NAU-GAJA MEMORIAL, KUTEENA

 Nau-Gaja

A memorial built to show respect and gratitude towards the martyrs of war in 1880s between the villagers of Kuteena and King of Neemrana of that time.

Etymology –

This was named Nau-Gaja after the length of Pagari or Rajputi turban that is 9 guz (1 guz is 0.91 metres). It is considered as a symbol of huge respect among the community.    

History -

The head of village at that time was Shri Phool Singh Chauhan, retired from Bikaner Risala (Cavalry of that time). He began constructing a fort to secure the village from invasions. A courtier of Maharaja of Neemrana, namely Kalu Singh, originally from Kuteena itself, saw the construction and recited a mind-made story to him that the fort is being constructed to fight against the King and overpower him.

Maharaja, with his army, headed towards Kuteena (in 1880s). Villagers gathered and fought against them to stop the destruction. When the king was surrounded by soldiers of kuteena in the mid-war, he surrendered and asked for treaty negotiations. Then he was asked the reason of attack. When he came to know that Kalu singh was the culprit of the confusion and loss, he apologized for not verifying the authenticity of news and asked people to hand over Kalu Singh to him to punish him for his sinful deed. He tied Kalu Singh to his elephant’s leg and moved towards his palace. Kalu singh died at a small elevated sand dune area, now known as Kalu Singh ka Teeba, near Kankar ki Dhani. His body was left there and king sent compensations by providing more Jagirdari (land) to the people of Kuteena.

While, the villagers decided to build a memorial at the place of public gathering where in earlier days, Panchayat like gatherings were done. The memorial was built with a Pars (slightly elevated throne like the Takht on which Guru Granth Sahib is kept), with its head towards North direction unlike Muslim’s Peer or Dargah in India specifically (which faces west direction). It was named Nau-Gaja and people began worshiping it before every meeting or auspicious occasion to gain blessings of their elders and show respect towards them.

Tradition –

A white cloth also known as Chaddar of sawa do gaz, that is 2 and a quarter guz, is offered on the Pars at every auspicious occasion and major festivals like Holi and Diwali by the people of this village in the memory of Rajput martyrs of both the sides (in war). All that is offered is taken by a Swami of Kankar after worshiping the same.

Other facts -

Now Muslims also worship the place by offering cloth of white colour as per their belief considering it as one of their pir or peer as at current time they form a very significant amount of population in this area. They were also known as sakka from the name of their ancestors who used to work as Bhisti or water-providing helpers. Their ancestor namely Khaju Khan and his wife Joshana, were helped to hide from outrage of hindus at the time of partition by the village head at that time Shri Phool Singh Chauhan ji.