnag to have a dip in the lake and offered prayer. Salal Hydro project is not only a big power generating station but an attractive place of the district which is 15 km away from Reasi town and surrounded by mountains and natural vegetation.
As per Tarik Dogra Desh of Narsing Dev Nargis, Reasi was a small Jagir among 22 principalities of Jammu province before 1846. The ruler of Reasi originally belonged to Udhaypur Mawar. One prince of royal family of Mawar Manuman due to family rift had migrated from Mawar to Jammu and joined the service of Raja Joj Rai of Jammu in 317 AD. Keeping in view the family background Manuman was granted few villages as Jagir by Raja Joj Rai. After Manuman his 17th decedent was Raja Baja Dev who established Bajalita, a village near Jammu. He was having three sons Sheshpal, Devpal and Raspal. They revolted against the Raja of Jammu. Raspal left Bajalta and settled in the foot hills of Mata Vaishno Devi. He established a village on the left bank of Chenab River and named it as Reasi principality in 13th century AD. Raspal and his decedent ruled Reasi for centuries together. With the passage of time Salal, Gulabgrah and Akhnoor also came under the ruler of Rajas of Reasi. Later on Raja Hari Dev of Jammu extended his state towards mountainous areas and captured Reasi. He banished Rasial Rajas from Reasi Principality and nominated his third son Jaswant Dev as Raja of Reasi. Jaswant Dev was the younger brother of Raja Gajay Singh of Jammu. Therefore Jaswant Dev preferred to stay at Purani Mandi Jammu instead of Reasi. He deputed his governor to rule Reasi. The son of Jaswant Dev was Mean Rattan Dev who was a warrior and General of Ranjit Dev of Jammu. After the death of Rattan Dev, his son Jung Bahadur Singh and grandson Diwan Singh ruled Reasi principality which comprises of Salal, Gulab Garh, Reasi etc. During this very period Mean Mota tried to revolt against Jeet Singh. Mean Diwan Singh and the wife of Jeet Singh Rani Bandralta killed Mean Moota. Therefore the forces of Maharaja Ranjit Singh arrested Mean Dewan Singh and taken him to Lahore while Reasi Jagir was handed over to the officers of Mean Gulab Singh. Mean Gulab Singh immediately reached Reasi. The public of Reasi accepted him as their ruler. At that time Mean Bhoop Dev, the son of Mean Dewan Singh was in Arnas. He revolted against Gulab Singh. Gulab Singh chased him and Captured from Salal fort. But Bhoop Dev escaped from his custody and rushed towards Lahore. In the meantime Gulab Singh laid the foundation of Bhimgarh fort and entrusted the construction of the fort to Dewan Amir Chand and left for Lahore.
As per Tarik-e-Jammu, Gulab Singh captured Reasi in 1817 AD. Bhoop Dev who had escaped from Salal fort also reached Lahore. After some efforts he got his father Mean Dewan Singh released from Lahore Prison. Then both the father and son came to Reasi, assaulted on Bhimgarh fort but the defenders under the command of Wazir Zorawar Singh compelled the aggressors to retreat from the premises of the fort. Gulab Singh was again deputed by Lahore Darbar for the arrest of Mean Dewan Singh and his son Bhoop Dev. Gulab Singh reached Reasi. But Dewan Singh and his sons went to Lahore and attended the Darbar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh with an application of Mafi Nama. Maharaja excused them and sanctioned some monthly pension in their favour. Later on Dewan Singh died in Lahore. However his Son Bhoop Dev again revolted but was arrested and kept in a Prison. In the meantime Maharaja Ranjit Singh was on the death bed in 1839, he passed orders for the release of Prisoners. In this process Bhoop Dev was also released and given a Jagir of few villages in Pathankote area by Maharaja Kharak Singh. In 1839 Bhoop Dev died in Lahore.
After the disturbance by Lahore Darbar, Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu became the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir in the light of pact between British Government, Punjab Darbar and Gulab Singh on 16th March 1846. Reasi principality was then dissolved in newly created state of J&K. In 1850, Maharaja Partap Singh, the grandson of Maharja Ranbir Singh was born at Reasi. In those days Reasi was a prosperous town with unique Phari culture. In 1904 Reasi attained the status of a District and the erstwhile Rajouri principality of Jaral Rajas was merged with District Reasi. In1950 the status of Reasi Wazarat was reduced to Tehsil by the emergency Government of Seikh Mohd Abdullah and became a tehsil of District Udhampur. In 2007, Reasi again got the status of District.
