Pictures: Virbhadra Singh cremated with full state honours; son Vikramaditya’s ‘raj tilak’ done

Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service
Rampur, July 10 

Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh was cremated with full state honours at a Rampur crematorium in Shimla district on Saturday afternoon.

 His son Vikramaditya Singh performed the last rites. 

People from all walks of life bid a tearful adieu to their “Raja” who for them was neither a chief minister, MP or MLA but their revered family elder to whom they could turn to in adversity, big or small.

A pall of gloom descended this princely town on July 8 when their revered Raja Bushahr left for his heavenly abode. A sea of humanity, especially from Virbhadra’s hometown Rampur and Rohru, which he represented in the assembly on five occasions, Kinnaur where the original seat of the Bushahr princely state was located, turned up to catch one last glimpse of their leader. 

As his body lay in the Darbar Hall of the Padam Palace, where he spent his childhood, people wept with many fainting and others consoling and comforting his wife Pratibha Singh, a former MP.

An emotional Vikramaditya Singh, his son and political successor whose raj tilak ceremony was performed on Saturday morning making him the titular king, struggled to hold back his tears seeing the affection showered on his father and the family. 

Vikramaditya succeeds as 123rd scion of the Bushahr state 

It was a somber occasion as the priests chanted mantras while performing the tilak ceremony (coronation) of Vikramaditya Singh (31), son of Virbhadra Singh, who today succeeded his father to become the 123rd scion of the Bushahr princely state. 

The ceremony took place in a small room adjoining the Darbar hall of Padam Palace at around 8 am. The brief ceremony was completely a private affair, away from public and media glare in a closed door. Barring Vikramaditya and his wife, no other member of the immediate family was allowed to enter. Virbhadra’s wife Pratibha Singh, his daughters and close relatives sat outside in the Darbar hall where the body of the Raja was kept for people to pay their homage. Alongside his body was the silver hand crafted throne, the gaddi, which was used till the time of Raja Padam Singh, Virbhadra's father who was the last ruler of Bushahr. The ceremony was performed in the family after a span of almost 74 years, as Virbhadra himself was crowned in 1947 at the age of 13, after the demise of his father Raja Padam Singh. Close family circle people said Vikramaditya himself was against the raj tilak, while stating that India is a democracy where such titles do not exist. However, on the insistence of old timers, the ceremony was held. 

Heart wrenching scenes were witnessed as people bid final adieu to their “Raja” as the bajantris (traditional instrument players) played soulfully.

A sea of humanity turned out to get a last glimpse of Raja Bushahr as he departs on his final journey, donning his trademark green velvet Bushahri cap, as he lay calm as stream of admirers offered floral tributes. The grounds outside the “Padam Palace” were packed to capacity as the people arrive to bid an emotional final adieu to their beloved leader

Being hospitalised for the last three months, as

he battled covid twice, they feared for the worst but when the unfortunate news actually came, the enormity of the loss they had suffered finally sank in. Slogans like “Raja nahin fakir hai, Himachal ki takdir hai” and “dekho-dekho, kaun aya, sher aya- sher aya” rent the air. Holding flowers, garlands and scarves, people, old and young, men-women and children struggled to catch a last glimpse of their beloved leader who stood with them through thick and thin. 

The gloom and despair was writ large on every face, synonymous with the grief of having lost their most loved family member. 

All shops and commercial establishments in the market, below the imposing “Padam Palace” have remained closed for the last three days. Life has come to a standstill with the feeling of loss of a family member making the pain unbearable.

“I lost both my parents almost a decade back but with Raja Sahib around I never felt despair or the absence of elders but with his death I have actually been orphaned. Whom will I turn to if ever I am in trouble,” said quite a weeping Nirmala from Urni in Kinnaur with tears trickling down her swollen red eyes. Every person present in the precincts of the palace, pouring out on the roads had a story to tell about Raja Sahib’s magnanimity and compassion. 

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