Kuldhara - The mystery

Our vibrant land of Rajasthan is rich not only in culture and tradition but also in folklore, tales and stories. Many of these stories are of courage and valour, of sacrifices, of victories and defeats, of love and devotion and some of fear and unusual occurrences. Bhangarh tops the list of the stories that bring intrigue to the fore with Kuldhara a close second. Kuldhara was once a prosperous village and is said to be abandoned in the early 19th century. Let us unravel the mystery that Kuldhara is……

Kuldhara - First Glimpse

First the story

Visualise a peaceful quaint village from the Era when there were no telephones, no electricity, no running water, no machines and life was very easy and simple. The world was as big as one’s village. Days were spent doing respective assigned tasks and evenings were spent chatting around, bed time came pretty early; and so did the morning, people would wake up before the sunrise, would tend to their cattle and horses and again would go about with their respective routines. This was Kuldhara, village of the Paliwal Brahmins. In this peaceful village of traders and businessmen, came a little trouble in the name of Saalim Singh. He was the Prime Minister to the King of the Kingdom this village came under. A tyrant of a Prime Minister who would trouble the peace-loving Brahmin folk of this village and neighbouring villages and extort more money from them in the name of unjustified taxes. The ruthless Saalim Singh also harassed the women folk. People were somehow being tolerant and would ignore his misdeeds. But the catastrophe descended on the happy people when Saalim Singh set his eyes upon one of the village belles. Known to have many wives and concubines and having a reputation of ill-treating women, his wish of marrying her was declined by the villagers, which infuriated the already angry Saalim Singh. He did not take this insult too well and his wrath came upon the village in more extortions and more troubles, more cruelties and more harassment. Fed up with this menace, the villagers decided to quietly move away from their much-loved motherland. Not just one or two families but the whole village - lock, stock and barrel!

Village Square

Next morning dawned on an abandoned village. A village where there were cooked meals on stoves, food in plates, warm glasses of milk to be gulped, washed clothes lying squeezed to be put out for drying, fodder in animals’ troughs and warmth on the kitchen floor from the heat of the dying ambers of the stoves. The flowers offered to the deities in the Village Temple were still fresh when Saalim Singh’s men came to again unleash their terror on the simple-life-leading villagers. But alas! There was not a single soul to be seen in whole of Kuldhara - no human and no animal. Only an eerie silence prevailed over the whole village. This is the legend behind the abandonment of the ancient village of Paliwal Brahmins who left Kuldhara and migrated to Marwar where they were given protection, assistance to re-establish their businesses and land for settling down. Thus came Pali into existence. 

“The story gives me goosebumps each time I narrate, hear or read it. But the solidarity of the community leaves me with a very happy feeling and a sense of pride too”, says our guide, one of the locals who has been showing Kuldhara to tourists for many years now. 

Other theories to the abandonment are of dwindling water supply and a possible earthquake but the most popular and convincible one is the persecution by Saalim Singh.

Now The village

Ruins of Kuldhara

Kuldhara is around 35 km from Jaisalmer and is a day excursion kind of a place. You can visit Kuldhara even on your way out of Jaisalmer while continuing with your tour. The visit does not take more than an hour unless you are a photography enthusiast or a writer because then you will have a million spots in the ruins to let your creativity go unbridled. As you approach the village, a sense of pall and gloom takes over. The ASI has tried to conserve the ruins well and the village is enclosed by a wall protecting the ruins. There is a large gate that lets you into the village. Just as you enter the gate, on the right is a park dedicated to various types of Cacti that thrive in the arid desert of Jaisalmer. This can be visited later, first you must let your curiosity get quenched by visiting Kuldhara. The vehicle will take you right upto the entrance to the village. We were greeted by some very friendly and enthusiastic Indie dogs when we reached there. 

The village

You ascend a few steps and reach a raised platform where the village once thrived. In olden days it was a common practice to make villages over raised platforms to prevent flooding in rainy season and also for safety and security purposes. The Village Temple would always be made at the highest level for the respect to the deity. As you cross over to the inside of the enclosure, you come to a kind of crossroads with lanes going in all four directions. The neatly laid out village plan tells a lot about the people of yore and their vision. We chose to move towards what seemed the most treaded path. This path led us through rows of dilapidated mud houses with the Village Temple on the left and significantly raised above the village homes with some twenty steps to ascend to reach the sanctum sanctorum. We moved ahead to where the lane culminated into a row of houses, all completely crumbled except one which we were told was restored by the ASI to give a glimpse into the real Kuldhara homes. 

Village layout

The village is a cluster of neat mud coated houses on both sides of narrow but clean and symmetrical lanes. The crossroads have Big trees in the centre (usually Neem, Peepul or Banyan) with a Chabutra (a circular elevated platform around the tree made for the purpose of sitting and relaxing under its shade). These places must have once been bustling with life with village elders sitting and chatting there. 

