Page 201 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

UT T AR PR ADESH & UT T AR AKHAND  199

exact replica of the Jama Masjid
(see p90) in Delhi, only one-third
its size.

a Jhansi
Jhansi district. 301 km (187 miles) SW of
Lucknow. * 1,998,603. £ @
n Regional Tourist Office, Hotel
Virangna, (0510) 244 1267. _ Jhansi
Ayurveda Festival (Feb). ∑ up-
tourism.com/destination/jhansi
Ramparts of Jhansi's Shankar Fort, stormed by British forces in 1858
Most famous for the role that its
queen, Rani Lakshmibai, played as it was then known, witnessed centre. Northeast of the church,
during the Indian Mutiny of 1857, some of the bloodiest battles in Sati Chaura Ghat along the
Jhansi is a key transit point for 1857. More than 1,000 British Ganges, is the spot where Indian
vis itors travelling from Delhi to soldiers and civilians were killed forces killed 500 British soldiers
the temples of Khajuraho when Nana Sahib, the Maratha and civilians. The Military
(see pp240–42). The main site of ruler, broke the British siege held Cemetery on the edge of the
interest is Shankar Fort, built in by General Sir Hugh Wheeler cantonment has many interesting
1613 by Raja Bir Singh Deo. It in June 1857. When British graves, while in the town, the
has 9-m (30-ft) high walls built reinforcements arrived, equally King Edward VII Memorial Hall
in concentric rings around its ferocious reprisals occurred. and Christ Church (built in 1840)
centre, and offers fine views. Today, Kanpur is an industrial are also worth visiting.
The Archaeological Museum, city with leather, cotton and oil
located outside the fort on the as its main products. The old Environs
road back to town, has medieval garrison, now an enclave of the Bithur, 25 km (16 miles) west of
Hindu sculpture, royal artifacts, armed forces, has some interest- Kanpur, boasts a fort built by the
and some prehistoric tools. ing relics of the Raj. Among Peshwas (see p475). It is also the
them is the All Souls’ Memorial legendary birthplace of Lav and
E Archaeological Museum Church, a grand Gothic style Kush, the twin sons of Rama
Tel (0510) 233 0035. Open Tue–Sun. structure with an intricate and Sita (see p31). About 60 km
Closed 2nd Sat. & Extra charges for stained-glass window over the (37 miles) south of Kanpur, lies
video photography. west door. Built after 1857, it is a the beautiful 5th-century brick
memorial to those killed during temple at Bhitargaon, built by
the siege. East of the church, the the Gupta kings and the only
s Kanpur pretty Memorial Garden has a one of its kind still surviving. Most
Kanpur district. 79 km (49 miles) SW statue of an angel surrounded of the relief panels on the temple
of Lucknow. * 4,581,268. £ Kanpur by a Gothic screen. This statue have vanished, but some terra-
Central, (0512) 232 8170. @ Chunni originally stood at the site of a cotta sculptures inside remain.
Ganj, (0512) 253 0646. terrible massacre, where British
women and children were
One of British India’s largest hacked and thrown down a
garrisons Kanpur, or Cawnpore, well near Bibighar, in the town’s
Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi
India’s Joan of Arc, Rani Lakshmibai single-handedly defied the
British, when her husband, Raja Gangadhar Rao, died in 1853,
leaving no adult heir. She wished to rule as Regent, but the
British invoked the infamous Doctrine
of Lapse (see p57), and she was driven
from her kingdom. While the Indian
Mutiny of 1857 brewed in the north,
the queen and her general, Tantia
Tope, captured Gwalior Fort. She
died defending it at Kotah-Sarai near
Gwalior in 1858. According to the
historian Christopher Hibbert, “she
died dressed as a man, holding her
sword two-handed and the reins of
Rani Lakshmibai astride her horse in her teeth”. She remains
her horse one of India’s best-loved heroines. Stained-glass windows of All Souls’
Memorial Church, Kanpur

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