Atrocious Sariska

Atrocious Sariska

Inside the Sariska Tiger Reserve

After deliberating over the issue regarding whether to write about the Sariska Tiger Reserve or to give it a skip, I finally arrived at the conclusion that if I do not share my experiences, a lot many people, who sometimes go through my blogs may get conned at Sariska.  I was saved the blushes, as I had not gone there for a full blown holiday to Sariska, but was just passing by for a day visit while returning from Bharatpur and its famed ‘Keoladeo Ghana National Park’ (KGNP) for short.  After seeing the beautiful photographs that cropped up at the various websites, as soon as you seek ‘Sariska’ in Google search, I too was entrapped into visiting the destination.

A small hamlet across the dhaba where we had B'fast

We had planned to start very early in the morning, for our return leg from Bharatpur (as detailed in my previous blogs) to Delhi and the morning again turned out to be very foggy and hence I decided to delay our start.  However, as the fog had not lifted even by 9.00 A.M, we decided to proceed with our return journey, driving very slowly.  After having driven about 10 Kms. or so, we saw the first big casualty of the fog on the road, a State Roadways bus had met with a collision with another vehicle and hit the road divider before coming to a stop (check out the video link attached below).  We had proceeded on the road leading though Mahawa, Rajgarh and crossing through the extreme end of Sariska before officially entering its precincts through Tehla, which is about 110 Kms. from Bharatpur.  However, about having traveled for about 25-30 Kms. the fog lifted from the roads, as if it never existed and I think the cause of the fog was the water body in Bharatpur.  Having traveled for about 50 Kms. or so we stopped for having our B’fast in a road side dhaba.  We had a sumptuous treat of fresh Aloo Paranthas with farm fresh butter and some coriander leaves thrown in to enhance the aroma & taste and accompanied with a hot cup of tea, it was a real treat in the lap of nature.

As we head into the Aravallies on way to Sariska

            We turned towards Rajgarh from Mahawa, although the Agra Bikaner State Highway was in excellent state, the initial entry through the town was a bit congested but thereafter the road was fine upto a few Kilometers and thereafter, the road being under construction slowed down our pace considerably, as the road surface was uneven and even missing altogether at some places.  We struggled to keep pace and after a horrendous road journey reached the Sariska entry gate from Tahela side, much delayed from our planned time of arrival.  One has to purchase a entry permit for entering the Sariska Tiger Reserve and from this side of Sariska, no public transportation is available and being a Tuesday, the locals were allowed inside to visit the ancient ‘Hanuman temple’ albeit only on motorcycles.  This road is to be closed as per Hon’ble Supreme Court directions, but due to local pressure it is still open and despite the warning of speed limit of 30 Kms. per hour, I found locals driving through the destination at break neck speeds with no means of monitoring this by the forest department.  There are 28 villages situated inside the precincts of the Sariska Tiger Reserve and attempts are being made to relocate them.  Thanks to the notorious poacher Late Sansar Chand, the Tiger reserve is bereft of any tiger population, but the local management in collusion with the private resort owners etc. make a killing by projecting the reserve as being one of the best.

Going past Rajgarh - some ancient ramparts 

Just beyond Rajgarh, ruins of some ancient temple on shores of a large lake

            Having purchased the entry permit for my vehicle by paying Rs.250/-, I entered the Sariska Tiger Reserve with great expectations and with my Camera ready for some action.  However, just after entering the reserve I found that women, in hordes were returning after collecting firewood from the forest, right under the nose of the forest guards.  I then knew fully well that there was nothing to fear in these forests, but our driver kept insisting that there were some wild animals inside the forest reserve and we decided not to take any careless decision in this regard and being a Government servant thought it wise to stick inside the car.  This road that traverses through the heart of the so called Tiger reserve, which in turn connects Rajgarh with Alwar via Tehla, it is quite a busy road.  Despite being an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman, having being delayed considerably due to bad roads, I decided to skip my scheduled visit to this ancient temple atop the fort inside the Tiger Reserve.  We were keeping to the speed limit prescribed and neither using horns etc., but the other vehicles were being driven at break neck speeds, throwing up a cloud of dust in the aftermath.  We tried very hard to locate some wildlife, but were not able to find anything except for some peacocks, peahens and wild pigs.

