It had been a long time when I heard for the first time about Bhangarh Fort on a news channel showing it as the most haunted place of India and Asia as well, even considered as one of the most haunted place in top four of the world.
It was a weekend and a day before got a call from my brother, lets tour somewhere bro and my first reply was lets move towards Sariska National Park, till that time Bhangarh was not in the cards. Our research for a good hotel lead us to Bhangarh fort as it is just 40Km away from Sariska National Park. Read More
My day two had started , it was the day to visit the Haveli’s of Mandawa for which i was here and was eagerly waiting for night to pass out. Day had started well , we were back on road , already had witnessed a man making Laakh ki Chudiyan (bangles) , wife was also happy as she had done her part of shopping. Now it was my turn to explore Mandawa.
My main target was to see as much of haveli’s as i could in the time left for me in that day , as we have to start our journey back to Delhi as well. But life is always full of surprises , some unusual things do happen or i see whenever i am on trip , things of which i have never thought of or heard off, and same thing happened with me when i reached to Sneh Ram Lada Haveli of Mandawa.
This haveli’s guard has his own shop of antiques , though the owner ( dont know how many from 40 partners) allowed him to open his shop he has no issues till the time the haveli is not converted into a Museum.
This shop was something like a junk yard for me when i entered it , but in some 2 minutes only it had started showing its colours to me.
Antique watches on display
These watches were the first thing which caught my attention , as watches are the second most loved accessory by me after my camera , though i saw one Pentax reel camera also of which he said it is in working condition sir.
Centuries old coinsShow piece
Whatever i touched had dust on it , but it is very common when one enters an antique shop , dust helps them making a thing look more older then they are. Small bowls kept here and there on the floor , some had coins in them and some had watches , shaving blades and razor even.
The owner of the shop claimed , “every item has been purchased by our team members who travel around the country and fetch these items, some directly from the owner and some from other antique shops”
But something which he showed me in the last , was thing which had caught my attention the most and infact i tried to buy it also.
It was the ” Most complicated lock ever seen by me” , though my grand father also have one lock which doesnt have any hole , its key is electromagnetically charged and we just have to touch it on one side of lock and lock opens , till date it was the most complicated lock i had seen but this one had given it a back seat.
Most complicated lock ever seen
This typical , solid iron made lock had 3 keys and which were to be used 4 times to get it unlocked.
Lock and its keys positioned accordingly
The owner showed me how to open it and trust me it took atleast a minute for him to open it.
” First he had to put the back holder of one of the key around that rocket shaped pointer of the lock and twist it , that rocket shaped pointer came out from the lock and we got our first hole and then twist the same key clockwise to get the second hole .
On doing this lock raised a bit , and a second hole came at the side of the lock , then another key to be put there and twisted same way.
Now was the final thing , a third hole came in front when he twisted the key on side as lock raised again a bit , then third key was used in this hole and atlast we could see the lock being unlocked”.
I was lost so much into seeing the method that i forgot to make his video.
Things were not ending here , he showed me one more lock , though for me it was much simpler than this.
Scorpion Lock
This lock would hang on the door like a scorpio is biting the bolt of the door , it had its hole at the back side which was much like a hollow strip , but for me the contest was won by the previous Most complicated lock. Surprising thing was that it was very much in working condition , no extra effort was added in opening and he told me that this lock is atleast some 80 yrs old , which he bought from some haveli in Gujarat.
It was the time to say bye bye to Bikaner , my Tour of Rajasthan was reaching its end stages and the next destination was Mandawa. I had heard a lot of this place specially from my brother Chirag who had insisted and made me to include Mandawa in my tour.
Sight seeing of Bikaner was over , we had visited Junagarh Fort , Laxmi Niwas Palace and Camel Breeding Farm at Bikaner , which were the only short listed places at Bikaner in my trip. Now i was back in my car and had left for Mandawa. It was going to take some 6-7 hrs to reach Mandawa from Bikaner , i was going to visit the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan which includes Churu , Fatehpur , Mandawa and all places are known for their big centuries old Haveli’s of Marwari’s who had left these ancestoral haveli’s of them and had shifted to different parts of India.
