King Hemu’s ‘haveli’ set to get a facelift

Ravinder Saini

The famous ‘haveli’ of Hindu emperor Hemchandra Vikramaditya, popularly known as Hemu, at Qutabpur village in Rewari district, has been lying in a dilapidated condition for the past several decades. However, its fate is going to change soon. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a Delhi-based NGO, working for heritage awareness and conservation across India, is working to develop it as a museum of medieval war equipment and memorabilia pertaining to the emperor. 

The ‘haveli’ that is under renovation nowadays is one of the 10 most important ‘endangered heritage structures’ in India declared by INTACH over 20 years ago. According to historians, it is part of ‘Ravala Dhusran’, a cluster of 15 to 20 ‘havelis’ inhabited by a Dhusar Brahmin clan that migrated from ‘Dhosi hills’ near Narnaul around 850 AD. They were stated to be the ‘purohits’(priests) of Delhi rulers Kumarpala to Prithvi Raj Chauhan. 

These priests built the ‘haveli’ over 1,000 years ago but it is known as ‘Hemu ki Haveli’ because he lived here for 15 years from 1515 to 1530 and pursued his studies. Actually, Hemu's sister was married in Qutabpur village and she resided in the ‘haveli’ from where Hemu started the business of supplying cannons and saltpeter used as gunpowder to Afghan King Sher Shah Suri with the help of which Suri managed to defeat Mughal emperor Humayun and forced him to move back to Kabul, says the historians. 

“The ‘haveli’ has a unique architecture and a combination of many building materials was used in its construction. Hemu used to import cannons and saltpeter from Portuguese, who were well entrenched in south India and Goa, for supplying to Sher Shah Suri during 1530s. He introduced colonial architecture to new constructions on the first floor of the ‘haveli’. These are probably the oldest colonial designs in North India that were introduced even before the British arrived in India in 1600. Constructed with Lakhori bricks, the designs were picked from Vatican Basilica and Lady Immaculate Church at Panaji in Goa,” says Sudhir Bhargava, Rewari district convener of INTACH.

Bhargava says that this two-and-a-half storeyed fort-like structure of the ‘haveli’ was made of uneven black stones available at Kund mines in Rewari district while lime mortar was used in 30-inch thick outer walls. Roofs have the support of wooden beams, covered with wooden planks and lime mortar. For security reasons, the entire ‘haveli’ had no window. Constructed according to ‘Vastushastra’, the ‘haveli’ has several deceptive basements that have not been explored thinking these to be tunnels, he adds.

The ‘haveli’ has been in a shambles for the past several decades till INTACH started renovating it. Its doors and wooden planks of roofs have been stolen. Lime plaster on outer walls has peeled off at most of the places, especially in the lowest 10 feet because of weathering and dampness. The basements constructed in many rooms, which would have been used to store gunpowder, have also been damaged due to water seepage. The roofs of most of the rooms and courtyards have caved in because their wooden planks and beams have rotted. 

“The ‘haveli’ has 12 rooms and four courtyards on the ground floor. Nine roofs need replacement. Five of them have already been replaced while the remaining roofs will also be renovated, repaired or replaced soon. Different technologies were used in the construction of the ground and first floors and better use of western methods is apparent on the first floor. On the ground floor constructed some 1,000 years ago, no room or courtyard is wider than 7.5 feet and all have been built with uneven black stones. For roofs ,wooden planks of half-cut trees have been used as beams. However, the first floor has an extensive use of Lakhori bricks and two halls of 21x21 feet have been constructed with square wooden beams and walls carrying colonial motifs,” says Bhargava.

He says the state government has been indifferent towards their demand of renovation of this historical monument. Successive governments had for the past 20 years promised to help in its renovation but nothing was done. INTACH saw the opportunity and came forward to preserve the ‘haveli’. 

 “A delegation of INTACH had taken up the issue with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during his visit to Rewari on May 18, 2017. The Chief Minister had then asked the Rewari Deputy Commissioner to prepare a proposal for the renovation of the ‘haveli’ but an endless wait for government support continues. Another delegation of INTACH members from the Narnaul and Rewari chapters had also met Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma in Delhi for financial grants for the repair and maintenance of monuments in the two districts,” says Bhargava. 

He adds that the Union minister provided grants for the renovation and conservation of historical monuments in Rewari and Narnaul but the state government yet again ignored this ‘haveli’ while chalking out a plan to utilise the grants. They even met officers of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Delhi and Chandigarh several times and requested them to get these structures declared as protected monuments by the Central government or the state government, but with no positive results. 

Bhargava says, “The ‘haveli’ will be converted into a museum of replicas of medieval war equipment and memorabilia relating to Hem Chandra Vikramaditya on the pattern of the Battles of Panipat Museum in Panipat that has a very few displays relating to this forgotten warrior king. The entire history of Hem Chandra will be explained through videos and display boards. His 22 battles and the areas won from Punjab to Bengal will be depicted through maps. The museum will help students in further research in the history of Hem Chandra of medieval time that propagates only Mughals and Afghans. Since it’s a costly project, INTACH will collect funds from industries under their CSR scheme”.