As we descent towards Tehla, view from top of the hill

The vast expanse of the Sariska forests

            After having traversed more than 2/3^rd of the journey inside the Tiger Reserve, I saw a few local couples on motorcycles, who would occasionally stop on the road and get down to adjust their belongings etc. for a couple of minutes and then move on.  After a while I spotted a few couples sitting by the road side, with their bikes parked a few meters away and I thought that the same was allowed on the road.  Suddenly, I spotted some white feathered bird and as could not get a good look from the vehicle, I alighted and tried to take a shot of it with my zoom lens, but found that it was some kind of cotton etc. that was hanging on the branch.  Just as I was moving back to my vehicle, a local Gypsy carrying tourist approached and started questioning as to why I was moving outside, since I could make out that he was a private operator, I did not answer him and returned to my vehicle and we moved off.  The vehicle kept following us upto a kilometer or so and thereafter, it moved off into a dirt track.  We slowly made our way forward, hoping fervently to spot some wild life or bird.  The actual shocker came the moment we reached the exit gate, the guard came out gesticulating and stating that I was his culprit.  When I asked him as to what was the reason for stopping us, he informed that I had strayed into the core area of the forest.  When I confronted him with the fact that the vehicle I was traveling in was not meant to be driven on dirt tracks and therefore, it was not possible for me to have driven there.  The next allegation was that I got down on the road, but when I confronted him that what about the two couples who were sitting on the road side and those two had been asked politely by the safari driver to move on, what action had been taken by them against those two and as to where were they?  The guard got baffled and was really got out of his mind, when I told him of my identity, but after some more ramblings he let us go after my wife intervened,  because the children were disturbed by this behavior.

No other wildlife except for some Peahens

No wildlife in Sariska can be seen except for some wild pigs

            Sariska Tiger Reserve has no tigers and hence this tag should be removed and it should only be declared as a Wildlife Reserve.  It is evident from the incident narrated hereinabove that there is a nexus between the local operators and the forest guards, who make every possible attempt to discourage the use private vehicles and only to collude to allow the private run tour operators inside the Reserve, from whom they get some monetary benefits????  In case you have got some time to waste and only interested in a holiday in a good resort and seeing wildlife is not a priority for you, then you may visit Sariska or else give this atrocious place a miss, which will not only save you some money but also the hassles by some lowly placed forest guards, who do not do their duty for preserving the Wildlife reserve but to fill their pockets by colluding with private operators and harassing nature lovers… the choice of course is yours to make.

Here is a link to the video for the destination - 

Destinations in Rajasthan - visiting Deeg

Visiting Deeg

The moat around the Deeg Palace

            As we intended to have a quick early morning visit to the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, I got up early to once again be vanquished by the morning fog and therefore, we waited out till the weather cleared up.  Having had our breakfast comprising of Bread & Omelets, we proceeded for our days’ scheduled excursion to Deeg.  Situated about 34 Kms. north of Bharatpur is this beautiful garden town of Deeg, the capital of Jat Kings of Bharatpur.   Geographically it is located at an altitude of 174 meters over mean sea level and placed in co-ordinates of 27.47 degrees North (Latitude) and 77.33 degrees East (Longitude).  In 1733 AD, Raja Badan Singh’s son, Suraj Mal had captured the fort of Bharatpur from Khemkaran, the rival chief, whom he killed and thus, laid the foundation of Bharatpur City.  Deeg in the 18th century was the capital of Jat rulers. The central citadel, set up in 1730 is square in layout and stands on a slightly raised ground.  The whole monument is encircled by a shallow wide moat.  The protective walls are 8 km in circumference pierced by 10 gateways and studded with 72 bastions.   The gateway to the fort is protected with anti-elephant strikes.  The most impressive are its huge towers, haughtily standing upto the sky. The towers are fitted with cannons to take a sound shot at any approaching enemy.