After some 4 hrs we reached to the first halt of our , at Churu , considered as one of the most coldest and the hottest place of India and it had given me the same experience. It was somewhere near 40 degrees when we reached Churu.
First look of Churu Haveli
What else to say , this first look of churu haveli had struck my mind for sometime. Centuries old this haveli , but its frescoes still looking as fresh as they were made the day before only. I had started loving the suggestion of my brother and gave him a call to thank him for it.
We moved forward towards Mandawa , but there was going to be one more halt at Fatehpur and i was getting excited more and more and wanted to reach Mandawa as early as possible , but it was still 2hrs away and i knew that i will had to wait for the next day to have the glimpse of Mandawa Haveli’s.
Second Halt
Fatehpur had arrived , we stopped for a while , tried to look for some Haveli which is open and entry is allowed but unfortunately had to suffice from outside only.
Haveli Of Fatehpur
Hanuman Prasad Nevatiya Haveli of Fatehpur , wish i could have been able to get inside it.
Railing Design at Fatehpur Haveli
Once these Haveli’s were inhabited by the Marwari’s of these places , who comes in the richest of peoples of India in present time. They had the knack of showing there wealth by decorating there homes by these frescoes , that is why in this area every haveli gives competition to each other.
Water Well at Fatehpur
A short halt at Fatehpur , and now again on the road towards Mandawa. On the way this Water well came in front of us and forced us to stop for a while , my greedy camera was shouting from his backpack for the click.
Some Ganeshdass Gorakhram Kedia in 1977 had donated this land and water well for the people of Fatehpur.
Now Mandawa was just 30min away and it was 5.30pm and sunset was just an hour away and it was going impossible for me to visit the Mandawa Haveli’s the same day only.
Atlast we reached and checked in at Heritage Mandawa , who had offered us a free stay and in itself was a century old haveli like other haveli’s of Mandawa , it was turned into Hotel now.
Sun was down and now i had no energy to go out , so it was best to go for bed and start the next day tour early.
Second Day at Mandawa
Second day had started very early at Mandawa for me , I was going to see the majestic Mandawa Haveli ‘s and the fort of Mandawa “Castle Mandawa”.
Had a nice breakfast at Heritage Mandawa , and we left for the sight seeing of Mandawa. Though waiting was not over yet , we were bit early to leave and Haveli’s generally open by 10.00 Am and this 1 Hr costed me some Rs 4000 as my wife went for shopping spree and in one hour she bought some dozen’s of “Laakh Ki Chudiyan(Bangles)” for whole family , Mandawa is also famous for his Laakh Ki Chudiyan(Bangles) , though Jaipur is also famous for it but as my wife told she got lot more better stuff at less price here at Mandawa.
Now the right time had arrived and we started our journey towards Haveli’s , there was no need of car as it was better to be on foot in those narrow streets.
Haveli’s … A whole street but hardly anybody lives
This street had brought me to some other period , i was living my life in some other time suddenly. I had reached this street , where hardly any movement could be seen , i was looking for any Haveli in which i could enter but for that also i have ask somebody , but where to find that somebody. Then i decided lets cross the line and enter the Haveli, may be somebody is inside.
Haveli from Inside
There were signs of somebody living their , doors were open , main door of Haveli was also unlocked , i tried to look for somebody but nobody came hearing my voice , i had crossed the line by entering somebody’s home without asking anybody and again crossed the line and clicked some pictures and left in lookout of a Haveli where i could find a guard who could tell me something about that Haveli.
Atlast i reached to “Sneh Ram Lada Haveli” , their i found the guard who very happily welcomed us and invited us inside the Haveli.
First look from inside .. Sneh Ram Lada Haveli
This Haveli was turning into a museum from the next year , so some renovation work was going on , but not touching the frescoes.
Sitting area … Drawing room of Sneh Ram Lada Haveli
My Curiosity towards these frescoes was increasing with every passing minute , which that guard realised on my face.
He told us the technique why these Frescoes are still fresh and young after so long.
“These frescoes are not like paintings, infact they are like plaster on the wall and the designs were made when wall was freshly built and it had moisture in it. Natural colour were used in making the plaster and as the wall gets dry the colour would come according to the dryness of the wall , the late the dryness the darker the shade of colour would come”.
