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 Siege of Jaisalmer It was the long, arduous siege and the war never seemed to end. The Maharwal's men stood on the ramparts of Jaisalmer fort, repulsing every attack by Nawab Mahboob Khan's Men. Days become months. Summer slowly gave way to a long and bitter winter. But every evening, as the sun went down in the western sky and the exquisite fortress glowed like gold in the tender dusk, the Maharwal and the Nawab would meet under the khaijra tree in no-men's land and start another battle - this time on a chessboard. For both of them were chess friends. A fter each evening's game, the two would share a goblet of wine and then return to their respective command posts to plan the war strategy for the next day. This carried on till the Nawab sought troop reinforcements from his headquarters at Ajmer and the Maharawal realized that he could no longer hold out. Before the day of surrender, the Maharawal sent a messenger to the Nawab, asking protection for his two young sons. The Nawab agreed without hesitation and honored his promise. But Jodha Rani, wife of the Maharawal, set herself a flame with 24,000 other women just as the Bhatti Rajputs came out, wearing the traditional saffron robes heavenwards, blood flowed like water; the battle field was covered with corpses. The Nawab's army, being large, won the war and the fort eventually fell in 1295. For two years the Nawab's men occupied the fort. But life in the desert did not appeal to the conquerors and one moonlit night they marched out quietly, leaving the fort barren and empty for many, many years. |