Chetavani ra Chungatya (Devnagari: चेतावणी रा चूंगटिया; transl: The Pinches of Admonition or Urges to Awake) is a patriotic Dingal poem composed by Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath in 1903 and addressed to Maharana of Mewar, Fateh Singh, exhorting him to uphold the traditions of his lineage and to not attend the Delhi Durbar. The couplets had the desired effect on the Maharana who decided not to attend the durbar despite being present in Delhi. The work remains one of the great literary works produced during the freedom struggle. It consists of 13 stanzas or sortha (saurashtra-duha).
Background
Sources:
Invitation
The Delhi Durbar of 1903 was held to celebrate the succession of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra as Emperor and Empress of India. At the same time, the capital of British India was shifted from Kolkata to Delhi. Lord Curzon had obtained the consent of almost all the kings, nawabs, feudatories, and vassals, except the Maharana of Udaipur (Mewar), to appear in the Durbar.
In response, the Maharajas of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Sirohi, Kota, Bikaner, etc., appreciated the invitation & expressed joy & gratitude. Udaipur, however, received it coldly due to the treaty of 1818 b/w Mewar State and the British. Lord Curzon went to convince the Maharana to attend the Delhi Durbar, which he eventually agreed to do with conditions: first position among the native rulers of India, exemption from the procession, and a seat in keeping with his status.'
The main concern of Maharana was the potential compromise of his claim to precedence over all other Indian princes. Thus, it was assured that "due consideration would be given to his dignity" and his place would be first in the order of precedence among all the ruling Princes of India.
The Counsel
The general opinion of the nobles and the people in the Mewar State was against the Maharana's decision. Even many nobles and chieftains from outside Mewar State were disheartened at the news. Some of the them gathered and requested Thakur Kesari Singh Barhath to find a solution to this predicament.
Kesari Singh Barhath of Devpura (Shahpura), earlier chief advisor to Fateh Singh, consulted Rao Gopal Singh of Kharwa to dissuade Maharana from going to Delhi. Thakur Hari Singh of Khatu, Thakur Karan Singh of Jobner, Rao Umrao Singh, Sajjan Singh of Khandela and Thakur Bhur Singh from Malsisar joined in. Everyone agreed that to uphold Mewar's pride, Fateh Singh should be reminded of Rana's traditions, pride and honor. These discussions took place at Malsisar thakur's haveli in Jaipur.
Rao Gopal Singh suggested that in critical times such as this in the history of Rajputana, the Charanas have always given the right guidance through their eloquent speech. Hence, Kesari Singh was entrusted with this task, who composed a poem of thirteen sorthas, hearing which, everyone present there were very impressed. They were certain of the effectiveness of these sorthas (couplets) that if conveyed to Maharana in time, he would give up the idea of attending the Durbar.
The purpose of the poem was to convey to the Maharana that it was derogatory to his dignity and beneath his status to attend the Durbar, and would impair the prestige, which he enjoyed among the Rajputs and the Hindus of India.
Delhi Durbar-1903
Rao Gopal Singh Kharwa had taken the responsibility of delivering these couplets to Fateh Singh in Udaipur, titled Chetavani Ra Chungatia. However, by the time he arrived, Fateh Singh had departed by train. Despite this, Zorawar Singh, younger brother of Kesari Singh, was prepared and delivered the couplets in hand to Maharana at Sareri (Bhilwara) or Nasirabad railway station en route to Delhi.
Rao Gopal Singh writes in a letter to his nephew Khet Singh, "Kesari Singhji, a devotee of Kshattra Shakti, composed a couplet addressed to Maharana Saheb. At that time, Maharana Saheb had left for Udaipur by a special train. This couplet was then presented before Shri Darbar at the Nasirabad station, where he stated that if he had received these couplets in Udaipur itself, then he wouldn't have left. However, he would only deliberate on the matter after reaching Delhi."