Namaskaram !
Welcome, Padharo ! I'm Mathini, a French woman who has been living in Rajasthan for 10 years. Despite being imbued with Indian culture from a young age it wasn't until 2014 that my Indian adventure really began. I left everything behind in France and set off on a 6-year journey through the land of Gandhi. These adventures are gathered in this blog which aspires, in an intentionally positive spirit, to bear witness to India's remarkably diverse and multifaceted cultural heritage. If this website sparks a desire to pack your bags and set off for an Indian adventure, it will have achieved its purpose. Subh Yatra on Magik India and beautiful explorations in the sacred land of Bharat...
Nawalgarh is a major city in Shekhawati, a semi-desert region in northern Rajasthan. Founded in the mid-18th century, it became one of India’s most prosperous cities in the following century thanks to the “Marwaris,” merchants who made their fortunes on the Thar Desert trade route and later in various industries based in Mumbai and Kolkata. Its nickname, the “City of Gold,” refers to this former wealth. The Marwaris displayed their opulence by building palatial mansions adorned with lavish frescoes. Many of modern India’s wealthy business families, such as the Podars, Birlas, and Goenkas, to name a few, are direct descendants of the Marwaris of Nawalgarh.
In semi-desert areas like Shekhawati, in northern Rajasthan, water management is vital. Thus, in addition to stepwells and other reservoirs, numerous “kuas” (pronounced kooa) have sprung up throughout the region. With their Persian-style towers adorned with exquisite frescoes, these unique wells reflected the opulence of wealthy Marwari merchants in the 18th and 19th centuries. As community hubs, they also served as caravanserai for half a century on the trade route across the Thar Desert.
Delwara is a town nestled in the heart of the Aravalli Mountains, barely thirty kilometers from Udaipur, the romantic city of lakes of Rajasthan. While Delwara is surprisingly little known, it was once a major spiritual center and a renowned place of learning for the future rulers of Mewar; its thousands of Hindu temples and hundreds of Jain derasars earned it the name “city of gods”.
In the north of the district of Kutch (Gujarat), on the edge of the great white desert, is the village of Khavda which gave its name to a very specific ceramic, whose origins date back to the thousand-year-old civilization of the Indus Valley. While the art of pottery from this region has survived since the Bronze Age, it struggles to find its place in the modern world.
Tera is one of the oldest villages of Gujarat, located in the Abdasa region of Kutch. Although the town only has a few inhabitants now, it was nevertheless, in the 18th century, one of the major strongholds of the Jadeja lords. Its fort, with its powerful ramparts, bears witness to its former splendor. But Tera is best known as a land of pilgrimage; its Jain derasar, one of the “moti panchtirthi” brings together tens of thousands of devotees each year.
It might not seem like it, but Roha Fort was, in the 16th century AD, one of the most powerful in Kutch (Gujarat). Located on a hill of the same name, 50 km from Bhuj, the fortress is a timeless destination which, although overgrown with weeds, will delight travelers who, like me, love old sites with history.
If you have ever visited Nawalgarh, in the Shekhawati region (Rajasthan), it is very likely that you have missed its fort, Bala Kila. Although the latter has lost its former glory, there remains a marvelous hidden room, the Sheesh Mahal, which then served as a lodge for the Maharanis.
