Dear Readers,
Mystery and serendipity awaits you at every turn along the road through Rajasthan where history lies strewn across the landscape. Recently, I encountered one such gem on my way from Jaipur to Degana, a small village-turned-town in the Thar desert. The reason I was traveling down to that place was to attend a function organised to mark the 308th anniversary of the legendary Maharaja Surajmal of Bharatpur. This prominent figure of India during the eighteenth century would be discussed in the next post as his achievements and contribution are far too numerous..
As for now, let us return back to our small garhi (the Rajasthani word for fortress). Perched on a lofty hillock lies this castle with a commanding view of the vast landscape around. It was the seat of the local thakur or lord who belonged to the Sultannot sub-clan of Meria Rathors of Marwar. We met the present scion of this lord's family who exhibited medieval courtesy and showed us around his property. We learned about the architecture, the important wars that this castle saw and temples in and around. The castle was an exquisite example of rain-water harvesting.
On my way back, Tameghji, a colleague of mine and I, pondered over the fact that so much of our history lies trapped in such remote and inaccessible corners of the country. It is an urgent need for us to properly register, document and study such monuments before they are wiped out completely by the reckless and cruel forces of the market and political expediency....
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