One Day He Is Celebrated As The King Of A 100 Villages, Next Day He Is Making Rotis At His Roadside Dhaba

Baman village, 30 km from Agra, celebrated the birthday of their 50-year-old king, Jwala Singh, on the last day of Navratri on Thursday. But there is a twist in the plot: Jwala Singh, king for a day, works at a roadside dhaba for the rest of the year.

According to residents of Baman, dominated by Chauhans, this tradition of celebrating the king's birthday is around 150 years old. Singh, who earns a daily wage of just Rs 100-150 at the dhaba, becomes the king and, clad in royal attire, a white gown and a pink turban, astride a horse, heads out in a colourful procession around the village. 

Singh's forefathers, say villagers, were the real kings, but time took away both kingly authority and wealth. People from nearby villages, too, make a beeline to get the blessings of the king and follow all his orders for a day. 

Raja Ki Baisi is all about tradition

Mitthan Lal Sharma (88), the family priest of the king said that all the villages which come under what locals call the 'Raja Ki Baisi' area treat Singh as their king. This year, as per tradition, the priest made the arrangements for the day and performed the traditional rituals for the king at the temple of Ashawari Devi, the royal family's goddess. 

"We could not manage an appropriate band party this year because all the bands were booked for Durga Puja. The king was angry with me because I could have booked them in advance," Sharma said. 

The village children took the blessings of the king, who offered them paan in return. The children then listened to the teachings shared by the king and the priest. The ceremony ended in the evening with villagers giving gifts to the king, in the form of clothes and money. 

The history

Talking to TOI, Singh informed that his great-grandfather had come to Agra around 150 years ago and formed a kingdom known as 'Raja Ki Baisi', now divided into dozens of villages with a total population of more than a lakh. "He developed this area. When my grandfather Balwant Singh became the king, he donated acres of land to Brahmins, Jatavs and every caste, as did my father, who left barely a few bighas of land for his 16 cousins and sons. The Chakbandi system came as a demon for us and we lost all the land we had," recalled Singh. 

The eldest of all the brothers from the royal family, Jwala Singh has eight children and had to work really hard to run the big family. Poverty forced him to open a roadside dhaba. But here, as well, he behaves like a king and charges only for vegetables. "Raja roti khilane ke paise nai leta (a king does not charge for feeding rotis to people)," he added. 

Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, senior BJP leader, who has been attending the celebrations here since childhood said that the village was named Baisi long ago by a king but now there were more than a 100 villages in the area. "Most of the villagers are Chauhans but people from all communities, including Muslims, Jatavs and Brahmins live here and treat Jwala Singh as king," he added. 

"This mela is organized peacefully every year and we have never had any problems with law and order during the celebrations," said Etmadpur SDM PD Gupta. 

(Originally published in the Times Of India)