Patiala ,My city

Some years back I was brought by the destiny to settle in Patiala,a beautiful city dipped in colours of bygone era of Princely grandeur. I had never been to this city prior to my job . In 1986 I came here and was impressed by the royal touch and simple not too fast life. Though ,now lot has changed here like most of the cities . Patiala is also marching ahead along with the time and pace. Definitely the things which I love the most was here, to catch my imagination and fancy . The unique culture of this city is a epitome of Royal taste of people, rich cultural heritage and Historical importance ,which this city has inherited. Let me share some of the splendid facts that had impressed me.

My Glimpses of the city - I

Introduction
Patiala is a city which is a house of Former Chief Minister of Punjab Capt. Amrinder Singh , (Congress) and Minister of State for External affairs ( Govt. of India ) Smt. Parneet Kaur. Who is the wife of Former Chief Minister of Punjab Capt. Amrinder Singh .
Patiala district has an area of 3625 Sq. kms. was the 5th largest district of the Punjab (area wise) after Ferozepur, Amritsar, Sangrur and Ludhiana as per 2001 census . Punjab is divided into four regions geographically, know as Malwa. Majha, Doaba and Puadh. Patiala district falls in the region of Puadh and standard dialect spoken in the district is known as Puadhi. The dialect of Patiala is basically Punjabi language, the distinguishing character of this dialect is very large extent influenced by Hindi.
Patiala district is a rural district , having an overwhelming 65% lived in rural areas and only 35% lived in urban areas.
After the partition of India in 1947, a large number of refugees from west Punjab came and settled in Patiala district. The single largest group of refugees was from Bahawalpur. Apart from this, a good number of them came from Gujjranwala and Sheikhpura. ( in Pakistan )
Later by 1950’s the Sikhs and the Hindus constitute as the major communities in the Patiala district. The Sikh form majority of 55% of the population while the Hindus form 42%, the remaining being the Christians, the Muslim, the Jains and the Buddhists.

History of Patiala

Patiala, is an erstwhile princely state, situated in North India . It was capital of PEPSU and also a district headquarters of Punjab are situated in the Malwa region of Punjab ( India ). lineage some of is city goes back to the ancient and early medieval period. Patiala is not a very old city, it is only a little more than two centuries old.

