Rajasthan

The state of Rajasthan is a blend of the traditional and the modern, with somewhere a medieval ambience still lingering on. The heritage monuments and traditional costumes rub shoulders with modern infrastructure and luxuries. Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan is known as ‘The Pink City’ and is a treasure house of palaces, fortresses, monuments, museums, temples and gardens. The lakeside city, Udaipur, set in a valley surrounded by lush hills, is famous as ‘The Venice of the East.’ Jaisalmer situated in the heart of the Thar Desert, has a massive fort in yellow sandstone while Jodhpur lies at the foot of the soaring Mehrangarh fort. Jodhpur, Chittaurgarh, Bundi, Bikaner and Bharatpur all have a long and colourful history resounding with sagas of valour and heroism.
The Dargah of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, at Ajmer, Brahma Temple at Pushkar and the stunning Jain temples at Ranakpur and Mt. Abu are holy places in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan’s nature reserves cover a broad spectrum with habitats ranging from the verdant and hilly Mt. Abu to the arid desert wastes of Thar. Some of them are Sariska Tiger Reserve, Desert National Sanctuary, Sambhar Salt Lake, Ranthambhore National Park and Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. Rajasthan is well connected on the vast network of Indian railways and connected by well-maintained National Highways to its neighbouring states. The cities of a Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur have airports. The best time to visit Rajasthan is during the winter months from October to March.

Classic Nawalgarh : Special Frescos

Classic Nawalgarh : Special Frescos

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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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रणकपुर से कुम्भलगढ़ की डायनामिक यात्रा – Ranakpur to Kumbhalgarh, a dynamic journey

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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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Demystifying Bhangarh

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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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Sundari Sekhawati

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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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Gadisar Lake

Jaisalmer – the city of sand, fort, ruins and a wonderful host

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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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Classic Nawalgarh, The Morarka Haveli – Anatomy of a Shekhawati Haveli

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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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श्री कृष्ण की नगरी नाथद्वारा और सांवलिया सेठ की यात्रा

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नमस्कार  मित्रो, ऐसे तो प्रतिवर्ष 1-2 धार्मिक स्थल की यात्रा करता रहता हु और हालाकी ये नियम भी कुछ ही सालो से बनाया है…

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Charming Jhunjhunu: Top Must See 7 Monuments

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I feel that water harvesting was the most important aspect of the life in Shekhawati. Mainly three methods were used to harvest the rainfall. They constructed ornamental well near their locality to collect the water underneath the surface of the earth. They also constructed Step-well (bawri) to collect more water partly above the earth surface and partly underneath. Thirdly, they used to construct Johara, which was an alternate of artificial pond. The following picture of Johra was taken near Fatehpur.

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Charming Jhunjhunu: Rani Sati Temple

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After paying our tribute to all the twelve sati, we went inside the main mandapam of the Rani Sati. It was huge structure similar to those found in the Rama Krishna Mission temples. Lots of space was available for people to sit and pray. There was no statue of any sati. Instead a simple trident depicting the Goddess was placed for devotees to pray before her. The walls and columns of the mandapam were again beautifully painted. Two or three purohits were helping the devotees in offering prayers there. The followers of Rani Sati trace her origin from the times of Mahabharata, in which she was the wife of Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu. Her name was Uttara. She wanted to perform the rites of sati, when Abhimanyu died in the Mahabharata battle. Then, Lord Krishna persuaded her not to do so, giving her a boon that she would get an opportunity to perform Sati in her next birth. As prophesied by Krishna, she was born in modern-day Rajasthan (Shekhawati) and Abhimanyu was born near modern-day Hissar in Haryana. Her name was Narayani and Abhimanyu’s name was Tandhan. He had a beautiful horse, which was also eyed by the King’s son. However, in the battle for the horse, king’s son was killed. Further, an infuriated king killed Tandhan in the battle. The brave Narayani, after killing the King in revenge, performed sati at the pyre of her husband. She was supported by the caretaker of the horse, named Ranaji. For his efforts, the brave sati granted Rana Ji a boon that his name would always be remembered before her vey name. Thus, the name “Rani Sati” came into existence.

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Charming Jhunjhunu: Making of Lac Bangles (Shekhawati style)

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If the second craftsman was satisfied with the measurement, his next function was to join the two ends of the rolled lac to make it into a bangle. For this, he brought both the ends of the rolled lac over the coal-burner and heated it for appropriate state of melting. The lac then binds itself and both ends join together. However, to make the joining spot invisible to the naked eyes, the craftsman had to rub off the uneven surfaces and make it smooth. He used a wooden handle for that function. Now, the bangle of the basic shape and size was made. It was handed over to another set of craftsmen for designing and sticking of semi-precious or artificial stones/glass pieces so as to make it attractive.

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Karni Mata temple – Not for the faint hearted

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Besides the religious significance, the Karni Mata Temple is also a significant piece of art. Built in the late 19th century and finished in the early 20th century, under the patronage of Maharaja Ganga Singh of Binaker, the temple architecture reflects the Mughal style of artistry.

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