Traveling is good
He was accurate in his calculations. But, did he calculate the value of a heritage that was lost forever? Imagine a Shekhawati after another 50 years. Will it then be able to be termed as “Open Art gallery”?
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The all-India favourite dish called “पानीपूरी” (a flatbread filled with water) was also prevalent in Shekhawati. It has retained its charm over the masses because of its tangy taste and mouth-watering recipe. Many a times, this street food had to face the wrath of the puritans
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लखनऊ में हैं आप और बड़ा इमामबाड़ा नहीं देखा तो ऐसा ही है जैसे आगरा जाकर ताजमहल ना देख पाए हों या दिल्ली में होकर भी इंडिया गेट नहीं देख पाये.
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We had hot Pyaj ki Kachauri, Mirchi Bada & Anjeer Shake. Specially, my son liked the shake very much. Although, our plan has been just for snacks, but food was so rich that it gave us feeling of lunch. Total expense was just Rs. 120 for 2 & half people.
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इमामबाड़े की दूर तक फैली सीढ़ियां तथा बाईं ओर शाही बावली और दाईं और नायाब मस्जिद के चित्र तत्कालीन वास्तुकला की भव्यता का सजीव चित्रण कर रहे थे. मैंने जूते उतारकर इमामबाड़े …
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Such passenger-carts had generally flat open surfaces on top so as to accommodate many passengers. I can think of only one plausible reason for such open carts, which can be attributed to the basic structure of our rain-based agrarian economy. As the people were busy during the rainy season, it prevented the mass from travelling from one place to the other in that season. But, just for the sake of fun, let’s imagine the scene of a drawing room of any transporter of 18th-19th Century. Their discussions on selecting the best model of the passenger-carts might have revolved around the durability of their design, availability of open space for carrying more number of people with their respective luggage and the probable cost of travel.
The bigger challenge, however, is to guess the complex mechanism of pricing their so-called “tickets”. How to fix the charge or the cost of travel, when the eating habits and the quantity of edible food of the animal differed from one transporter to another!
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In medieval period, the inhabitation in Shekhawati was in the form of walled cities having gates at different directions. The role of the ruling royalty was to give protection to the citizen living under their dominions. Similarly, the role of the business families was to trade and pay taxes to the royalty for the maintenance and protection of the cities. However, the administrative structure was changing fast.
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स्टेशन के प्लेटफार्म नंबर दो पर मैं रणकपुर एक्सप्रेस का इंतज़ार कर रहा था जो समय से आधा घंट ही लेट थी (थैंक गॉड) | मेरे साथ कुल 10 सहयात्री रहे होंगे जिसमे से एक 4-5 स्टूडेंट्स का ग्रुप था | मैं अकेला बैठ सोच ही रहा था की किसी से कुछ वार्ता वगैरह शुरू की जाये तो समय पास हो पर सामने के जीआरपी रूम के खुले दरवाजे से एक पुलिस वाले द्वारा एक पतले दुबले युवक को पीटने की झलक मिली | अब किसी को ट्रेन की फ़िक्र नहीं रही और सभी लोग भिन्न भिन्न एंगल बनाकर दृश्य को देखने की कोशिश करने लगे |
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Part I was about mysteries of Bhangarh Fort – based on prevalent notions (online and otherwise), which have endeared a relatively unknown Bhangarh to…
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The Aravallis cut across Jaipur and Sekhawati regions in North Rajasthan. The climatic conditions in the region are very harsh and extreme, ranging from sub-zero Celsius in winter to more than 50°C in summer. People of this region are known for their bravery and hard work and it is a fertile breeding ground for Jawans in Indian Army! Two districts of modern day Rajasthan, i.e. Jhunjhunu and Sikar can administratively be considered as the constituents of “Sekhawati” region. However the Churu district is equally important as the Sekhawati dialect is also spoken here and famous painted Havelis and Forts are omnipresent in all these three districts. The Haveli was to Banias, what the Fort was to Rajputs, an abode.
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Mr. Polu, fifteen years ago, was an auto driver who helped the tourists around the Jaisalmer town. His warm and helpful nature always made the tourists stay with him. During off-season, one French couple visited Jaisalmer and he chauffeured them. They asked him, what would be his plan for the future? His simple answer was that ‘I want to own and run a hotel’. That couple didn’t buy a property for him, but searched a guest house for him. Gave $2000 as a security deposit for that property and asked Mr.Polu to run that and asked him to carry on his friendly nature.
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It was gradually becoming more interesting. Though the guide could address many of my curiosity, I was still left with one more. I knew that 150-200 years ago, the motorized transportation had not begun with full swing. People used to travel on foot, on dolis, on animals etc. So, I wanted to know about their provisioning in the havelis.
“Where did they keep their horses, carts and elephants? And what were the facilities for their maintenance?” I asked. My guide took me to an open space, adjacent to the main mansion. It was the place for facilities like keeping domestic animals. There were also the rooms for servants or animal-keepers. This area was also equally decorated with frescoes. There he said, “This is called “नोहरा”. It was here they kept their cattle and other domestic animals. The means of transport like horse-carts or camel-carts were also kept here only.”
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