Upcoming

Chettinad is a wonderful small town which has the remnants of its glorious past. Chettinad is famous for its houses and buildings. Chettinad is the homeland of Natukottai Chettiar also known as the Nagarathars. The Chettiars who are the residents of Chettinad are considered to be the pioneers of banking. Legends say that the Pandyan King of 13th century invited the people of Chettinad to stay here in the. They were a big business community which gave the city the name of Chettinad.

Auroville was founded as a project of Sri Aurobindo Society on Wednesday 28 February 1968 by Mirra Alfassa, "The Mother". She was an equal spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, who believed that "man is a transitional being". The Mother expected that this experimental "universal township" would contribute significantly in the "progress of humanity towards its splendid future by bringing together people of goodwill and aspiration for a better world." The Mother also believed that such a universal township will contribute decisively to the Indian renaissance (Ref. Mother's Agenda, Vol. 9, dt.3.02.68). The Government of India endorsed the township, and in 1966, UNESCO also endorsed it inviting the member-states to participate in the development of Auroville. UNESCO re-endorsed Auroville four times more in the course of the last 40 years[citation needed].

Sikar is a Historical City and at present district head quarter. Sikar district presents a good many facts for the tourists. Sikar is as much part of Shekhawati as Jhunjhunu. It was the biggest Thikana (Estate) of the Jaipur State. It lie on the highway 11 in the midway on route Bikaner to Agra . It is 116 Km away from the Jaipur, 320Km from Jodhpur 240 Km from Bikaner and 301 Km. from Delhi. Sikar was the capital town of the Tikana Sikar.
It is escorted all around by the highwalls comprising of seven gates. The primitive name of Sikar was ‘Beer Bhan Ka Bass’. In order of mitigate the enmity on account of the murder of Daulat Singh’s father Jaswant Singh , Bahadur Singh the raja of Khandela gifted the village to Daulat Singh . He laid down the foundation stone of the fort on the raised ground of this village. Lateron his son Shiv Singh who was very strong ,clever, courageous and bold made a magnificent fort on it. Shiv Singh was the most prominent Rao Raja of Sikar. He developed the village into a beautiful town. It is surrounded by a strong boundary wall . He was a religious man.

The history of Shekhawati can be traced back to the 14th Century, a number of Muslims clans moved into the area and the towns which developed became important trading posts on the caravan routes emanating from the ports of Gujrat. The name of the region can be traced to a 15th century Rajaput Kachhwaha chieftain by the name of Rao Shekha.

As the Mughal Empire fell into decline after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the descendants of Rao Shekha , who had already installed themselves in areas to the east of the Aravalli Range, began to encroach on the regions to the north and west. Covering an area of some 30,000 sq km, today this region encompasses the administrative districts of Churn, Jhunjhunu and Sikar, and is known as Shekhawati.The chieftains of the region retained a nominal loyalty to the Rajput states of Jaipur and Amber, who in turn honored them with hereditary titles known as tazimi sardars. It was probably exposure to the courts of jaipur and Amber which encouraged the chieftains, who were known as thakurs, or barons, to commission the first of the thousands of murals which decorated their havelis, or mansions.By 1732, two of these chieftains, Sardul Singh and Shiv Singh, had overthrown the nawabs of Fatehpur and Jhunjhunu and British Ports at Bombay and Calcutta were able to handle a much greater volume of trade than those at Gujarat. Pressure by the British East India Company compelled Jaipur state to drastically reduce its levies, and it became no longer necessary to travel via Shekhawati. However hawat merchants had received grounding in the Practices and principles of trade, and were reluctant to relinquish was obviously a lucrative source of Income. Towards the end of the 19th century menfolk began to emigrate their desert homes to the thriving, centres emerging on the ports of the Ganges. India's richest industrialists of the century, such as the Birlas, were Marwaris (as the people from Shekawati came to be known).

The town of Sawai Madhopur was founded in 1765 AD was named after its founder Sawai Madho Singh I of Jaipur. Due to the ongoing Muslim conquests, somehow, the grandson of Prithviraj Chauhan, Govinda established himself at Ranthambhore and ruled the surrounding regions. Later, Vagbhatta laid siege to the fort, following Illtutmish's death and ruled for the following 12 years.

History indicates that the region changed lots of hands before finding its way back to its founder, Sawai Madho Singh I of Jaipur who reinstated the town to its former glory.

The historic facts about Neemrana take us to the ancient times when it was under the patronage of Maharaja Devi Singhji. Besides, Neemrana was also the third capital of the descendents of Prithviraj Chauhan III. The chief landmark of this town, the Neemrana Fort, was built by Maharaja Devi Singhji and this particular place has derived its name from the gallant local chieftain Nimola Meo. There is an interesting incident behind the name of the fort. While fighting with the Chauhans he was overthrown and he made a humble plea for naming his lost kingdom after his name. This fort is an architectural marvel of Rajasthan and one of the oldest too. The present fort is a leading heritage resort that is used for the purpose of luxury tourist accommodation, wedding and business purposes.

Nathdwara is a popular Hindu pilgrimage site. This is one of the most celebrated pilgrimage shrines of India, enshrining Krishna as Govardhana Giridhari. Nathdwara is situated 48 km north east of Udaipur in Rajasthan, on the banks of the Banas River. Nathdwara enshrines Shrinathji - an image of Krishna, which was originally, enshrined at the Vraja Bhoomi at Mount Govardhana near Mathura.The name Nathdwara means Gate of the Lord. The image was brought to Mewar, for the sake of protection during the period of Aurangazeb, the Moghul monarch.

The chariot carrying the image is said to have gotten stuck here, and hence a temple was established with the permission of the then Rana of Mewar, at Nathdwara. Nathdwara is very closely associated with the Vallabha Sampradaya of Vaishnavism. Prior to his visiting the Shrinathji shrine, Vallabhacharya is said to have described Puri,Pandharpur , Srirangam and Tirupati as four great centers of Vaishnavism, in his work Tatvartha Deepa Nibhandha.

The history of Chittorgarh, which is one of the oldest cities of Rajasthan dates back to the 8th century. It was given as a dowry gift to Bappa Rawal, the founder of the Sisodia Dynasty when he married the last Solanki princess somewhere in the 8th century. Spread over a 7-mile long hill, the city of Chittorgarh was ruled by the descendants of Bappa Rawal till somewhere around the 16th century.

Chittorgarh was always a fiercely contested seat of power due to its strategic location. In fact Chittorgarh's history is fraught with some of the bloodiest battles of all times. It was sacked a number of times, the most famous attack being the one launched by Alauddin Khilji, the sultan of Delhi who was enamored by its then queen Padmini's beauty. The tale of this brave queen who sacrificed her life to escape dishonor is still sung about by the local musicians of Rajasthan. In fact the history of Chittorgarh is replete with the tales of its gallant warriors for whom honor triumphed over everything.

After Khilji's attack, Bahadur Shah attacked Chittorgarh in 1535 AD followed by a third one by Akbar in 1568. The last attack was the final straw and Chittorgarh never recovered from this attack. In fact, the city was never inhabited after that. Right now, this ghost town still reverberates with the tales of its past glory and the sacrifices made by its people.