Dr. Sushma Ahuja has been instrumental in working towards bringing back this Natraj Murti from London back to Badoli, this Natraj mutri is 1100 years old and shall retrun back to where it belongs after 24 years, this Mahashivratri certainly brings with it good news for Lord Shiva devotees. 

Read the entrie news article below - Dainik Bhaskar - Dated 1 March 2022 

Click here to read this news on Dainik Bhaskar e paper dainik-b.in/pfWtrvlF1nb

Read more about Natraj murti - stolen smuggled Murti of Natraj of Badoli shall return to India after 22 years - The Heritage Tourism

Years of efforts towards preserving Heritage has finally paved way. 
​The Natraj of Badoli is finally returning back home.  

Dr. Sushma Ahuja is indeed a heritage preserver. Her journey to ensure we bring back our Heritage, Natraj of Badoli back to India is definitely worth celebrating. 
​It took years of efforts in this process and finally it has come true. 

The Lord Shiva Statue was stolen in February 1998 from Ghateshwar Temple in Badoli, Rajasthan.
In 2003, it came to light that the statue had been smuggled out to the UK.
Dr. Sushma Ahuja did tremendous research and made innumerable efforts to bring back this Natraj  (Natessa) murti. Finally Natraj shall come back home to where it belongs. 

"I am extremely happy and thankful for all the support, happy about the fact that our efforts and contribution towards this journey have been successful. "  - Dr. Sushma Ahuja

Once again thank you for your efforts Dr. Sushma Ahuja, you are an inspiration for Heritage lovers. ​

A VISIT TO RENOVATED MUSEUM OF JHALAWAR  OF KOTA REGION OF  RAJASTHAN                                                      JHALAWAR    85 Km from  Kota 
Foundation  of the city of Jhalawar  associated with  Chauhan Rajput  JHALA JALIM SINGH who was the military commander and Dewan of  KOTA state at that time in 1791.
In 1838 the British rulers seprated Jhalawar from Kota state and gave it to Jhala Madho Singh ,the grandson of Jhala Jalim Singh .His successor especially Rana Bhawani Singh ji who ruled Jhalawar state from 1899 to 1929 AD did remarkable work for the administrative ,economic and social cultural development o Jhalawar.
   This region is extremly rich in heritage marvels that has a large number of ancient rock cut Buddhist monasrery complexes ,and religious    heritage of hinduism , Jainism and others. 
   Artistic pieces have been shifted from the older museum hall to Garh Palace. SCULPTURES ,PAINTINGS, ARMS,WEAPONS,HAND SCRIPT VOLUMES, ARTISTIC PIECES OF IVORY AND SHELLS TOYS ,WORTHLESS COLLECTION OF GOLDEN SILVER AND COPPER COINS AND A PHOTO GALLERY OF RULERS,THE GLASS PALACE OR SHEESH MAHAL IS VERY ARTISTIC.
Recognising the local ,regional and National importance, department of Archaeology and Museums of Govt of Rajasthan initiated the project of state of the art  conservation  and upgradation of museum. and here are the results  of this planning and designing which you can see in display of precious  artifacts in more than 30 galleries which covers an area of more than 5200 sq. m.
THANKS  Supdt. Archaeology and museums Kota circle Umrao Singh ji and curator Jhalawar museum Mahendr and Sandeep ji for making it possible for me to visit with my group of friends and for guiding us.

PICTURES CREATING AWARENESS ON A WALL BY  THESE YOUNG KIDS OF VILLAGE

   Museum is a source of knowledge,a sign of civilization like a library and other agencies of knowledge and culture.Museums are authentic source of history and valuable documents of human civilization through the ages.                                                                                                                                                                                                  In the world of today where rapidly advancing information and technology and communication media have become increasingly available as alternative source of public education  , we have to find innovative methods for fulfilling our needs. At this juncture of 21st century it appears to be appropriate for us to review the role of Museums in protection of heritage and to justify  the continuance and relevance of museumsin the rapidly transforming society in projecting the various faces of history and culture of Indian people .

It is now hightime to make the education planners and policy makers to realise that the museum is the best possible method and facility to combine formal and non formal modes of learning by developing collarative links with other organisation and services involved in mass communication and heritage interpretation.

HERITAGE OF HADOTI -GLORIOUS TEMPLES OF KESHORAIPATAN ON THE BANKS OF RIVER CHAMBAL -15 KM FROM KOTA

 
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND MYTHOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

It is believed that PARASHURAM was asked by his father JAMADGNI to build a temple of Mrityunjya at Keshav kshetra. It is also believed that during the exile period of PANDVA'S (AGYATVAS) they took shelter at this place. CHAUHAN ruler HAMMIR of Ranthambore also visited and completed the offerings of his father JAITRSING after his sad demise on the way to Keshorai.
The Temple was recreated by Bundi ruler Maharaj SHATRUSAL n 1641 AD.
It is considered as a holy place and Chambal as a holy river, devotees take bath during Kartik Poornima and enjoy Kartik fair on the banks of river Chambal.
JAIN TEMPLE of MUNI SUVRATNATH is also located at this holy place and is considered to have magical powers called Atishay Kendra.​
Many steps are being taken by the administration and the govt. to create awareness amongst the public to save rivers from pollution and to keep them clean. This would even help attract tourists to this destination.

