Whenever we look out for historical tales, it somehow gets restricted to that heavyweight books of our library. But there exists such unheard stories, which have failed to find it's place in those books. But history is still alive.Nonetheless, folklores, myths, stories, silence, all of which actually kept it alive, and this is about one of those.
Jaisalmer, an iconic and significant city of Rajasthan was made in the 12th century by Rawal Jaisal. Jaisalmer has often found its worth in historical textbooks, but that was only restricted to royal life. Its history couldn't get over those huge walls of the fort. But beyond the dazzle of this royalty, somewhere in the middle of the desert, lies an unwritten, undocumented,but a popular myth which still stands alive. Opening up our ears to this strange, unknown and unsolved mystery of Kuldhara, lying 18 kilometres ahead of Jaisalmer.
Kuldhara- A vast maze-like cluster of roofless homes, bare walls, and a carpet of disjointed bricks are all that remain of what is once said to have been a prosperous village. Sitting quietly among the sand dunes of Western Rajasthan, this is just one of the eighty-four such abandoned villages dotting the stark landscape. A local myth tells us that these villages were of the Paliwal Brahmins who fled their homes overnight to uphold their honour because the then prime minister of the Jaisalmer court, a man called Salem Singh wanted to marry the headman's daughter against her wishes. The authencity of this myth is still questionable.
Shattered walls, anonymous lanes, unknown homes, this is what Kuldhara has in its treasure. Within its silence lies buried the loud cries of its history, it's unheard story. Seems like those ruins want to say a lot more, but have failed to do so.
The ruins of Kuldhara depicted that a very well settled, well planned and prosperous village existed once upon a time. According to Professor Ali Nadeem Rezavi of Aligarh Muslim University, when he went for his site exacavation in 1993, not a single living being existed in that ghostly silence. Kuldhara was not an ordinary settlement. In fact it was very well planned in comparison to those times. An interesting fact is that it was planned in almost the same way as Harappa, Mohenjodaro and other Indus Valley sites. Broad lanes, open courtyard, roads heading in a perpendicular direction, were all similarly striking features to Indus Valley Town planning.
It can be estimated that more than 200 families might be existing here. The houses were made with stones being cut parallel to each other without any use of cement or water. Formation of double-storeyed houses using this technique was actually an indication of well-advanced architectural skills.
Kuldhara was home to Paliwal Brahmins, who migrated in the 11th-century from Pali to Jaisalmer. They were basically merchant class communities. Every trade-related activities were dominated by the Paliwals. In fact, these Paliwal Brahmins of Kuldhara were considered as the richest community in Jaisalmer.
But one question arises, that which incident might have occurred that made the people of Kuldhara leave their village overnight?
Sumar Ram, a localite and a caretaker of Kuldhara dates back to the time when Mehrawal Gaj Singh was the ruler of Jaisalmer in the year 1815. His Diwan, Salem Singh was equally powerful and dominant owing to Gaj Singh being a weak administrator. Not only that but he was equally cruel, gruesome and an oppressive individual.
Salem Singh reached Kuldhara and was smitten by a 12-year-old girl of the Paliwals, named Shakti Maiya, or as the localites call her. Salem Singh had a strong desire to marry her. But the Paliwals couldn't accept this alliance as Salem Singh was a non-Brahmin. Nonetheless, owing to his stubborn nature, he declared that he would marry that particular girl on attaining her marriageable age. The Paliwals were left with no choice and within one night, the whole Paliwal community left Kuldhara, leaving their homes, treasuries, herd and everything behind. But they couldn't afford to give away their daughter to a non-Brahmin at any cost.
Nandkishore Sharma, a Historian, claims that Salem Singh extorted extra taxes from the Paliwals by barbaric ways. They even complained to Maharawal about this, but it couldn't serve them justice. This also serves as a reason for the exile of the Paliwal Brahmins.
Another place of significance is Salem Singh ki haveli. History says that Maharawal ordered Salem Singh and his family to be killed. But one of the descendants of Salem Singh claimed that he died way before the exile of the Paliwals. Another intriguing story by the people, still residing in Jaisalmer fort, claims that Salem Singh had been in a relationship with one of the daughters of the Paliwals. When they got to know of this, they feared that the Rajputs might kidnap their daughter. In order to save their honour, they deported from Kuldhara within that night.
The local myth claims that the Paliwals left a curse on this village before leaving that no individual living here shall survive thereafter. This myth led Kuldhara to be included in the top list of haunted places in Rajasthan. The silence existing here is because of its curse, making it an abandoned and haunted place forever. But history has its own version. The Tawarikh-i-Jaisalmer states that the main reason for its solitude was actually because of the decreasing level of the underground water table, which widely affected their agriculture and business, making the Paliwals totally bankrupt. They then had no option left except to leave Kuldhara forever.
Kuldhara- An abandoned village in the midst of the lonely desert, standing in frightening silence. A single story, or maybe a myth, but so many forms. Its history runs through those zig-zag lanes....but its reality? Nothing. Or maybe...everything. A single incident with a variety of reasons, this is what History is all about. The unheard secret is really the one...or a myth...is quite hard to tell.
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