Yellow mustard bloom all around

Indian Sarus Crane

We drove through the Bharatpur city till we hit upon the Alwar Road and have traversed some distance on this road, we suddenly we spotted a pair of Indian ‘Saras’ cranes, which had not made a show at the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary this season.  So we got down and embarked upon our usually activity of shooting the birds!! Of course with our Cameras, despite the fact that it was still quite overcast.  Having observed the Cranes for some time, we headed towards Deeg, the road was in excellent condition coupled with a riot of Yellow (read mustard in bloom in fields adjacent to the road) thrown on either side of the black tarmac, the view was mesmerizing.  We made our way to the Deeg township having gone past the old village and there from headed towards the old fort.  The entrance to the Deeg Fort is by a draw bridge in the north and through a gateway protected with anti-elephant spikes. One can drive through this road, but albeit a bit carefully, as it is narrow, with no tarmac and at best can be described as a dirt track.  But the most impressive part of the fort is its huge towers which stand haughtily piercing the sky. There are 12 (Twelve) in all, the largest being the Lakha Burj in the north-west corner. These towers were fitted with cannons to take a pot shot at any approaching enemy. The cannon of Lakha Burj is still well preserved. The Suraj Mal Haveli is a nice structure, with its typical domes of the bangaldar style. This kind of a shaping is based on the Bengali curved bamboo roof, probably imported to Rajasthan by the Bengali architect of Jaipur, Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. In fact, such rounded roofs are the high point of Deeg's pleasure palaces too.

Maharaja Suraj Mal's haveli inside  fort

Entry carved out of the fortification of the fort

Lakha Burj of Deeg fort

Cannon atop Lakha Burj

Another view of the Cannon atop Lakha Burj with the Deeg township in background

Panoramic view of the Deeg fort and moat around it

            Next we proceeded towards the Palace in Deeg and as it was getting intensely cold, we first had a cup of Coffee each at the entrance of the Palace in typical Indian mud baked cups called ‘Khullars’.  A brief history of the place is as follows – Initially Maharaja Badan Singh was a small Chieftain who wanted to become the Ruler and sought the favour from the Kings of Jaipur, under whose jurisdiction the area was demarcated, but was refused the honor.   Peeved on being denied, the Chieftain started looting the plundering government treasuries etc., which compelled the Mughals to direct the Mahraja of Jaipur to cede to his demands and thus, he was declared a King of the State of Bharatpur.  His son Maharaja Suraj Mal displayed immense courage and carved a niche for himself in the midst of political disorder. Gathering around him fiercely martial Jat peasants, he went from one success to another. He accompanied Emperor Muhammed Shah against Ali Muhammed Ruhela and in 1748 AD, at the battle of Bagru, he led the Jaipur vanguard against the Marathas. He also defeated the commander-in-chief of the Mughal emperor. Despite being a very religious man he was secular.  He built the Palace in Deeg with the gardens having being laid with great care and precision, the sparkling fountains and meticulous palaces add to he beauty of this idyllic retreat of the princes of Bharatpur.  He was killed by the Mughal General using treachery on 25^th December, 1763 who beheaded him and cut off his hands too and carried them back to Delhi. His son Maharaja Jawahar Singh, being taunted constantly by his mother who had adopted him i.e. Maharani Kishori regarding the treachery of Mughals and carrying away the head of his father to Delhi, prompted an attack on Delhi in October, 1764 and he laid siege upon the city for months.  He left after having been granted a beneficial treaty including cost of the war by the Mughals.  However, he still plundered the Red Fort of Delhi and took away the door of Chittorgarh fort that was taken away by Maharaja Akbar.  He also carried away with him the swing of Empress Noorjahan and other stone artifacts, which he thought was the part of throne, but later turned out to be granite slabs on which the Royalty (read Mughals) were bathed & robed after demise.  All these artifacts are there in the Palace for one to see.

The main entrance gate of Deeg Palace

The close-up shot of the Royal insignia on palace gate of Deeg 

Braj Bhoomi - statute of Lord Krishna on the entry gate of the Deeg Palace

           The outstanding feature of the Palace is its 2000 odd fountains that spew colored water.  The water is stored in a huge reservoir of 6 lakhs gallons capacity, which used to be filled up using Cattle draw well technique during the medieval times, taking almost 20 days to fill it to the brim and even as on date it takes two days to fill it up by using electric pumps.  The flow of colored water in the fountains was an ingenious design, as there were several burnt clay pipes inserted in the reservoir side that carried water to the fountains with specific markings.  When the fountains are closed, these were inserted with wooden poles and when water was required to be released cloth bags containing colored vegetable dyes were stuck at the exit end and as the water flowed through them, the water absorbed the colors and thus created an aura of color & fragrance.    The fountains are still in working condition but they are made functional only twice during a year, once during the rainy season of July/August on occasion of ‘Teej’ festival and on 4^th February every year for the special invitees.  The tourists enjoy the charming settings of this agricultural town, along with the well preserved palace pavilions and gardens.  Some very interesting buildings can be observed within the Palace precincts are as follows, however, no photography is allowed inside these ASI protected buildings.

