Rajasthan-marvel of ancient india

by Faiz Mohammad Dangar (India)

I didn't expect to find India

I visited Rajasthan around 5 years ago. Although I cannot remember the exact time I was there, I surely remember every bit about that place because of such impact it left on me. I will recommend Rajasthan over any place in India to visit before. The place is rich with thousands of years of history of royalty and kingship culture of ancient India. Despite of being a gateway to India for western nations, it never was involved in a massive war with any foreign regime. One of the reasons for it is that the kings of Rajasthan or as here “HUKUMSA” believed in negotiating than war. Therefore, the palaces, forts and ancient sites are in very good conditions. Besides the sites, the culture of the gone era of kings still runs very immensely here. It can be seen in the lives of everyday people. People are here connected to their roots and they remain mostly isolated from the modern world by choice. I attended a wedding of my relative in Patan in Rajasthan. A city which has more temples than houses in it. There are temples as small as a phone booth to as big as multi-storey building. All the temples are of ancient crafting which is MARVELOUS. When you see it, it really takes you to the journey Rajasthan been through in a snap. Most people here are religious. I encountered a proper Rajasthani wedding, which is a great opportunity to know their culture. First thing and I cannot stress it enough; they have the best food in the world. Also the range of variety, from the immensely spicy “SEV” which actually comes in layers of spiciness to the sweet “JALEBI AND GULAB JAAMUN” which melt as soon as you put it in your mouth. They have Roti (Indian bread usually served with gravy dishes) as big as your clothes. They have traditional dish which is quick to make called “DAAL BAATI”, it’s a very thick bread served with “DAAL”, simple gravy commonly cooked all over India. Even the most normal hotels and food stalls here serves the best of food they have. Every store, every house here has a story. Whenever you will eat, you will come to know they have been here for at least a hundred year. Their spices are famous all over the world. Rajasthan is gifted with the most beautiful landscapes in India. Although it is mostly known as the desert state of India, do not fall for that, desert here is only in the very most part of the state whether all the important cities and places are located mostly in center-south part of the state. My visit to was in winters.It really gets cold in the nights because of the desert located nearby. Rajasthan is gifted with lakes. It has the largest numbers of lakes in India. What make lakes here more beautiful are the surroundings of lakes here. Everywhere here, lakes are surrounded by forts, palaces, temples and parks which just add to the scenery. The lake I visited was as big as the city. A small but beautiful fort was on the very edge of it. What I saw there was an industrial area across the lake. Although I could not see clearly because of the smog but I saw the chimneys rising up which was kind of sad for me as this beautiful place is also going to be one of the victims of the uncontrolled modernization. The real beauty of the Rajasthan hides in the culture and the people. People here are just beyond belief. In the world where one puts himself before everything, people here still believe in humanity. People are very familiar with foreign tourists and treat them very well. They have a saying in here “PADHARO MAARE DESH” meaning “welcome to our land”. At last I would say, if you want to feel the lifestyle and culture of ancient India you wouldn’t find it better preserved than Rajasthan. One does not have to travel to inner areas to discover ancient roots, one can find it in the very capital of the state JAIPUR or as known as PINK CITY. Rajasthan is all colors and spices.