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SHEKHAWATI |
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PILANI |
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Once
a small village is famous for being the hometown of the premier
business and industrial family the Birlas. The town is also for
its The Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS),
Pilani is an all-India Institute for higher education. Its
engineering college is reputed to be the top ten colleges in
India. Late Mr G.D. Birla - an eminent industrialist and
an associate of Mahatma Gandhi, founded the Institute. Other
places of interest are The BITS Museum, Shiva Ganga,
Saraswati temple and the Pachwati. Pilani is connected by
bus and road from Delhi and Jaipur and the nearest railhead is
Chirawa. Pilani also has good hotel accommodations. |
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BISSAU |
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Bissau
Is another small town of
fluctuating fortunes. Keshri Singh founded the town. The
town fell into anarchies when his grandson Shyam Singh
extorted huge sums of money from the local merchant. The
merchants packed up and fled the town and the local Thakurs
resorted wide spread looting and decoity. However on the death
of Shyam Singh his heir then restored normalcy and the merchants
were encouraged. |
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PARASRAMPURIA |
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It
a tiny village 20 kms southwest of Navalgarh. It boasts
of some the oldest and the best preserved Shekhavati paintings
in the region. The Shyamji Sharaf Haveli and 18th century
haveli located near the bus stand has well conserved paintings.
Paintings show a grandmother having her hair attended and women
on a spinning wheel. An English woman is polished boots and
holding a parasol. Another frieze depicts Europeans in a car.
Other frescos depict Gods and Goddess. |
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BAGGAR |
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Baggar
Is a small town known for the Piramal Haveli, which
accepts guests in its eight room on prior booking. The Hotel
serves pure vegetarian food. |
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SALASAR BALAJI |
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In
the Churu district and 2hrs drive from Fatehpur, the great
famous temple of SANKATMOCHAN HANUMAN is situated.
Salasar Balaji is situated in the small town called Salasar.
The holy temple requires no introduction to Hindus all over the
world. It has a trail of devotees that cannot be numbered. The
history of this temple dates back to 1811 in a village called
Asota, where a farmer while ploughing his field, got stuck by
some rock under the earth and when cleared by his wife, emerged
an idol of Lord Hanuman. The Thakur of that village dreamt being
asked to shift the idol of Salasar for proper religious
incarnation. At the same time a devotee worshiper of Lord
Hanuman called Mean Das also dreamt about the Lord and was asked
to do the same. The idol was thus sent to Salasar with all care
and devotion. Transforming the village into the Salasar Dham,
initially a hut, the place was later developed gradually into a
concrete temple, which now has a large complex. All that the
devotees desire is fulfilled by Lord BALAJI, lacs of
followers from all over the world visit this holy place every
year. |
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KHATU SHYAM JI |
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The
legend of this immensely popular Krishna temple can be traced
back to the medieval Mahabharat where, Barbareek the
son of great Pandav brother Bhim and Nag Kanya (snake princess)
displayed his great warrior skills that pleased Lord Shiva who
endowed his blessings in the form of Teen Ban (three
arrows) and Agni Dev (fire god ) gave him a bow, so that he
could conquer all the three worlds. In order to watch the famous
war of Mahabharat he sat towards the battle field and in between
his tryst with a Lord Krishna in disguise become a vital part of
the history and thus the incarnation of KHATU SHAMJI. The
lord asked the young Barbareek to sacrifice his head for
charity, because otherwise the victory of pandavas would not be
possible since he possessed the Teen Bans. The boy maintained
his promise of Sheesh Dan as a true Kshatriya but at the
same time wished to watch the war and his wish was granted.
Later on, his head was buried in Khatu where the king had a
dream and was inspired to construct a temple and place the head
in a religious manner. Till this date his devotees are blessed
by just pronouncing his name from the bottom of their heart with
true Samarpan. The devotees from all around the world visit this
pilgrimage temple at the time of the mela in the Kartik month.
Their devotion and belief simply pours from their conscious
belief. The temple today is run by trust and the offerings of
the devotees is for the Kripa which the god bestows on his
devotees. |
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