GOPAL BHAVAN:

Completed in 1760, an imaginatively designed building complex with beautifully laid gardens at its entrance and the rear overlooks the Gopal Sagar which is flanked with smaller pavilions Sawan and Bhadon. The formal gardens face a raised terrace with an arch of lustrous marble installed on a pedestal in the form of swing. This exquisite swing is a war trophy brought in by the famous Jat king Raja Suraj Mal from the Mughal court in Delhi. The spacious and well proportioned Banquet Hall has a double row of graceful pillars. The rear of the chamber is further divided by a charming sunken pool with fountains. The Banquet hall houses a rich collection of curios, souvenirs and Victorian furniture. Staircases wind upstairs to the upper floors. One room contains a solid black marble bed from Delhi.  Behind this building is housed the temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman and the statute is made up of reddish brown Jade and is South facing, in honor of the fighting capabilities of the deity shown during the war with Ravana in South of India.

The Prime Minster of Deeg's Office in Deeg Palace

View of Sawan Sagar

BENGAL CHAMBER

It houses the dining room, and has sloping arches, with comfortable cushions along the outer edges forming the seating area. It is a two storied complex with the upper one with seating arrangement on the floor with raised platform in the middle made of marble with an entry/exit point for servants, for serving the Royals.  The lower floor consists of typical European dining table that could host about 100 guests at a time and was used to host the Britishers etc.  Adjacent to the upper Dining room is the royal Chess Room, which has trellis design and is painted in soft red color.

Noorjahan's swing captured from Red Fort, Delhi in Deeg Palace

Lord Hanuman's statute inside Deeg Palace

Exotic Mughal stone inlay work in building shifted from Agra Fort by rulers of Deeg

SURAJ BHAVAN

To the east of the main building, this palace has balconies overhanging the water. The entire palace in marble is like an airy pavilion with fine ornamentation within the apartments.  The guide informed us that this palace was reserved for the guest’s of the Royalty and was in fact the Madrasa (teaching place) for the Mughal rulers of Agra and during the occupation of the fort by the Jat Kings they had removed the entire building and re-constructed it in Deeg.  He tried to defend his theory by stating that the Jat Kings did not have access to quality marble or trained artisans for the same and that the entire palace had been constructed in sandstone and the local artisans were apt in sandstone cutting, rather than marble.

Fountains in Deeg Palace

Intricately carved yellow sandstone pillars in Deeg Palace

NAND BHAVAN

It is a large audience hall. KRISHNA BHAVAN, and the ingeniously designed water works of KESHAV BHAVAN, with open twelve pillared pavilion are of great interest.  Here the water used to gush in with speed upto the Keshav Bhavan roof and at the entry point of each pipe a round sandstone ball was placed and the water pressure displacing the ball and ball hitting the masonry would create a sound and all of the balls striking together would create a noise akin to thunder and with the water falling in cascades through various pores of the roof and walls, would create an aura of a rainy day.  As the roof is caving in, the ASI has constructed a grotesque wall in the middle of the building, thereby destroying the basic vision of the structure.

Water game in Deeg Palace

Founder of  Jat kingdom - Maharaja Badan Singh

Maharaja Surajmal

Maharja Jawahar Singh

PURANA MAHAL

It is the oldest palace, planned as a spacious rectangle encircled by compartments and chamber, it has a collection of some very fine Rajput and Mughal schools.

Another view of the famed water fountains of Deeg Palace

View of Keshav Bhawan

            Deeg is of religious significance as well as it is in the Braj Bhoomi i.e. land of Lord Krishna and as per Hindu Mythology, Deeg comes in the path of the Parikrama of Lord Krishna that starts from Goverdhan parvat, about 12 Kms. from here.  The region is also known as ‘Braj Bhoomi’ that literally means ‘land of Lord Krishna’.  Deeg also find mention in ancient Hindu scriptures of ‘Skand Purana’ as ‘Dirgha’ or ‘Dirghapur’.

View of Bhadon Sagar from 

             We spent the entire day at Deeg and returned to Bharatpur in the late afternoon, as we were to return back to Delhi the next day after having visited Sariska on the way back.