He said , from next year the owner of this Haveli is turning it into a museum. Then my next question came , who is the owner? He Replied “Sneh Ram Lada” , i was not asking the man who built this but the present owner , and his answer for this was more surprising ” Now there are some 40-50 owners of it“, all in the lineage of Late Sneh Ram Lada are the partners of this Haveli.
This had solved a puzzle which was troubling me from the time i had reached to Mandawa , Why dont they sell these Haveli’s? , now i had got the answer , how to get yes from every partner who owns the haveli , and this case is with almost every haveli of this Shekhawati Region.
Frescoes on the wall of Sneh Ram Lada Haveli
This place has got the Haveli’s of Shri G.D. Goenka and Poddar’s as well , yes they belong to this village and left this place long time back , though there Haveli came on the way but Goenka’s haveli has been turned into a Restaurant now and i was not in mood to give a visit to it.
My next destination was waiting for me , fort of Mandawa ” Castle Madawa ” , wait for it.
I had seen Haveli’s in Delhi as well in Chandni Chowk , they are also huge and very nicely carved designs could be found on it , infact they are now under ASI as Heritage property but these haveli’s are different specially there frescoes make them unique , but my visit to these haveli’s of Mandawa was something which i would visit again and again as lot is still left.
Last and the only day in Bikaner or if more precisely i say i had only some hours to explore Bikaner. Though it was quite easy as only some 2-3 places were to be seen and in which first one was Junagarh Fort of Bikaner.
I was going to visit one of the major fort of Rajasthan which was unique in itself as it was not built on a hill top like other forts of Rajasthan, had passed the Junagarh fort when arrived in Bikaner the previous night but this time it was time to enter it.
Same procedure followed here , ticket for me and my camera but here guide was free from the fort , but they take people inside in groups and one guide with a group , it was nice.
first view from inside … Junagarh fort
Majestic view of Junagarh fort before entering to buy the ticket.
The fort was originally called Chintamani and was renamed Junagarh fort or “Old Fort” in the early 20th century when the ruling family moved to “Lalgarh Palace” outside the fort limits. It is one of the few major forts in Rajasthan which is not built on a hilltop. The modern city of Bikaner has developed around the fort.
Junagarh Fort from inside
Before entering the main premises of the Junagarh fort area we had to gather at a specific point just in front of this lovely view of fort. This view had already marked its impressions on my heart and camera and i was dying to go inside but it was going to take some time as some 30 people were to come to make a group. Generally groups are of only some 10 people but due to heavy footfall because of visitors going for Ram Devra Mela in Jaisalmer , who had given me company in all the destinations on this Rajasthan tour.
Courtyard of Junagarh fort
Junagarh Fort is primarily build of Red sand stone , and the mines of Red sand stone are owned by Royal Family of Bikaner though they are closed now , just to keep them safe and intact and whenever there is any repair needed in Junagarh Fort , Lalgarh Palace or Laxmi Niwas palace , Red Sand Stone is brought from there and they get the matching right.
This courtyard is an exception in Junagarh Fort , built of Italian white Marble brought from Italy in the 16th century. Wow.
Palace view from Courtyard
Courtyard connecting palace on 1st floor of the fort , though i found it quite abrupt as one wall of the courtyard was partialy made of Red sand stone. This palace was in itself a rarety , built of Italian White marble and the tiles having the designs of Camel herds , elephants and boats were brought from England. Suddenly one thought was coming in my mind , ” Were they aware of the word Globalisation ? “.
One of the Longest gun of RajasthanOne of the Smallest cannon placed on Camels
On my Jaipur trip i had seen the biggest cannon “Jaivana” placed on Jaigarh Fort of Jaipur , but this time i was watching the blend of small and big together. On one side was the longest gun used in the battles that placed inside the holes of walls of the forts and on another side was this smallest of cannon which was placed on a frame and which was placed on the back of a Camel to allow them to reach to the nearest to target. Though these were not the patented things of Bikaner.
