It
is said that the Brij Raj Bhawan Palace has the ghost of Major
Charles Burton which still resides in the palace, and is still active
in the mansion. In 1857, the palace was a British Residency and
residence of Major Charles Burton of the 40th Bengal Native Infantry.
He lived in the palace with his family (a wife, four sons in their
early adolescence, and a teenage daughter) for 13 years.
At
the outbreak of the rebellion in May, 1857, Major Burton was summoned
by the British General commanding the nearby Neemuch cantonment, with
the Kota troops lent by the Maharaja of Kota. His family accompanied
him to Neemuch. On the battlefield, the Neemuch garrison revolted and
destroyed the cantonment before fleeing the station. The Burtons and
other British families escaped to the small fortress of Jewud, where
his eldest son was in charge. Burton, with his family lived there
till October, 1857, when the Maharaja of Kota requested for his
homecoming. Burton accepted the request, and returned, accompanied by
his two younger sons, Arthur, 21, and Francis, 19, while his wife and
other children stayed back.
On
December 13, 1857, the Burtons arrived at Kota. They were treated
kindly and all seemed peaceful. However, couple of days later, Major
Burton saw a large party approaching the palace. In a moment, the
soldiers who had mutinied, surrounded and entered the building.
Except
a camel-driver, all the servants abandoned. Major Burton and his two
sons took refuge in an upper room below the terrace with the few
weapons and waited for help to arrive from the Maharaja, while the
house was looted below them. After five hours of firing, Major Burton
wished to plead with the mutineers for the lives of his sons,
offering himself as a hostage. But his sons would not agree. They
then knelt down and said their prayers.
Their
final plea to free the boat on the river to let them escape went
unanswered. The mutineers ascended to the terrace and Major Burton
and his two sons, who had retreated to the room below, were murdered.
The Maharaja of Kota managed to recover the bodies and have them
buried the same evening. But he himself was now a captive in his
palace surrounded by his own disloyal troops. Kota was recaptured by
the British in March, 1858. The bodies of the Burtons were excavated
and buried in the Kota cemetery with full military honors.
The
plaque (now missing since 2002) on their grave reckoned the manner of
their deaths and concluded chillingly: "This
tablet is erected by a broken hearted wife and mother Vengeance is
mine, sayeth the Lord, I will repay".
Two years later, Jai Dayal and Mehrab Khan, who led the attack on the
Residency, were hanged within the grounds of the palace.
According
to the tale, an elderly man with a walking stick in his hand, the
ghost of Major Burton does not harm anybody. But during his night
patrol, if any of the guards are sleeping or dozing, Major Burton
gives them a slap on the cheek.
Charles
Burton’s ghost still haunts the old building and susceptible guests
have complained of distinctly "discomforting
and tyrannical feelings".
In the 1930’s Iris Portal came to Kota with her father who had been
loaned by the Government of India to the Maharaja of Kota to do a
land settlement in the state. At the age of 17, she was spending the
Christmas at the Old Palace, which had been turned into a state guest
house. She was given her room in the first floor, which had one side
with four isolated entrances, including one from an upstairs balcony
and two leading from the roof where the Burtons had made a last
desperate stand. That night was one of cold fear for Iris Portal, who
had been too frightened to sleep. The next day, she requested her
mother to remove her to another room.
It
was not until she returned to Delhi that Iris Portal learnt the story
of the Resident and his sons, who it seems in 1857, had descended
from the roofs and were killed in the room she had stayed.
After
Independence, the mansion became the private property of the Maharaja
of Kota. Ask the staff and they will tell you that in the still of
the night, an English voice has been often heard by the drowsy
chowkidars (watchmen)
to say, "Don’t
sleep, no smoking"
followed by a sharp slap. The ghost of Burton still patrols the
mansion.
The
fact that the ghost of Major Burton was active in the 1980’s —
has also been stated by the then Yuvrani (Crown Princess) of Kota. As
quoted by Ann Morrow in her book "The Maharajas of India",
the Yuvrani stated "As
far as we know, he (Major Burton) is an elderly man with white hair
and a walking stick. I have seen him myself, because he was murdered
in the first floor bedroom, which is now my study. The trouble with
Major Burton is that he never goes off duty. He wanders around the
palace and if he catches a servant asleep, gives him a quick slap on
the cheek. He is the only restless soul around in summer, when it can
be like furnace in Kota".
But
today, as a heritage hotel, in order not to scare away ‘business’,
the staff are reluctant to discuss Major Burton with guests, although
under promise of anonymity, they agree that his ghost is very much
"alive" in the mansion.
Related Post: Brij Raj Bhavan Palace, Kota, Rajasthan
No comments:
Post a Comment