SAVE CHAMBAL FROM POLLUTION ,ATTRACT TOURIST  TO DESTINATION

Shilp Shastra and Vedic Puranic sources portray the Matrikas as the embodiment of the feminine potentialities of respective Brahmanical Gods.
The great Goddess Devi Mahishasurmardini DURGA shakti of all gods created from the energies of all male gods for the purpose of slaying the buffalo demon Mahisha who had conqured the world.
 Matrika group comprises of Brahmani,Vaishnavi,Maheshwari,Kaumari,Varahi, Narsinghi, Indrani and Chamunda.These shaktis sprung from the bodies of each god and having the form of each approach chandika with whatever arms, ornaments,ayudh and vhiecles a god possessed.In that form did the shaktis go to fight the asur.
Among all two of them became very popular one was Mahishasurmardini Durga and the other Chamunda also known as Kali.She is said to have emanated from the forehead of Ambika for killing Chanda and Munda.She also helped Ambika and other mother goddesses in killing the asur Raktbija.
​A good number of examples we found in Temples sculptures of HADOTI Region..

MAHISHASURMARDINI    BADOLI GROUP OF TEMPLES

In pursuit of exploring a heritage destination that’s been considered as one of India’s oldest Buddhist caves we planned our Yatra for World Heritage Site - Ellora Caves. We decided to board in flight from Jaipur to Mumbai and from their our daughter would join us and we three (Me, my husband and my younger daughter) would move ahead for Aurangabad. As soon as the plan seem possible my husband opened up Yatra website for booking in our airlines ticket. Off season always gives you cheaper flights especially if you book tickets few days prior but in our case it wasn’t off season, it was peak Diwali breaks time and our decisions are always quick and prompt, so we decided to leave the very next day cause we knew we shall get the best deals with Yatra domestic airlines. Its always so much more than just ticket booking, its the entire experience of going in for another heritage walk, a real long walk I would say. 

Jaipur to Mumbai was a comforting flight and soon we met our Daughter, had lunch and discussed our itinerary ahead while enjoying breeze at Juhu Beach. We don’t get this breeze at Rajasthan, we don’t have these beaches either. But I love the royalty of Rajasthan as much as I love the beaches and Mumbai rains. So itinerary was ready - We shall catch a late night train from Mumbai to Aurangabad and reach there early morning. We shall book a cab for the day Aurangabad that shall take us to Ellora caves. I can spend days researching and admiring the beauty of this historical place and so giving it just one day seems totally wrong. Hence we would spend three days at Aurangabad.. first day we would visit Ellora caves .. early morning we shall check in the hotel and have buffet breakfast.. this is the perfect time to go visit the nature. We shall make our way to Ellora Caves - Buddhist caves followed by lunch nearby Ellora Caves and evening we shall return back to explore the city.  Second day we shall visit the city museum, Daulatabad fort, Bibi ka Maqbara and historical places related to Aurangazeb, after whom this city is named. The city itself is a tourist place of Maharashtra and deserves a day. Third day shall involve Ellora Caves- Hindu and Jain caves, Ellora has a great amalgamation of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves each having its own characteristic appearance and importance. This day shall certainly be a long one with lots of photography and detailed research and understanding the heritage importance of the site. Dinner shall be at the hotel and early morning Volvo bus shall take us back to Mumbai. After shopping and relaxing for a day at Mumbai we shall take a flight back to Jaipur being much more enriched with heritage. 

So we took our train to Aurangabad, once we reached there we realized it was a quiet city with several tourist especially foreign tourist visible at every 200 metres. Everyone came to visit Ellora Caves some as tourist some as traveller and a few heritage lovers. Once we reached Ellora Caves we were enchanted with the beauty of those giant old and strong Ellora Caves. They had something alluring about them that attracted everyone towards them. I have read a lot of books and publications about Ellora Caves, we decided to use the ASI brochure of Ellora Caves to understand the sitemap and cave number and its importance. The place was vast, and the structure huge and they had a positive vibe within them, as if Monks are meditating and passing on the positivity to everyone around. Some of the Buddhist cave sculpture were an unbelievable work of art. Definitely visiting Ellora caves was a fascinating experience and visiting heritage places is my way of having a memorable and ideal yatra. On my way back in the flight we kept on cherishing the amazing visit over a tin of cashews and delicious sandwiches. This Vacation was unforgettable and there are many more great experiences to be shared. May be next time over tin of cashews in flight.