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Rajasthan
( Kota )
INTRODUCTION
It is a region
that has kept its past alive but also prepared
itself to face the 20th century with all the
necessary equipment. Take the bustling,
cluttered city of Kota. It's a thoroughly
modern, industrial city with its smoke emitting
factories and an incredible number of vehicles
on its crowded roads. But it also has its
majestic fort and palaces. A lot of other
reminders of its past are scattered all over
the city, like the fort with its museum and the
Jag Mandir, the Brijraj Bhawan palace and the
Umaid Bhawan Palace. Kota famous for its sarees
called Kotadoria. There cotton sarees are very
popular as summer wear.
Moving further
into the Hadoti region the towns get less
crossed and less touristy. The temples and the
forts are all there for you to explore, as you
drive into the interior you chance upon a
ruined temple here and an abandoned fortress
there. The people, beyond Baran, are warm and
welcoming and can be willing guides to help you
understand the area better. Some areas worth
exploring are the Badoli temples that date back
to the 9th century, the 11th century Ramgarh
Bhand deora temple, Sitabari, an ideal picnic
spot with temples and seven tanks and the fort
and mosque of Shahbad. The countryside has
wooded hills and valleys that provide shelter
to a large variety of wildlife. The Darrah
Wildlife Sanctuary, once used as the royal
hunting ground, today protects panther, spotted
deer, wild boar and bear. Jhalawar is a typical
small Hadoti town where the focal point is the
fort itself. Located in the middle of the town,
most of it now houses district offices but try
and get somebody to show you the Zenamakhas
portion of the fort as it has some really
exquisite paintings on the walls.
When you decide
to move out of Jhalawar, there are other places
of interest like the wooden cottage called Rain
Basera, the 7th century temples of Chandrabhaga,
Sun temple at Jhalarapatan and the magnificent
8th century Gagron Fort.
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