GLIMPSES OF
BHARAT...
BHARAT KI
...JHALAK
Rajasthan is a state in northern India.It covers 342,239 square kilometres (132,139 sq mi) or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern side, where it comprises most of the wide and inhospitable Thar Desert (also known as the Great Indian Desert) and shares a border with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the northwest and Sindh to the west, along the Sutlej-Indus River valley. It is bordered by five other Indian states: Punjab to the north; Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the northeast; Madhya Pradesh to the southeast; and Gujarat to the southwest. Its geographical location is 23°.3' to 30°.12' North latitude and 69°.30' to 78°.17' East longitude, with the Tropic of Cancer passing through its southernmost tip.
The State of Rajasthan was formed on 30 March 1949 when the states of the Rajputana Agency of the erstwhile Indian Empire were merged into the new Indian Union. Its capital and largest city is Jaipur. Other important cities are Jodhpur, Kota, Bikaner, Ajmer, Bharatpur and Udaipur. The economy of Rajasthan is the seventh-largest state economy in India with ₹10.20 lakh crore (US$130 billion) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹118,000 (US$1,500). Rajasthan ranks 29th among Indian states in human development index.
* TOURIST PLACES-
WATERFALLS
Menal Waterfall(Chittorgarh)
Thoor Ki Pal Waterfall (Udaipur)
Dhrudhiya Waterfall(Mount abu)
Padajhar Mahadev Falls(Chittorgarh)
MUSEUMS
Albert Hall Museum (jaipur)
Jaisalmer War Museum (Thaiyat)
Prachina Museum (Bikaner)
HILL STATIONS
GARDENS
Ram Niwas Garden (Jaipur)
Vidyadhar Garden (Jaipur)
AMUSEMENT PARK-
Birla City Water Park (Ajmer)
Hariyali Water Park (Kota)
Skybird Water Park (Bikaner)
Mauj Mahal Water Park (Jaipur)
Fun Gaon Water Park (Jaipur)
CAVES
Binnayaga Buddhist Caves (Binnayaga)
Hathiagor Buddhist Caves (Jajni)
WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Bandh Baratha Sanctuary (Bharatpur)
Bassi Sanctuary (Chittorgarh)
Jaisamand Sanctuary (Udaipur)
Kesarbagh Sanctuary (Dholpur)
Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary (Bundi)
RELIGIOUS PLACES
Ranakpur Jain Temple (Pali)
Dilwara Jain Temples (Sirohi)
Shrinathji Temple (Nathdwara)
NATIONAL PARKS
Ranthambore National Park (Sawai Madhopur)
Sariska Tiger Reserve ( Alwar )
Keoladeo National Park ( Bharatpur)
Desert National Park (Jaisalmer)
Mukundara Hills National Park (Kota)
FORTS
Chittod Fort (Chittorgarh)
Kumbhalgarh Fort (Kumbhalgarh)
Mehrangarh Fort (Jodhpur)
Jaisalmer Fort (Jaisalmer)
* LANGUAGES SPOKEN-
1) Hindi
2) Rajasthani
3) Sindhi
4) Marwari
5) Mewari
*TRADITIONAL ATTIRE-
1) The traditional outfit for Rajasthani men is dhoti and angarkha, or pyjama-kurta. The dhoti is a long piece of cloth tied around the waist and wrapped around like a loin-cloth between the legs. It is paired with angarkha, a type of robe characterized by an inner panel that covers the chest.
2) Traditional attire for Rajasthani women is ghagra, choli (also called kanchli or kurti) and odhni. The ghagra is a full-length, embroidered and pleated skirt, which comes in a variety of colours, prints and fabrics, such as silk, cotton, georgette and crêpe.
* CUISINE-
* FAMOUS FESTIVAL-
Gangaur
This festival is all about honouring Goddess Gauri or Parvati, and celebrating marriage and love.In this celebration, both married and unmarried women take part in the festivities in full enthusiasm, make clay images of Shiva and Parvati, dress them beautifully, offer prayers to them, observe day-long fast for marital happiness and prepare delightful dishes for the family.As for the locals of Rajasthan, Goddess Parvati represents perfection and marital love; thus, the Gangaur festival holds a lot of importance for them.
Gangaur festival is altogether a very colour affair, which attracts a huge number of tourists. It generally lasts for 18 days, as people in most of the regions start performing the rituals a day after Holi.
* TRADITIONAL SPORT-
Elephant Polo
Elephant Polo is played in only a few countries of the world. We are lucky that one of them is India. Rajasthan especially is the hub of elephant polo in the country.
Jaipur is the only city in the world where one can witness this royal sport all-round the year. Although these mighty creatures lack speed but the grace and elegance that they exuberate is certainly a class apart. Even today many members of the royal family take time out to be a part of the elephant polo matches that are organized in the state. The Jaipur Polo Club is doing a great thing by keeping the legacy of elephant Polo alive.
* FOLK DANCE-
Ghoomar
Ghoomar is a traditional as well as an enthusiastic folk dance of Rajasthan. Ghoomar or Ghumar was basically developed by the Bhil tribe and was adopted by other Rajasthani communities. The Ghoomar dance is a particularly a women's dance and performed by the women for exclusively ladies gatherings. Ghoomar dance is performed by groups of women moving in a circular fashion and in swirling robes accompanied by men and women singing together. This spectacular folk dance derived its name from ‘ghoomna’. Fascination starts when colors of the flowing ‘ghaghara’, the long skirt of the Rajasthani women flows during pirouetting. There is an amazing grace as the skirt flair slowly while the women twirl in circles, their faces covered with the help of the veil. This splendid view feels body with enthusiasm and more when one join the dance.