Our guide was very boastfully saying this that “Historical records reveal that despite the repeated attacks by enemies to capture the Junagarh fort, it was not taken, except for a lone one-day occupation by Kamran Mirza (second son of the Mughal Emperor Babur) who attacked Bikaner in 1534, which was then ruled by Rao Jait Singh. In the battle, the Mughals were defeated by Rathors.
Ball room or Darbar hall of Junagarh Fort
Designs made on Apricot Wood
Junagarh Fort is said to be the most well maintained fort of India , after Mysore Fort of Tipu Sultan. I had not seen the Mysore Fort but i would say for me till now Junagarh Fort is the most well maintaned fort i have visited.
Leaving aside its grand structure , its carving on Red sand stone and the use of Italian White Marble and imported England tiles , the designs made on the roofs of the Darbar hall were something very unique.
Apricot wood boards were glued to the roof and then the designs were carved on them , it was some thing which i was watching for first time , had never heard before that Apricot wood is also used for decoration purpose or in furniture.
This fort covers some 5.28 hectares area , though whole complex is not open for public but still it took me some 3 hrs to cover the portion open for visitors , thanks to the detailed narration by the official guide of the Junagarh fort. Now it was time to move ahead and reach my next destination Laxmi Niwas Palace.
Tour to Jodhpur had ended , and i was back on road again for one more long drive. This time it was Jodhpur to Bikaner , and it was going to be different , i was going to the Desert part of Rajasthan State. Like the way i had seen on my Udaipur to Jodhpur drive , it was much different now , hardly any greenery now , monsoon had been for a very short span which had not left any impressions of it.
Lush green fields , tree and grass loaded mountains had shifted there attire on this journey. It was just small bushes now on the side of higway , sand dunes had replaced green mountains , though one thing was common , highway was as smooth as it was on my Udaipur to Jodhpur journey.
Once again it was a long hectic drive of somewhere around 6 hrs , again i was going to reach in the evening , and i had only one night stay there and the next morning after my city tour i was going to take another long journey to Mandawa.
Kesar tea on the way to bikaner
We stopped for some refreshment after some two hours , we had been suggested by the owner of Mandore Guest House to stop for a lovely and refreshing kesar tea and their very famous Vada Pao , yes i was in Rajasthan and i was eating Vada Pao , one more feature of globalisation. Truely their Kesar Tea was awesome , had taken away the tiredness of us and we were back on road , though Vada Pao were quite different from Mumbai’s original Vada pao but they were quite good in being different also.
Now we were not going to stop anywhere in between , next stop was our hotel “Harasar Haveli , Bikaner” and then we had to leave for Camel Breeding farm Bikaner , as it was must for us to start the tour today only , the next day we had to leave directly finishing our sight seeing of Junagadh fort and Laxmi Niwas Palace.
Tried first camel ride of life… what an experience..ahhhh
At 5.30pm we were at Camel Breeding Farm , Bikaner. We were 30min before the closing time , and first thing to see was the museum at camel breeding farm showcasing the artefacts and objects made of Camel skin , bone etc.
And the next thing , was Camel ride. I had heard a lot about how people fell from camel when he stands , and it had scared the hell out of me , but this was the testing time. Though screaming and shouting , but i completed the whole ride and trust me it was blend of awesomeness and scariness.
Herd of camels
Its the feast time
We had reached at the right time , Herds of Camels were returning from the day long time spent in the jungle , and watching them run , race for the feast was a magnificient view, wish i had made the video of it.
Though some of the younger one’s were crying also , locked in other barracks away from their mothers. Separate barracks for male , female and the pregnant female’s. It was the ideal time to visit that place.
camel milk coffee … feast time for us
while walking back it was feast time for us. Camel Breeding farm Bikaner has shop for visitors , offering them dairy products made of camel milk. On an average a camel gives only some 2-3 litres maximum milk in a day , but here 1000’s of camel support this shop. I wanted to have ice cream made of camel milk but unfortunately on coffee was available out of a list of products , all finished , so had to manage with coffee only and it was the best.
Headed back to our Hotel Harasar Haveli , day had been very tiring and it was not the rest time , next day was going to be more hectic as our journey to Mandawa was going to start straight after finishing our sight seeing.