Here is a video of the destination -

Destinations in Rajasthan - Visiting Bharatpur

Visiting Bharatpur

(Destinations in Rajasthan)

 

Painted stork in Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur

As the winter vacations of the children loomed large, this time around I was perplexed about the destination I would take them to.  During the previous years, I had ceremonially proceeded to hill stations, so as to enable them to watch snowfall, but without success.  However, during this year they happened to witness snowfall during the peak of summer, on the day we visited Tso Moriri Lake in Ladakh and therefore, there was no point in going again for a holiday to a hill station.  Since Rajasthan was an area that had not been toured by me, especially because of having had some bad experiences with the tourism industry related people of the State.  Thus, because of my interest in bird-watching, of the ‘Avian’ kind of-course, I choose to visit Bharatpur this year.  Bharatpur is also called the Eastern gateway of Rajasthan. The history of Bharatpur dates back to the epic age, when the Matsya Kingdom flourished here in the 5th century B.C. The matsya’s were the allies of the Pandavas during the Mahabharata war. According to tradition the name of Bharatpur is traced to Bharat, the brother of Lord Rama of Ayodhya, who’s other brother Laxman was granted the esteemed place as family deity of the ruling family of Bharatpur. His name also appears in the state seals and coat-of-arms. 

A Yellow Wagtail on the Yamuna Expressway

Hotel Saras, Bharatpur

            Bharatpur is famous for its bird sanctuary that goes by the name of ‘Keoladeo Ghana National Park’.  The nearest city to this township is Agra that is situated at a distance of 54 Kms. and Jaipur is about 174 Kms. from here, it is also accessible from Alwar at a distance of 117 Kms. and Delhi, which is about 182 Kms. from here.  Bharatpur is also accessible by train, as it lies on the Western Railways Mumbai-Delhi Sector and about fours hours run from Delhi.  There are a plethora of private hotels that operate in this township and apart from them there is Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation run hotel ‘Saras’ of ‘comfort category’ but very basic nature and I had stayed here in AC Rooms, but the fooding is not upto the mark.  For those looking for more luxurious environs, there is hotel Ashok, Bharatpur an ITDC run hotel right inside the National Park precincts.

Main entry gate of Keloadeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur

Spotted Owlet in Bharatpur bird sanctuary

Indian Roller on its perch in Bharatpur sanctuary

Sambhar deer (female) in Bharatpur sanctuary

Chital or spotted deer (female) in Bharatpur sanctuary

Wild boar in Bharatpur sanctuary

Chital or spotted deer (Male) in Bharatpur sanctuary

Kingfisher in Bharatpur sanctuary

Eurasian Coot in Bharatpur sanctuary

            We started for our sojourn to Bharatpur at around 8.00 A.M from Delhi on the   4^th of January, 2014 and we decided to access the Yamuna Expressway, as the National Highway passing through Gurgaon was bound to be jam packed during the morning hours.  The decision appeared to be well taken, as we started from Dwarka and had reached Nehru Place in about 40 minutes and having gone past the Okhla Bird Sanctuary we reached the Yamuna Expressway.  This was the first time for me on this road and I found the road to be astounding, maintaining international standards and a dream to ride on.  As we were not aware as to whether we would get anything to eat on this highway or not, since it would not have the ordinary range of ‘Dhabas’ (local restaurants) alongside.  We stopped on the way, parking our vehicle on the side and had our breakfast of grilled sandwiches and Coffee that had been prepared by my better half.  Thereafter, we proceeded towards Mathura and having paid a toll fee of Rs.220/-, we exited the expressway at Mathura after a drive of little over two hours.  Our dream journey had come to an abrupt end and nightmare started as soon as we exited the express way and entered Mathura, it took us one full hour to cross this township, full of jams and slow moving traffic.  We exited Mathura at National Highway and having crossed over, drove towards Rajashtan and found that the road here was much better, as we headed for Bharatpur.

Panoramic view of Lohagarh fort in Bharatpur

The way to main entrance to Bharatpur Palace

The inside view of Bharatpur Palace

A large utensil kept inside Bharatpur Palace

The outer facade of one of the building in Bharatpur Palace

A stone carved Lion in Bharatpur Palace

A pillar inside Bharatpur Palace

A Cannon kept in Bharatpur Palace

View of the gallery in Bharatpur Palace

The stairway leading to the museum in Bharatpur Palace

View of a roof top inside Bharatpur Palace

The columns of the main hall inside Bharatpur Palace

Busy in performing duties in Bharatpur Palace

View of the Hamam or bathing hall in Bharatpur Palace

View of the floor of Hamam inside Bharatpur Palace

View of the roof  of the Hamam inside Bharatpur Palace

Reclining Lord Vishnu statue inside Bharatpur Palace

Another huge sculpture inside Bharatpur Palace

The sculpted statute of Lord Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati inside Bharatpur Palace 