In a little distance from the cluster of homes you would notice some beautifully carved domes erected on a small hillock. These are the cremation grounds for the village and these domes were erected as a symbol of respect and remembrance to the people who left this mortal world.

The Homes

Facade of a home

The restored house is the model home and mostly all the homes were designed on a similar pattern. There is only one entrance to the home and the main entrance is decorated with hand painted figures of birds and animals. The homes are little higher than the road and hence you need to climb a few steps to get into the ground floor of any house.

Window between guest area and home

The first room as you enter is the “receiving area” where people received goods, groceries, guests and daily needs of those times. The central portion of all homes were left uncovered and served the purpose of letting natural light and fresh air into the home. To the left of the receiving room was a small “guest room”. This room was, in today’s parlance, a drawing room where the guests were made to stay and enjoy meals with the family. The people back then followed Purdah system and the women would never come out of the inner part of the house without covering their faces. The guest room wall which is common with the interiors of the house had a small window - a window so small that only food items could be passed through it by a beautiful henna decorated and bangle wearing hand.

Stairway

Channelising water into the reservoir

The right side of the receiving room is the place for keeping the horses and cattle. Life in those days was totally dependent on animals for day to day activities like tilling the farms, commuting, carrying heavy goods, source of milk etc. Now, from the anteroom, drawing room and animal room we move inwards to the central courtyard. This is a ceiling less courtyard, open to sky and served the very important purpose of ventilation and letting the natural day light into the home. There is a provision for a small stove here which would move back to the kitchen during rainy season. The family usually dined together in the courtyard. Surrounding the courtyard would be a covered passageway. Last rung of rooms in a home like this would be the bedrooms or retiring rooms. There wasn’t much furniture in those days but there was a strong connect between people and mother earth! From the central courtyard rises a stairway that would take us to the roof top. Homes usually were single storied or very rarely with an extra room on the first floor. A very unique observation on the rooftop is that the drains are all directed towards the central courtyard which implied that rain water was made to flow towards the inside of the home. On asking our guide, he corroborated our observation and informed us about rain water harvesting which was a common practice in those days. Each home had a storage tank below the flooring of the central courtyard and stored rain water here for use during the dry spells. 

Garage

As we move out of the house towards the temple, we noticed a room with no doorway towards the outside of the house. This was a garage and carts were parked here. In fact, the ASI has kept one dilapidated cart also here to give an idea of what it looked like in those days.

The Village Temple

The village temple

While the whole village lies in ruins, it is surprising to see The Temple still intact and with deity still being worshipped. Yes, we saw fresh flowers that were offered to the Gods with traces of recently used incense sticks. The Temple was built on a high raised rock platform and was carved out of rock unlike the brick structures of the houses. Maybe that is the reason for the Temple to still be standing and bearing the blows of time. We bowed our heads in respect and entered the temple. A lot of sparrows and squirrels greeted us. 

Goodbye Kuldhara

Still in a trance and our heads busy with assimilating all that information and visualising all that was once a lively village filled with happy people, we moved out of Kuldhara. On our way out we stopped over at the Cacti Museum and thereafter just outside the main gate met another WONDER. A centenarian flautist. A double flute, known as Algoza which is a common musical instrument of Western Rajasthan was melodiously played by this gentleman. Do not mistake him for a beggar because he does not want anything from you, he does it for his own pleasure but then a little appreciation and a few gifts have never done any harm to anyone!

A lot has been said and written about Kuldhara, some even calling it a haunted village but, Kuldhara is not haunted, it is an abandoned village. Abandonment not for a curse or any paranormal occurrence but to escape a tyrant. Very believable, isn’t it? 


We would love to take you to Kuldhara, write to us here and let's plan a trip.

Our Algoza Artist - Sumar Ram Bhil

Rural Market at Jojawar - Shopping with gaiety

Lets embark on a rural safari like none other. How about a shopping safari? Not in a multi-brand mall but a no-brand rural market! The most vibrant and lively market of Jojawar. 

The safari begins with a visit to the local Halwai - the sweetmeat vendor. Taste some Jalebis and Laddoos and get some packed for later. You may get lucky to watch him fry the Boondis (tiny balls of batter) for the Laddoos. These Boondis are then bound into bigger fist sized balls called the Laddoos. How they add sugar to these, is for you to witness yourself. The people here are most hospitable and will very happily not only showcase their talent but let you also try your hands at same.

