A trip to Rajasthan wouldn't be complete if one doesn't see the Desert city of Jaisalmer. We (I and S) had heard a cry of exclamation from people when we had declared that we were planning to spend around 3-4 days in this Jaisalmer. They said "it's understandable if it were Jaipur or Jodhpur but what's there in Jaisalmer!" Whenever we encountered these questions, we would contemplate on our decision but nevertheless we stuck to our plan. And were glad we did!
The city of Jaisalmer was named after its founder Maharawal
Jaisal Singh in 1156 A.D. Jaisalmer means “the Hill Fort of Jaisal”. It is
nicknamed as the Golden City of India because of the availability of yellow
sand and yellow sandstone in this place which is evident in every architectural
piece of the city. This gives the whole city and the surrounding area a
Yellowish-Golden tinge.
The city is dotted with many historical monuments and places.
Tourism being a major contributor to the city’s economy, hotels and travel
agencies can be found in every nook and corner of the city. And there is no doubt in this fact when we
witness the tourist attractions of the city for which one would definitely
require 3-4 days.
Gadisar Lake
Gadisar lake was excavated in 1367 A.D by Rawal Gadsi Singh.
It was originally conceived as a water conservation tank to fulfill the water
requirement of this acrid city. Though the lake doesn’t serve the historic
purpose of supplying water to Jaisalmer city, the lake still retains rainwater
and acts as a major picnic spot for locals as well as the tourists.
View of the setting sun upon the hillock next to Gadisar
lake
Jaisalmer Fort/ Sonar Quila
Jaisalmer fort was built in 1156 A.D by King Rawal Jaisal.
It is one of the largest fortifications in the world. It stands tall on a hill
called Trikuta Hill that rises above a height of 250 ft from the surrounding
area. The fort is 1500 ft long and 750 ft wide and has four entrances. Its
massive sandstone walls take tawny lion colour during the day and they fade into
honey- gold as the sun sets thus camouflaging it against enemy attacks midst
yellow desert. This gives the fort its other name Sonar Quila/ the Golden Fort.
During medieval times, the city had trade relations with
Persia, Egypt, Arabia and Africa. The fort contains three layers of
fortification. The first wall was constructed merely to reinforce the loose
rubble of the Trikuta hill. The second wall snakes around the hill. It is from
the third wall that Rajput kings attacked their enemies by hurling down boiling
water and oil as well as massive blocks of rocks.
Ala-ud-din-khilji invaded and conquered the fort in the 13th
century and held on to it for nine years. During the siege of the fort the
Rajput women committed Jauhar (Sati). Later, the fort was taken over by Babur
and subsequently by Akbar in 1570. The Rawals even got their daughters married
to Mughals during this invasion.
At one time, the entire population of Jaisalmer resided
inside the fort. Now, with increase in population they have moved to foot of
the hill. Increased population has also affected the safety inside the fort.
Water seepage, derelict houses and irregular seismic activities are the major
concerns. The fort has been built on a weak sedimentary rock hill which makes
it vulnerable to water seepage and seismic activity.
Jain Temple inside the Fort
Within the Golden Fort are beautifully carved interconnected
Jain temples that belong to 15th and 16th centuries. All
the temples are carved out of yellow sandstone; they rival with the temple
found in Mt. Abu which is made of white marble. The temples inside the fort are
dedicated to Rikhabdevji and Sambhavdevji, the Jain hermits or popularly known
as ‘Thirthankaras’. The temples inside the fort are built in ‘Dilwara style’, a
name taken from the famous Dilwara temples of Mt. Abu.
Jaisalmer is home to
some of the oldest libraries of India that contains the rarest manuscripts of
Jain tradition.
Stone carved 'Thorana' found at the entrance of the temple...
Stone pillars inside the temple
Jain temple at Lodurva
Lodurva once flourished as a capital city under the rulers
of Bhatti Rajputs. It lost its glory once the city of Jaisalmer was founded and
made the capital. Around 15kms away from the city of Jaisalmer, it now lies
deserted like many other villages in the desert.
Entrance of the temple
Ceiling inside the temple
Jaali work at temple
But, the place is still well- known for its Jain temple
built in 12th century. The place was attacked and ransacked several
times by Mahmud Ghazni and Mohammad Ghori. The temple was renovated later. It
is dedicated to the 23rd Thirthankara, Lord Parshvanath. The
beautiful jaali work in the temple make this place a piece of marvel.