Broken statues inside Bharatpur Palace

             We reached Bharatpur at around 12.30 P.M and after having completed the check in formalities at Hotel Saras, we occupied our rooms to relax and refresh ourselves.  We thereafter, took lunch at the hotel and as the occupancy was low the staff informed that instead of A-la-carte, they would provide ‘Thali’ (Plate comprising of Cereals, Lentils and Vegetables etc.) @ Rs.175/- per plate, but we did not find the food very palatable, as it was bland.  It was overcast outside, but we still decided to head for the famed ‘Keoladeo National Park’, which is a famed bird sanctuary.  The Park gate is about 300 meters from the Hotel gate and as we were unaware of the direction or distance, we hired an auto-rickshaw for Rs.30/- and reached the gates within five minutes.  There are cycle rickshaws that ply within the precincts of the National Park and one can either  hire them right at the main gate, wherefrom you have to buy tickets @ Rs.50/- per head for adults and @ Rs.20/- per head for students and free for kids under 5 years.  The cycle rickshaws charge @ Rs.100/- per hour and the guide @ Rs.150/- per hour without telescope and @ Rs.250/- per hour for those with telescope.  There are two gates to the Park, one just at the entry and one at the core area of the park, one can drive through till the second gate and hire rickshaws from there as well.  Vehicles are only permitted up to Shanti Kutir inside the Park. The Electra Van of the Forest Department in the Sanctuary can be engaged, although the best way to explore the Park is on foot, bicycle or cycle rickshaws which are available on hire.  Since we had not brought our vehicle we had to hire three rickshaws and a guide for the visit, which cost me about Rs.1400/- (Rs.900/- for rickshaws for three hours and the guide Rs.500/-).  It is not essential to hire a guide, as the rickshaw pullers are equally apt at identifying the birds and also showing them to you for some little extra incentive, the guides are a professional lot and despite seeking hefty payments will not show you anything out of the ordinary.   Migratory waterfowls from all over the world and even the famed Siberian Cranes, that were once the pride of Keoladeo, last visited the park in 2002, was a major attraction. The most noticeable waterfowls coming to the Park are the bar- headed and grey lag geese. The ducks spotted that can be spotted here are the northern pintail, common teal, ruddy shelduck, mallard, widgeon, shoveler, common shelduck, red crested pochard, gadwall etc. Predatory birds like the imperial eagle, steppe and tawny eagle, spotted eagle, marsh harrier and laggar falcon are attracted towards the Park, completing the avian food chain of the ecosystem. Some of them, like the short – toed eagle lesser spotted eagle and shikra, are the residents of the Park. Saras cranes, the tallest flight birds, nest in exposed and open areas, but had failed to make it to the park this year.  About 11 sq. Kms of the Park out of its total area of 28 sq. Kms. is covered by water & marshes.  The remaining portion comprising of dry bushland & Acacia trees is rich in birds like the kingfisher, red-vented and white-cheeked bulbuls, babblers, quails, partridges, sunbirds, sparrows, parakeets and orioles, which live in bushes and burrows. In addition to these birds, animals like the black buck, sambar (largest Indian antelope), spotted deer, nilgais and wild hogs can be spotted here. Likewise, Pythons and Monitor lizards can also be observed, at some places, lazing in the sun.

Way to the Jawahar Burj

A pillar atop the Jawahar Burj

Closeup of the pillar atop Jwahar Burj

Panoramic view of Bharatpur from atop Jwahar Burj

Statute of Maharaja Surajmal astride his horse in Bharatpur

             Historically speaking the Keoladeo National Park was intitally construed as a dam that was built by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1750’s known as Anjan Bund.  Due to abundance of water, it started attracting many hervivores, especially Deers of many kind and in year 1850 onwards, this was converted as the Deer Hunting site by the MaharajasDue to abundance of water and being protected site, the place had started attracting birds in huge numbers and Prince Harbanji of Morvi State of present day Gujrat, who had been appointed as Administrator of Bharatpur converted this place into a Duck shooting reserve in 1899 and after flooding & creation of channels for distribution of water in 1901 onwards, the reserve was inaugurated in 1902 by Lord Curzon.  The Keoladeo Ghana National Park was formally notified as a Bird Sanctuary in 1956 and remained a personal game reserve of the Maharaja of Bharatpur till 1963.  Thereafter, in 1967 the area was declared as a reserve forest and upgraded as a National Park in 1981 and declared a World Heritage site in 1985.

