Tilu Rauteli

Tilu Rauteli was born in Gurad village in Pauri, the daughter of Bhupu Singh Gorla, a captain of the Garhwal kingdom. Raids by Katyuri chieftain Dham Shahi brought war to the region, and Tilu lost her father, her two brothers and her fiancé in battle.

At just fifteen, she took up the sword. Riding her horse Bindulee with her loyal companions Bellu and Rakki, she led the people in a campaign that won back fort after fort over several years.

The ballads say she was killed by an enemy soldier while bathing in a river, her weapons laid aside — the only way they could defeat her.

Garhwal remembers her as its own Rani Laxmibai. The state's highest honour for women, the Tilu Rauteli Puraskar, carries her name.