Rupeshwari Kumari Singh’s published recollections offer a personal window into Kullu’s royal household and its relationship with the valley’s best-known festival. Her story connects family history with the continuing traditions of Kullu Dussehra.
For readers exploring India’s former royal families, heritage often appears through palaces, genealogies and historical portraits. Personal writing offers another perspective: how that inheritance is experienced within a family.
Rupeshwari Kumari Singh provides such a perspective in her contribution to Rajputana Collective, published in October 2022. Introduced as “Dei Saab,” she describes Kullu Dussehra through childhood memories and household preparations. Her account is valuable as a participant’s recollection, rather than an independent history of the festival. Read her original account.
Her Connection to the Kullu Royal Family
The Kullu genealogy published by Rajput Samaj of UK lists Rupeshwari Kumari as the daughter of Tikka Danvender Singh and Tikkarani Ravija Kumari, and the granddaughter of Raja Maheshwar Singh and Rani Meera Kumari. It also records her maternal connection to the Bashahr family through Ravija Kumari.
This places her within a network of Himalayan royal families whose histories cross regional boundaries. These relationships should, however, be presented with attribution: the genealogy is a published community record, not a civil register or independently verified family archive. Source: Rajput Samaj of UK.
Remembering Dussehra from Within the Household
In her essay, Rupeshwari recalls childhood visits to the fair with her father and a daily festival allowance from her grandfather. Alongside those affectionate memories, she describes preparations involving invitations, ceremonial clothing and household arrangements.
She also remembers making barley-grass garlands with her grandmother, connecting this family custom with Nepalese Dashain traditions. These details bring attention to the domestic work surrounding a public celebration—the preparations and shared activities through which children encounter inherited customs. Source: Rupeshwari’s personal essay.
These photographs illustrate the festival setting. Neither is presented as a portrait of Rupeshwari Kumari Singh or a photograph of her family.
Why Kullu Dussehra Is Different
Kullu Dussehra begins on Vijayadashami and continues for a week, giving it a different rhythm from celebrations elsewhere in India. Its centre is the gathering of local deities in honour of Lord Raghunath.
The Ministry of Tourism traces the tradition to the seventeenth century, when Raja Jagat Singh installed an image of Lord Raghunath brought from Ayodhya. The festival includes a chariot procession, visiting deities, music and cultural performances. Source: Ministry of Tourism.
Himachal Tourism describes Lord Raghunath as the presiding deity of both the valley and its erstwhile royal family. That connection helps explain why the festival appears in family recollections as both a religious observance and a homecoming. Source: Himachal Tourism.
Reading Royal Heritage Through Personal Memory
Rupeshwari’s account can be read alongside these institutional histories, with each source serving a different purpose. Official descriptions explain the public festival; personal recollection reveals how one participant remembers belonging to it.
Neither perspective should replace the other. A royal household is one part of a celebration sustained by village communities, priests, musicians, devotees and organisers. Understanding Kullu’s heritage requires recognising those wider relationships.
Her contribution offers a useful starting point for that exploration: a named voice describing family experience within a continuing community tradition.
Explore more stories in our Royal History and Legacy collection and our coverage of India’s cultural heritage.
Sources & Editorial Approach
- Rajputana Collective: Kullu Dussehra with Dei Saab Rupeshwari Kumari Singh — first-person account, originally published 14 October 2022.
- Rajput Samaj of UK: Kullu — published family genealogy.
- Ministry of Tourism: International Kullu Dussehra — festival history and traditions.
- Himachal Tourism: Kullu — regional and religious context.
Researched on 5 November 2026. Personal recollections and genealogical information are attributed to their sources. Current occupation, marital status and other private biographical details are omitted because they could not be reliably established. Share a correction or additional source.
Leave a Reply