| A tribute to the mother who gave life |
A tribute to the soldier who saved life
वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम
This isn’t just a Sanskrit phrase but this is the way of living taught by Indian culture and the meaning of this phrase is “The whole world is a family”. India integrates every king of people in her womb. India is known for its integrity, vibrant culture, traditions, and fascinating places. In short, every single thing in this country teaches us a holistic way of living.
29 states, more than 20 languages, different religions, so many different folk dances, attire all make India enriched. We all are sheltered under one roof. The sound of Tabala, Sitar, Sarangi takes us back to old times and creates a picture of the colors of India. India was named as a GOLDEN BIRD because of the availability of raw material, precious stones, and ancient India was a global trade hub.
जिवेषु करुणा चापि मैत्री तेषु विधियतम् I
This means “Be friendly and compassionate with every living being. That’s why we consider cows as our mothers.
Not only in culture but India has an enriched history of discoveries and inventions. India contributed to Ayurveda, Mathematics, and Astronomy and so on and these discoveries are priceless.
Albert Einstein said,
“We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made”
Isn’t India more precious than Kohinoor Diamond?
पदं हि सर्वत्र गुनेर्निधियते
This means good qualities put their footprints everywhere. That’s why our culture is considered very vibrant and appreciated by outsiders. The Sanskrit language is considered the mother of all languages in India and Panini is considered as the father of the Sanskrit language who was a grammarian, philologist in ancient India. Sanskrit is known for clarity in language but unfortunately, this oldest language is dying because of western culture.
ना कंचित शाश्वतम्
This means nothing is permanent. No one can deny that our Indian culture is eternal
खम्मा घनी
Rajasthan: The Land of Rajputs is a magical world in itself. Whenever you learn something about Rajasthan you can visualize the colorful historical forts, palaces. Rajasthan is adorned with the sound of Ravanahatha, the grace of Ghoomar, beautiful culture and beauty of Rajasthan is increased by Heritage Hotels, Pottery, Carpets, Paintings, Stuffed Dolls, Jodhpuri Jutties. The aroma of Dal BatiChurma will hypnotize you, the folk dance will enchant youand the Desert Safari will make you feel alive. And the best part isRajasthani people are very welcoming so whenever someone enters Rajasthan you will see local people smiling and will welcome you with full of affection,
“पधारो म्हारे देस ”
Rajasthan holds honor high when it comes to Ancient Architecture. If it’s about Forts, Monuments, Museums or Step wells Rajasthan will never let you down. Rajasthan has something so magnetic, fascinating, astonishing architecture that leaves everyone dumbfounded.
‘Baori’ means a well-structured step-well. So many step-wells are there in Rajasthan because of the shortage of water. A step-well is used to store water. Rajasthan is home to World’s Largest and Deepest Stepwell“Chand Baori”. Chand Baori is an architectural miracle.
Location:
Duasa is an ancient town in Rajasthan and Duasa means “Beautiful like heaven”. Duasa is around 55 km away from Jaipur. Abhaneri is the most famous attraction in Duasa and once abhaneri was AbhaNagari (city of brightness). Abhaneri is 88km away from Jaipur. Abhaneri is best known for Chand Baori.
What History/Mythology Says?
Chand Baori is named after Raja Chandra who was the king of the NikumbhaEmpire. Due to the shortage of water king wanted to construct a grand baori but he was not rich enough to construct such a huge infrastructure. So started worshiping and practicing black magic and finally, the king found a Djinn. And that Djinn created this Baori over a night. These theories are most often told by locals but no one exactly knows who constructed this baori and in how much duration got completed and how many laborers worked.
Architecture/ Construction of Chand Baori:
Chand Baori was constructed in the 8-9th century. This baori gives justice to the word “Huge”. This infra is huge and square-shaped. This baori was made in a way that irrespective of water level anyone could get water easily. It is a 13 storied step-well and has 3500 steps.
The stepwell is 20 meters deep. The three sides of this step-well are full of steps in triangular shapes and symmetrical and the pattern is in the way that one can go up or down but can not walk straight. The fourth side of the well has pillared corridors that are adorned with idols of lord Ganesha and goddess Mahishasurmardini. The Baori gets narrow as we go down and during the summer the temperature at the bottom stays 5 to 6 degrees lower than the surface. You can explore the whole baori with steps only. The 3500 steps create an astonishing maze. The green color of the water works as cheery on the top of the cake. The corridor is full of beautiful carvings, stone sculpture, and thousands of stories. The walls are full of sculptures of Hindu gods like Bramha, Vishnu and Mahesh. Chand Baori is not just infrastructure but it has a hard-to-find architecture and this step-well doesn’t only present a magical piece of art but gives a glimpse about stories of our Indian Gods.
The Haunted Chand Baori:
Every single thing has a dark side too. When there is beauty there is a beast. Chand Baori is popular for its beauty but it’s also popular for Hauntings. Locals say that still, the djinn is present in that baori. As mentioned before the king asked the djinn to construct a baori. But whenever djinn gives something it takes something in exchange.
After the construction of the baori that Djinn asked King to give his kingdom. Then the king called a saint who had magical power. That saint imprisoned the Djinn in its baori. And when imprisoned the djinn said whoever will enter this well will never return. And since then that Djinn is haunting that Step-well. Locals say they have not experienced hauntings but they have listened to some wired sounds there. One day a paranormal investigator, Jay Alani visited this well. And he investigated this step-well and he did not find anything but yes he too listened some unusual voices there. These stories of hauntings are true or not is not revealed yet but this story makes this place more amazing and interesting. The grand infrastructure and the story of Djinn makes this place popular.
Some interesting things about Chand Baori:
Everyone all over the world is curious about CHAND BAORI. Some Bollywood as well as Hollywood movies have some shots of this place.
Bollywood Movies: Paheli, BhoolBhuleyya, Bhumi
Hollywood Movies: The Dark Knight Rises, The Fall etc
If one likes to visit haunted places then Bhangarh fort is at 38km from Bandikui which is the most haunted place in India.
Conclusion:
Being an Indian we should try to take our culture forward instead of questioning it. And no doubt Chand Baori is the masterpiece And pride of India.
Some uncountable sites and architectures make India unique but the thing is because of modernization the significance is fading away. Due to its grand structure and enriched history tourists from all over the world come here to experience our vibes. As being an Indian most of us are influenced by western stories and are unaware of the gold our country has. It is our responsibility to keep this dignity and keep our land evergreen.
नमस्ते सदा वत्सल्ये मातृभूमि त्वया हिन्दुभुमे सुखं वर्धितोहम् l
महामन्द्गःले पुन्यभूमे त्वदर्थ पतत्वेश कायो नमस्ते नमस्ते ll
This means,
Oh, motherland I bow in front of you. My mother country raised us liked her kids and I have grown up in this sacred and holy land. I want to give my everything to you motherland. I bow to you mother repeatedly.
Author’s Bio:
Shweta Lohar is a proud Indian and Ambidextrous. She keeps on trying new things to understand every angle of life. She aims to create awareness about Indian culture and traditions as because of modernization the actual significance of Indian traditions is lagging and to keep Indian culture alive. And………… To be continued…………..