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Ramlila in Reasi
Romesh Mengi,Ramlila Reasi "Daily Excelsior" 18/10/2015
“Lankesh bta tujhe main kis shaan se maarun, thukraun ya jakhmi karun ya jaan se maarun. Talwar machaltii hai ki main katoon sir uska, kahti hai kamaan vo nahin main baan se maarun, Lankesh bata tujhe main kis shaan se maarun.”( Lord Rama Dialouge)
“Uthte nai hai haath kaelga v hai jal raha , aaj tak shtru par aai na daya , savav badla ya parsa kaat kaat ke sunn ho gya , lagta nahi pata karn hai iska qya”( Parshuram famous dialogue from Sita sayambar scene )
Ramlila at once brings into mind vivid pictures of painted faces, rich costumes, masks, lights, music, and dance. Basically full-fledged entertainment! It also brings along those lovely childhood memories when a Ramlila organized in the locality would be the most exciting happening of our life. It reminds of those days, when daily chores would be quickly dealt with before dusk, so that no scene of the parody is missed. When families would sit huddled together and applaud at every chest-thumping dialogue of Lord Hanumana , Lord Ram, Parshuram and others . When being chosen to play the role of “Parshuram” would elicit utmost reverence from friends , family and others. When Dussehra would be eagerly awaited, for the simple reason that it would be Ramlila time once again!
Ramlila , literally “Rama’s play” , is a performance of the Ramayana epic in the form of a series of scenes that include song, narration, recital and dialogue . It is performed across the whole of northern India during the festival of Dussehra , held each year according to the ritual calendar.
Ramlia is India’s most famous theatrical experience. Historically, this staging of the Ramayana is based on the Ramacharitmanas, one of the most popular sacred text of Hindu religion. Ramacharitmanas was composed by Tulsidas in the sixteenth century. Each day features readings from the Ramayana; in most places plays are presented depicting scenes from the Ramayana story, sometimes on a grand scale
The festival of Ramlila centers around Lord Rama (the Hindu god) and his life as a mortal being on the earth. The ideal human character Rama, is an ideal son, brother, friend, husband and king. Rama accepts a fourteen years exile to enable his father to fulfill his pledge to one of his queen Kakayi. Rama spends a simple, pure and arduous life in deep forest. His life in the forest is full of hardships. His wife Sita is abducted by Ravana in the forest. Rama then gathers an army of monkeys to fight Ravana. He crosses the sea to reach Ravana’s kingdoms and fights to save his wife. After fourteen years he returns to his kingdom Ayodhaya, people celebrated his arrival with lights all around Ayodhaya.
During Ramlila, this story of Rama’s life is enacted to mark his victory over Ravana and his return to his kingdom. The central theme is ”the victory of the good over the evil”. During its performance the Ramayana is constantly recited accompanied by music. It presents a fine blending of music, dance, mime and poetry before an enthusiastic and religious audience sharing every event of the story with the actors. The Ramlila ends on Vijaya Dashami – the day of victory when Rama defeats the Demon King Ravana. The drama is enacted by young boys and the play ends with Rama shooting burning arrows towards the effigies of Ravana (containing fire crackers) which catches fire and burns marking the end of the evil-Ravana.
The Ramlila brings the whole population together , without distinction of caste , religion or age . The play is also characterized by the spontaneity with which all the locals participate, playing roles or taking part in all kinds of activities involved in the performances, such as making the masks, costumes, doing the the make up, effigies , lights,etc
In families that have traditionally been engaged in these performances, the young members are no longer keen to take over because of the lack of artistic recognition and the limited remuneration. The growth of the mass media and social media , particularly television soap-operas, is leading to a reduction in the normal audience for the Ramlila plays, which are therefore losing their main role of bringing people and different communities together.
The festival of Ramlila ends with Dussehra. It is performed across the whole of northern India during the festival of Dussehra. These Ramlila shows are very popular in Reasi, Udhampur, Jammu and almost all parts of Jammu division.
Established in 1890 in Reasi, the Durga Natak Mandli Reasi has been consistently staging Ramlila all these years at Reasi .
With the efforts of the members, the club has maintained the essence of that period without losing its originality. Carrying on the legacy, not only the club has maintained the legacy of founding fathers but has also been passed on to the third generation.
“The make-up has changed from a hand-made zinc base to now branded cosmetics, the script has also achanged, the total expenses on the event have increased from some hundred rupees to lakhs, today, the costumes have changed from long robes to quite trendy ones, and the rugs of those initial years have been replaced by chairs for the audience. Yes, the club has moved on with time but it has not lost its originality said Sanjeev Khajuria , president Durga Natak Mandli Reasi.
Bhagwan Rama teaches us:
- As a son: Respectfully and lovingly obey your father’s orders. Sacrifice your own comfort for your father’s dignity.
- As a step-son: Even when your step mother (or mother in law…) is not kind to you, even when she clearly discriminates against you in favor of her own birth child, do not resent her, do not fight against her. Respect her and her wishes.
- As a brother: Remain loyal to your brother. Care for him.
- As a husband: Protect your wife. Fight for her protection and her purity. But there are times when one’s divine path must even take precedence over the path of householder. Do not keep the role of householder as the ultimate role.
- As a King: Sacrifice everything for your people. Do not worry about your own comfort, your own convenience or your own pleasure. Be willing to put the Kingdom ahead of your own needs.
The last one should be understood by our leaders.
Let us pledge this time on this auspicious occasion to be the best we can be…steadfastly adhering to the tenets of our faith, and instilling those same moral and spiritual values to ourselves and childrens, respect every women …………
Let us conclude with a famous line
Apne zehen me RAM ko zinda rakhiye,,
Yu putle jalane se RAVAN nahi marta…