The place was also famous for flourishing love story of
Moomal and Mahendra which unfortunately turned out to be tragic. The details of
the Rajput Love Story can be read here.
Kuldhara- A haunted village
About 15kms from the city of Jaisalmer lies a cursed and haunted
village- Kuldhara. Eerie silence envelopes the whole place which once consisted
of 84 villages. Kuldhara was the name of the largest village of that community.
The village was established in 1291 by the Paliwal Brahmins. They were rather a
prosperous community and well known due to their business acumen and agricultural
knowledge. But one night in 1825 all the villagers of Kuldhara and the nearby
villages fled the place and vanished into the oblivion.
The mud houses in the village that lay testimony to their
simple yet stylistic living
According to the local stories, the ruler of the place had
set his eyes on one of the young girl- possibly the daughter of the local chief.
The Paliwals were given no choice other than a deadline of one day to accept
the proposal. In desperation, to protect their pride and honor the village vanished
in a matter of one night cursing the village behind them.
The ruined walls of the houses in Kuldhara village
Now, broken walls and ruined houses stand as witness to tell
the story of the past.
Patwon-ji-ki-Haveli
Havelis were the elaborate homes of the rich merchants of
Jaisalmer. Ostentatious carvings were etched on sandstone with minute and
innumerable details and then were painstakingly pieced together. Havelis are
often characterized by wall paintings, jharokas (balconies), frescos and
archways.
Beautiful jharokas…
Patwon Haveli is the most important and largest Haveli in
Jaisalmer. It was the first haveli to be erected in Jaisalmer in 1805 by Guman
Chand Patwa. It is a cluster of five havelis, one built on top of the other. Patwa
was a rich trader of jewellary and brocades so he ordered different havelis to
be built for each of his five sons. All the havelis were completed in a span of
50 years.
This haveli is also called as the ‘Mansion of Brocade Merchants’
as the family dealt with threads of gold and silver used in embroidery (zardosi)
. It is also speculated that the family made money by Opium- smuggling and
money- lending.
Intricate carved stones of the haveli…
Each story within the haveli is unique- while one haveli has
wall paintings, the other is ornate with mirror work and the next has special
wood work. The intricate carving on the jharokas and balconies is truly a treat
for the eyes.
Painting and ceiling inside the haveli…
Bada Bagh
Bada Bagh (or Big Garden) is a complex of cenotaphs of the
royal rulers situated about 6kms away from Jaisalmer city. The Chatris of the cenotaphs pop-up against
the towering the windmills at the back drop. The complex comes to view far and
above even before we reach the actual site. And, it is a perfect setting if you
reach the place just before sunset.
Bada Bagh complex
The construction of these cenotaphs was commissioned by
Maharawal Jaisal Singh but was completed by his son Lunkaran. The base of the Chatris are either square or hexagonal
in shape. There are separate cenotaphs built for different rulers. Each
cenotaph has a memorial slab with a male figure and various female figurines.
This indicates the number wives the ruler had and who committed sati on his
funeral pyre.
Hexagonal shaped cenotaph
Square shaped cenotaph
The guide (who is a history student) also explained us that after the construction of each chatri the ruling king had to feed the whole kingdom. The last ruler didn’t complete his father’s cenotaph as his father died of a mysterious disease and also he feared he would not be able to feed the large population.
Tazia Tower
Here too we were welcomed by the setting sun which gave a
chance to our camera never to rest.
Sam Sand Dunes
A trip to Jaisalmer is never complete without a night’s stay
in the Thar desert. The regular options one would get is either Sam sand dunes
or Khuri dunes. We chose to stay in Sam sand dunes without any tents- under the
stars. Though it’s a good experience, we’d rather chosen the tent experience as
sleeping under the stars is a common sight for us who have lived in Ghats of
Karnataka. Moreover, the sand dunes experience comes with its’ risks too- fear
of bitten by scorpions!
Riding on a camel’s
hump to reach the Sand dunes is an experience in itself!
Mud houses that we came across along the ride…
Sunset that we witnessed throughout the ride
The sun rose thus in the morning
To conclude, ‘You want to see the real Rajasthan, visit
Jaisalmer’!
