Chetawani ra Chungatia is a collection of 13 couplets, composed in Dingal (Old Rajasthani language) by the revolutionary Freedom Fighter and litterateur, Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath. This poem was composed in the present day District of Udaipur (erstwhile Mewar State) in Rajasthan.
In the year 1903, Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India, held a Durbar in Delhi to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII as the Emperor of India. All Indian kings including the Maharana of Udaipur, Fateh Singh were invited to attend the ceremony at Delhi. Maharana Fateh Singh agreed only reluctantly to join the Durbar after Curzon himself travelled to Udaipur to convince him. When Barhath and other freedom fighters of Udaipur got to learn of Maharana’s decision, they were greatly angered. Barhath composed the revolutionary poem Chetawani ra Chungatia which described the glorious history of his ancestors, who had never submitted to any external authorities at any cost. Maharana Fateh Singh had already left for Delhi by the time the poem was finished. One his compatriots Gopal Singh Kharwa rode day and night on horseback to reach Delhi on time and handover the poem to him. The Maharana was greatly moved by this composition and returned to Udaipur without attending the Darbar.
Chetawani ra Chungatia remains one of the great vernacular literary works to be produced during the freedom struggle. Kesari Singh Barhath continued to fight for the freedom of India unceasingly till his demise in 1941.
Source: Indian Culture Portal