The Stores

With the glucose in, and energy bubbling, lets now start walking the whole length of this marketplace which is barely a kilometre in stretch but will take you close to two hours to explore. The shops, as we said earlier are nothing too fancy but stock the daily needs for the locals here. The market has many vegetable and fruit sellers, spice shops, cloth bazaar, utensils, hardware store, cycle repair shops, potters, juti stores (the local footwear), jewellers, barber shops and most importantly the tea, sherbet and snack places. But what is most pleasing about this market is the people and their hospitality. You would be welcomed in every store by warm smiling faces whether you buy anything from them or not. Offering tea is also customary here.

Some kiosks keep plasticware and imitation jewellery and believe us these are the busiest shops drawing huge crowds from the local women. You will also meet lots of coy and demure ladies in the garment stores. The preference in this town is of cotton clothes all through the year with woollens filling the markets in winters but bling is the thing for festivities. We were lucky to meet a family that had come to shop for an upcoming wedding. The women sat inside the store and the men waited outside while the women chose what they were there to shop for. With veiled faces, they stealthily glanced at us and gossiped too ;). The energetic shop attendant happily displayed all the bling filled fabrics he had in his store. People here do not wear readymade clothes except for the children, but prefer buying the fabric and getting it stitched as per their liking. After a few clicks and many a giggles later, we moved on to the next store which was a Masala Chakki - spice grinder. Colourful mounds of various spices sat proudly in front of the shop accompanied by the proud shop owner, a woman who had an air of authority about her. Red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder are the primary spices that you would find at every Masala Chakki. 

As I said earlier, the people here prefer getting their clothes stitched, each one is a fashion designer in their own sense. They buy the cloth and design it as per their choice and have it decorated with Gota (golden or silver lace like ribbons). There are many Gota sellers also along our market lane. They keep fancy buttons, zips and hooks too. The more creative ones buy the thread and the needle and embroider their garments themselves.

The simple life of rural India advocates the cause of repair and fixing over discarding. There are many cobblers and cycle repair shops in this market as people here do not believe in throwing things away, they believe in fixing things, using them till their optimum life and then discard them. Talk of recycle-sustain concept - it comes naturally to our village folk.

Come summers and the potters bring out their wares to sell. Every household has a “Matka” or “Ghada” for storing drinking water with a long handled ladle like “Ghanti” to pour water from. Calmly perched over a stand with a place for the “Ghanti” too, these Matkas can beat the modern day refrigerator any day with its capability of keeping the drinking water cool. When the temperatures soar higher, the Matkas get a wet gunny bag wrap to fight their way out.

The preferred footwear here is the Mojri or Juti made of camel leather. These keep the feet cozy and protected from harsh summers and blistering cold winters too. There are a few Mojri shops that dot our market and they make customised ones too. If you have a couple of days at hand, give them a design that they will happily embroider for you on your chosen pair. The skilled craftsmen make smart leather sandals and slippers too. 

The one thing that we would definitely recommend to the souvenir collector is a piece of jewellery from the local jewellers - it could be anything from earrings to nose pins to bracelets to anklets or bangles. But do take a piece of silver jewellery from here for yourself for you would not find such beautiful craftsmanship anywhere else. People visit the local jeweller for their piercings too. The expert hands finish the piercing in just a second, before the person getting pierced even realises it. We caught the eye of a young boy who had come for his ears-piercing and as soon as he saw the camera, his anxiety vanished and he gave us a beaming smile! Men and women, both prefer their ears pierced while women also get their noses pierced too. 

The People

The happy hospitable people of Jojawar are more than happy to even escort you through your market safari. You might meet a few jogis along the way. These are people who have renounced the material world and are living off the streets now. They aren’t poorly or in misery, they have taken the decision knowingly and are respected in the society, with many seeking their blessings.

The women are shy and do not speak to strangers but the elderly women will even joke with you in jest. Visiting the market is an event in the household and people dress up in all finery to go out. The women will always be seen wearing their traditional jewellery of nose rings, maang tikka, earrings, bangles, anklets and toe rings. Men too wear the traditional ear rings that are supported by beautifully crafted chains over the ear lobes. Never to leave homes without the fluorescent turbans, these men visit the local barber for a fine shave - talk of big town spas! 

What all do you carry when you leave home? Let us help you with the answer - wallet, car keys, home keys of course and your phone. What do people here carry when they leave home? Well, wallet of course but no credit cards, only cash, their home keys, no car keys and no phones (maybe one phone per family nowadays) and a few shopping bags! Yes, they do not need the hashtags of #saynotoplastic because they carry their own shopping bags, they bring steel buckets for milk and oil and they pick their snacks paper-wrapped. They shop for straw baskets to store their vegetable and fruit supplies.

While the visit will leave you mesmerised by how lovely the shopping experience is and how humble the people are, it will also leave you pondering as to how these people live in such a self sufficient organic environment. The products they use are all bio-degradable, be it the earthen pitchers or the camel leather footwear. Just a few plastic items only and maximum use of public transport or otherwise would prefer walking.

To sum it up : Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. Don’t we?