Nahan (Himachal Pradesh): At a time when family and personal values are losing their relevance, there are stories of incredible love and compassion between wife and husband from the past, which are well scripted in the pages of history and remain a source of inspiration for the future generations.
The story of a British couple keeps reminding people of the value of love and affection towards one another. This rare story is a part of the history of Nahan, a 400 years old town in Himachal Pradesh.
It is a unique love story which is so popular among the residents of Nahan even today.
A long wait of 38 years
During the British Raj, Lucia lived in Nahan with her husband Dr Edwin Pearsall in Nahan. Lucia’s husband Dr Edwin was the Chief Medical Officer of the Nahan Maharaj. Dr Pearsal served his Maharaj for nearly 11 years and on 19 November 1883, Dr Edwin died at the age of 50.
Impressed with his service, Maharaja buried Dr Pearsal in the northern part of the historic villa round with full military honours. This place had been chosen by Dr Pearsal himself. He had said that he should be buried here after his death.
At that time, the wife of British officer Lucia was 49 years old. Like Dr Pearsal, Lucia was also known as a kind-hearted woman and was quite popular in the state.
Unlike other British people of that time, Lucia did not return to England after her husband’s death. She also left her family members to stay back in Nahan.
In life and death
Lucia loved her husband and missed him dearly. In such a situation, she waited for a long time, 38 years to be buried next to her husband. Her moment finally came 19 October 1921, when Lucia’s long wait was over and remembering her husband, she breathed her last.
To fulfil Lucia’s last wish, Maharaj buried Lucia beside her husband Dr Pearsal’s tomb with honour.
The Pearsal couple lies in the Catholic cemetery located in the historic Vila Round, graves filled with architectural art, narrating the story of immortal love. The couple's grave attracts a lot of visitors from across the world.
While talking to ETV Bharat, Kanwar Ajay Bahadur Singh, a member of the royal family, termed the love story of this British couple as noteworthy and moving. He said that Lucia waited for 38 years after the death of her husband to be buried beside him.
As per the last wish, the Maharaj buried Lucia next to her husband’s grave. He said that the graves of this couple still tell this love story and also attract people from across the country and other parts of the world.
Dr Pearsal leaves his mark on town planning
Kanwar Ajay Bahadur Singh says that Dr Pearsal was the Chief Medical Officer of the princely state. He was also the chairman of the city council of Nahan then. The idea of underground drainage in Nahan was also given to the king by Dr Pearsal. The biggest thing is that no street in Nahan town ends at a dead end. All the streets have two ends, which meet somewhere and connect with each other. These streets were also designed by Dr Pearsal.
Local resident Jitendra Thakur says that this is undoubtedly a wonderful love story of the British couple, from which everyone needs to take inspiration.
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