In the 18th century, the political scenario changed as the Mughals saw their downfall and disintegration this created a vacuum , which was successfully filled up by the Sikh Misldars in Punjab by thwarting the designs of both the Marathas and the Afghans. One among these independent principalities of the Sikhs was that established by Baba Ala Singh at Patiala.
Story of Founders of Patiala state is mixture of a myth mystery and reality.The family claims descent from the Bhatti founder of Jaisalmer, Jaisal. His third son Rai Hem, he had carved out a small principality for himself around Bhatinda and Bhatner. His successor in the fourth degree, Khiwa, who was forced to move to Kot Ladwa, where he married a girl from the Jat Basehra caste, against the clan traditions of the Rajputs. The Mughals appointed his descendant Mehraj in 1526. He continued his reign until Phul, the Sikh ancestor of the dynasty, which came to rule over Patiala, Jind and Nabha. The rulers of the erstwhile states of Patiala, Nabha and Jind trace their ancestry to one Chaudhary Phul. The name of dynasty 'Phulkian' is derived from their common founder. His son Chaudhary Ram Singh, was a baptised Sikh was blessed by Guru Gobind Singh the Tenth Guru of Sikh Religion .Later on his son Ala Singh assumed the leadership of the clan in 1714 A.D. It was when Banda Singh Bahadur ( desciple of Guru Gobind Singh, his name was Madho Dass,he was a Vairagi sadhu and used to wander place to place ,before he was baptised ,He was a Rajput by birth * ) was engaged in the fierce struggle against the Mughals to avenge the injustice meted to Guru Gobind Singh and martyring of his four sons and torturing his mother to death , Baba Ala Singh. was a man with vision and courage he fully supported Banda Singh Bahadur in his mission to do justice with Sikh Guru and religion . Who in his persuit, conquered and destroyed the seat of Nawab Vazeer Khan of Mughals regime at Sirhind ( Now Distt. Fatehgarh Sahib ,Punjab.) Nawab Vazeer Khan had martyred Guru's two minor Sahibzadas (sons) by burying them alive in the brick wall .
Patiala was carved out as an independent principality by Baba Ala Singh from a petty Zamindari of 30 villages. Under his successors, it expanded into a big State, touching the Shivaliks in north, Rajasthan in the south and upper courses of the Jamuna and the Sutlej. Baba Ala Singh, unlike other contemporaries, had courage and shrewdness in dealing with the Mughals, Afghans and Marathas, therefore successfully established a state which he had founded and nourished bit by bit with its nucleus at Barnala.
Baba Ala Singh laid the foundation of the Patiala fort which is known as Qila Mubarak,,in 1763. around which the present city of Patiala was built. In 1761 After the third Battle of Panipat the Marathas were defeated, the Afghans supremacy prevailed throughout Punjab, Ahmad Shah Abadali bestowed upon Ala Singh drum and banner as the rulers of Patiala supported and helped him in his adventure . After death of Ala Singh, his grandson Amar Singh, succeeded and received the title of Raja-i-Rajgan. It is at this stage that the rulers of Patiala began to acquire symbolic royalty . He also issued coins and seals of his regime . The Borders of Patiala witnessed the onslaught of mighty Mughals, Afghans and Marathas, and later of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in the north and that of the British in the east
The Raja of Patiala entered into a treaty with the British against Maharaja Ranjit Singh important Ruler of Punjab in 1808, thus becoming collaborator in the grand empire building process by the British in, the sub-continent of India. The rulers of Patiala such as Karam Singh, Narinder Singh, Mahendra Singh, Rajinder Singh, Bhupinder Singh and Yadvindra Singh were favoured by the British.
It was during the rule of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh (1900-1930) Patiala state got a prominent place on the political map of India and, also in the field of international sports He himself was lover of cricket and also participated in Tournaments in India and abroad . He was a visionary and great lover of Art he constructed most of the buildings with splendid design and architectural structure . Yadvindra Singh was among those Indian princes who, readily came forward to sign the Instrument of Accession, thus facilitating the process of national integration. In recognition of his services, he was appointed the Rajpramukh of the newly established state of PEPSU by Government of India .
• The city was designed and developed according to a very good plan . Close to Qila Mubarak were the Mohallas of the Khatris, Aroras, Baniyas along with the big Havelis of the nobility . In the heart of the city was the seat of the king similar to the house of the deity and the residential areas of communities developed almost status-wise. Close to Qila Mubarak were the Mohallas of the Khatris, Aroras, Baniyas along with the big Havelis of the nobility,
• The Hindus of Sirhind (Punjab) were the first settlers of Patiala were the, who opened their business establishments outside the Darshani Gate.
• The lower caste got settled on the peripheral areas of the Patiala city now known as Chur Majris.
• Dharampura Bazar was one such in Patiala, which was frequented by the ruling elite.
• Patiala had a unique drainage system . A open drain "Nallaha" was running through the prominent localities which Was well connected and used to drain out rain water to avoid water logging .
* In the late nineteenth century, the ruling class having been granted huge Jagirs became rich and started constructing huge mansions with sprawling lawns.
• Leela Bhawan was one of the such very popular places , Which now has become a busy business center.
• Some of the buildings are now in a very depleted & shabby condition, stand as mute evidence of that feudal glory.
• Maharaja Narendra Singh (1845-1862) fortified the city of Patiala by constructing ramparts and ten gates around the city. However ,some of these gates have been demolished to facilitate the flow of traffic some have crumbled due to non maintanence, However some have been renovated and rebuilt . Sherawala Gate, Nabha Gate ,Lahori Gate , Sirhindi Gate , Sunami Gate , are some of these well known gates . They formed the grace and prestige of the city of Patiala.
In addition to this, I will be bringing new details of this city in this blog very shortly . I also request the readers to give your views and suggestions.