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With the fond memories of Jodhpur, I popped in Bikaner. My escort,
Ranvir, informed me that Bikaner is popularly known as the Camel city of
Rajasthan and it was established by a Rathore Prince, Rao-Bhikaji- a
descendent of the founder of Jodhpur in 1488 A.D.
"You know! Sir, Bikaji, enterprising son of the Rao Jodhaji,
founded a barren land known as Jangladesh and transformed it into an
impressive city Bikaner after his name." he added the information.
I was quite impressed by the enterprising nature of Bikaji who formed a
new state on his own calibre.
"Sir, have I told you about the famous camel festival of Bikaner"
he asked. " No, you haven't" I replied . He told me that the
festival is organized by the Department of Tourism, Art and culture,
Governement of Rajasthan, annually. The festival is held in the month of
January and is an exclusive camel festival. In addition to sale and
purchase of camels, the festival also endorse song and dance festival
and other competitions.
And it was wonderful to know the city was well linked by air, rail and
roadways, with nearest airport is Jodhpur 240 kms. In fact, I took a
train to come to Bikaner from Jodhpur.
Exploring Bikaner
Here I did, an intresting thing as I took a rikshaw, three wheelers
with paddles (look alike of chinese rikshaw), to cover Bikaner. What a
ride it was.........I still remember the bumps of the road as the
rickshaw moved on the cranky road.
Ranvir, my guide was a great help to me.. The first place that I popped
in was Bika Ki Teri and Ranvir told me about its history. " Sir, it
was built in 1485, the fort was constructed by Rao Bika." he
informed. The fort is situated on the rocky ground, although the fort is
not in good taste but definitely presents a reminder of the gallantry of
its founder.
Oh! then the JunaGarh Fort was another exceptional thing that I saw.
Built by Raja Rai Singh, the fort has 37 palaces with in the complex. I
was quite impressed to see the architecture of the fort."Look, this
is Suraj pol or the Sun gate, the main enterance to the fort."
showed Ranvir. What a piece! I thought. The other places that I explored
within the complex were Chandra Mahal, Phool Mahal and Karan Mahal.
Built in red stone and marbles, the palace is ornamented with mirror
work, carving and paintings. The palace has a museum that showcases the
rare antiques, valuable miniature painting founded in Junagarh fort.The
Ranvir took me to the Lalgarh Palace Built by Maharaja Ganga Singh in
commemoration of his father Maharaja Lal Singh. The masterpiece is built
in Red stone and has a beutiful lattice work and filigree work. Part of
this palace is converted into a museum known as Shri Sadul Museum and a
luxury hotel. Believe it or not! I was awestruck by the beauty of the
Lalagrah palace.
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Bikaner
