
Riding the Sands of Time
This is a Blast from the Past… When I used to ride with the Luci-fers… a bunch of bike enthusiasts from my ex-office… before…
Read MoreShekhawati has been sometimes dubbed the Open Art Gallery of Rajasthan. This semi arid region lies in the triangle formed between the cities Bikaner, Jaipur and Delhi and is replete with Havelis adorned with beautiful wall paintings belonging mostly from 18th and 19th centuries. Shekhawati also has various small fortresses, minor castles, mosques, wells called baolis and a deer sanctuary. Many of the Palaces have been turned into luxury hotels with royal facilities and services. Some of the historical monuments are Mandawa Fort, Dundlod Fort, Roop Niwas Kothi Palace, Mukundgarh Fort, Narain Niwas Castle, Alsisar Mahal and Dera Danta Kila. Shekhawati is well connected by road with the nearest airport in Jaipur and nearest railhead at Jhunjhunu.
Best time to visit: October to March
Languages spoken: Hindi, Marwari
Climate: Extremely hot summers and pleasant winters
Heritage sites: Mandawa Fort, Dundlod Fort, Roop Niwas Kothi Palace, Mukundgarh Fort, Narain Niwas Castle, Alsisar Mahal, Dera Danta Kila, Castle Pachar, Surajgarh Fort, Arooka Castle, Havelis with wall paintings
Activities: Camel Safari
This is a Blast from the Past… When I used to ride with the Luci-fers… a bunch of bike enthusiasts from my ex-office… before…
Read More28th Jan 2007: That was our last day in Shekhawati. We had very less time, as we wanted to reach Delhi before it was…
Read More27th Jan 2007 – In the morning we saw the captivating frescoes in the open art gallery of Nawalgarh. After that we decided to…
Read MoreThe Shekhawati region named after Rao Shekhaji (1433-1488) is known with many adjectives – ‘Land of Kuber’ (the Hindu Lord of wealth); Land of…
Read MoreThe trip: We Planned this trip to Shekhawati region with friend Anirudh & his family. The first choice was to travel by public transport….
Read MoreThen Lia brought us to the cultural center. It had mainly three sections. The first section was dedicated to paintings and the tribal art. Each frame was magnificent. Nevertheless, two pictures really attracted me. The first was the paining on goat skin, depicting of “Ram hunting”. The richness of its colour was excellent. It was done by an unknown tribal artist.
Read MoreOn that day, we were struck with another bout of “Religious tourism”. But, we were divided in our opinions between two equally famous temples…
Read MoreHe 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”?
Read MoreSome rooms of the haveli had been arranged with all the gadgets and paraphernalia that were in actual use during those days. But it was difficult to say whether the items on display were in use in 1870s. In my opinion, as
Read MoreThe 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
Read MoreSuch 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!
Read MoreIn 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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