The famed Ganga temple of Bharatpur 

Panoramic view of the Ganga temple in Bharatpur 

The famed Laxman temple (presiding deity of scions of Bharatpur) in Bharatpur

Another view of Laxman temple of Bharatpur

We returned back to the hotel and after having taken some tea & snacks settled to watch television as there is nothing else to do in this remote part.  We then had dinner by ordering dishes separately – A-la-carte, but found the preparation as atrocious as in the afternoon.  The remaining days that we stayed there we only ordered ‘Dal’ (a kind of lentil soup) and ‘Paranthas’ (fried bread) and sought scrambled eggs from outside the Hotel to partake our dinner.  We tucked ourselves into the bed early so as to get up early in the morning for visiting the Bird Sanctuary.  But the next day turned out to be equally bad with an intense cover of fog enveloping the entire area and after waiting upto 10.00 A.M. we decided to explore the township.  As the roads inside the township are rather narrow, we decided to explore the township in a local auto-rickshaw that charged us Rs.200/- for the trip.  The first prominent destination inside the township is the famed Lohagarh Fort, which true to its name that literally means ‘built of Iron’, stood solidly against many attacks by the British, frustrating them to no end. It faced the British onslaught four times and after a long siege they had to withdraw, but finally it was captured by Lord Lake for the British.   This fort is very different from the other forts in the State of Rajasthan. There is no architectural style associated with this fort, but it radiates an aura of strength and magnificence. The fort is surrounded by a moat, which was filled with water to ward off the enemy attacks. Sandy battlements strengthened the sandy ramparts, thus the enemy guns proved of no avail.  It has many gateways known as burjs and also houses many buildings inside its precincts.

A Fox inside the Bharatpur Sanctuary

Rose ringed Parakeets inside Bharatpur Sanctuary

A Cormorant with its meal in Bharatpur Sanctuary

Migratory birds flying across Bharatpur Sanctuary

A large water monitor basking in the Sun in Bharatpur Sanctuary

         However, the most outstanding piece of architecture is the Bharatpur Palace.  It is a fusion of Mughal and Rajput styles of architecture and it appears that the Rajas of Bharatpur were in awe of the Mughals and copied them in many aspects.  The palace was built in various phases by different  Maharajas, having being initally established by Raja Suraj Mal. The magnificent apartments are richly decorated with patterned floor tiles having exquisite and intricate designs. Kamra Khas, within the fort, has been converted into a museum displaying a rich collection of antiquities, exquisite sculptures and some ancient inscriptions alongwith a variety of arms & ammunation and muskets.  The museum occupies the main central wing displaying collections dating back to the 2nd century AD which demonstrates the art and skill of the region.  However, photography is restricted inside the museum precincts.  Another interesting part of the Palace architecture is the building housing the ‘Hamams’ or bathing place, which too constitues of intricately laid down floorings and exquisite roofs etc., a direct influence of the Mughals.  Behind this palace lies the Jwahar Burj that houses two huge metal pillars with inscriptions on them.

As the Sun sets across the Bharatpur Sanctuary

           In the market area is the Ganga Temple that was constructed by Maharaja Balwant Singh, who had started the construction of this big temple way back in 1845. The construction was carried out by a unique method, where all persons employed in the service of the state, were asked to donate one month’s salary of their service or any raise in pay towards the shrine. The temple is a beautiful piece of typical Rajput architecture.  The other main temple of the township is the Laxaman temple, this temple is also famous for beautiful stone work with elaborate carvings from doorways to ceilings, pillars, walls and arches. The temple is dedicated to Laxman, brother of Lord Rama.  After having visited the temple, we again headed back to the Bird Sanctuary, this time around we drove upto the Shanti Kutir and walked on our own exploring ‘hither & thither’, till we were famished and had reached the end of the road, where we consumed some ‘Samosas’ (fried snacks) and Cold drinks in the Canteen run by the Sanctuary administration near the ancient Shiva temple.  But my daughter & wife were totally worn out and therefore, we had to seek assistance of Rickshaws on our way back and by the time we were moving out of the complex, the sun was setting and created a beautiful aura all around and thus, we bid adeiu to Keoladeo National Park.

Here is the link to the video for the destination -