![]() ![]() Both Bhatt (whose manuscripts were present in front of me) and Bardai’s canonical poems shared the same feature of bardic literature: produced for an elite (upper caste) patron, transmitted as a part oral and part written text, and composed as a poem filled with vir rasa (heroic sentiment). Bhatt, in his own words, belongs to the tradition of royal bards such as Chand Bardai, who is credited popularly for composing Prithviraj Raso (or Rāso). While his words cannot be constructed as a reliable historical source on Prithviraj Chauhan and his explanation for some communities using the “Chauhan” last name can be contested, what they indicated was the imagination of the idea of the legendary Rajput ruler. According to him, Rajputs in the Delhi belt started using the last name “after” Prithviraj Chauhan became famous for his bravery. He, however, started the conversation with reprimanding me for using my surname “Chauhan “and not my correct gotra name “Bhal”. As the traditional genealogy and record keeper, he was in possession of some rare family trees from my village. ![]() In a search of the history of my own family and village, an urban village in Delhi – Khirki village – I had ended up at the doorstep of Nathuram Bhatt in 2018 in his village near Sonipat, Haryana.
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