King for a day....

Hmmm...it has been some time since I last blogged. But I think I will make it a regular habit now...At times one bumps into things that are so unexpected yet amazing.

Like the other day I was driving down NH(National Highway)-24. The road is fantastic and the drive smooth. The mild rays of the sun and the pleasent weather was a welcome break from the hot and humid Indian summers. It was then that I noticed a monument just off the road near Indirapuram. As I was in no hurry and am generally interested in history- I decided to check it out.

The monument turned out to a be a silent witness of one of the stories that most of us would have heard when young- The Story of the Bhisti (भिश्ती) King.
Story has it that when Mughal King Humayun was defeated by the Afghan king Sher Shah Suri and was running for his life, he fell in a river and was about to drown when a waterman saved his life. The desolate king asked him to choose a reward for himself. The waterman replied he would tak the reward when he felt the need. Days passed into months and months into years Sher Shah died at Sasaram in a gunpowder explosion and Humayun was able to recapture the throne at Delhi. It was then that the Bhisti came to the imperial cort and asked the mughal (mogul) for his reward. What he asked for left everybody stunned and shocked. The waterman wanted to be The King Of India!!- thankfully only for a day.

More shocking was Humayun's response- a nonchalant yes!!!

Hence, Humayun stepped down and the waterman formally ascended the throne and the writ of a waterman ran across the breadth and length of the country for 24 hours. It is rumored that the waterman also issued coins made from leather to signify his rather short lived reign!!

It is this waterman's grave that I saw on NH-24. The tomb has a canopy charetceristic of the mughal period and is made of redstone. It has not been preserved at all and the signs of decay are evident. The locals refer to the grave as the resting place of pir baba ( godman, colloquial hindi).

It is nice place to visit ...given the trivia....so go on if you happen to pass that way pull over to take a look at the tomb of the One day King!!