Makrai is a village in the Harda district of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, India. The village was the headquarters of the Makrai

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

History

According to legend the Makrai princely state was established in 1663 by

Raj Gond The Gondi (Gōndi) or Gond or Koitur are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group. They are one of the largest tribal groups in India. They are spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pr ...

Raja Karkat Rai in the 16th century. It later came under the administrative authority of the

Central India Agency The Central India Agency was created in 1854, by amalgamating the Western Malwa Agency with other smaller political offices which formerly reported to the Governor-General of India. The agency was overseen by a political agent who maintained ...

until 1933, when it was transferred to the

Bhopal Agency The Bhopal Agency was a section of British India's colonial Central India Agency, a British political unit which managed the relations of the British with a number of autonomous princely states existing outside British India.Great Britain India ...

subdivision of the

in 1933 from the

Central Provinces and Berar The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the Central Provinces with the province of Berar, which was territory leased by the B ...

. In 1892, it covered an area of and had a population of 16,784. The state's rulers were of

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

lineage and bore the title ''

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

''. After Indian independence in 1947, the rulers of Makrai acceded to the Union of India, and the principality was incorporated into the state of

, which in turn was created from the former

. As of 2012, the titular Maharaja of Makrai is Raja Ajay Shah, born on 21 January 1956, married on 20 May 1986 and crowned on 21 December 1987.Makrai (Princely State)
/ref>

Culture

Makrai stands on a hill near the Sayani River and is noted for its dense forests. One well-known location is Nagjhiri and Devjhiri, a small natural well in the bank of the river through which water flows throughout the year. Other notable places include Mankameshwar Mahadev situated in a cave, Sule Baba Ki Tekri or the Hill Of Sule Baba is known for its tribal God and is the highest, coolest place in Makrai, the Bunred Palace ''(Mahal)'', Kaidi Ki Babdi, from where prisoners carry water from the river to the top of hill to supply the state. Here, Nathji used to worship the gods Bhilat Dev and Shiv Ji. There were two noted '' melas'', where villagers and local tribes gathered to celebrate ''

Shivratri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...

'' and the eve of ''

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

''. Another well-known mela, the month-long ''Bhilat Dev'' is organised every year near Sirali in Malapur. Before the mela starts, the Nathji (

Pandit A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...

) go barefoot and carry ''tippara'' (made from bamboo and used to keep the cloth of God) on their heads from Khudia (the new provincial Village) to the Tapti River Bank Betul district - a distance of about , to wash their worshipping cloths then return the same way over a fixed period of seven days. In a tradition that has existed for hundreds of years, during the journey people from the villages wait for the tippara on a fixed day and thereafter organize a mela.

References

{{Narmadapuram Division States and territories established in the 1850s Hoshangabad district