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. 

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India, Mumbai is one of the best known Museum of the country. 
Recently I visited the Museum on World Museum Day 18 May 2015 and was delighted to witness the presence of Kota at various sections of the Museum.

Noteworthy is the Indian Miniature Painting Gallery where the museum houses one of the best collections of miniature paintings in the country. Besides the examples from the major centres there are some important paintings of Kota and Bundi style elegently displayed there.

This Miniature painting section is a must visit for every art lover.

Watch Dr. Sushma Ahuja on Epic Channel as she brings you closer to the reality and gives insights on Sita Bari.. a heritage tourism attraction of Rajasthan with Host Sara Khan on Kahi Suni: the myths and legends of India.

Watch Kahi Suni today 19 th May at 7:00 pm. For repeat telecast, keep watching Epic channel and stay glued to our Heritage and History.

Watch Dr. Sushma Ahuja give insights on Veer Tejaji of Rajasthani Folklore .. his life, heroism and history along with Host Sara Khan exclusively on Kahi Suni ... on Epic Channel .. tonight 14 May 2015 at 10 pm.

For the people, by the people and of the people. #DigitalIndia

This is exactly what we have been taught right from our school days. But what about the farmers, living somewhere in an unknown village, does he know that there are schemes and subsidies available for him? Has he ever been able to reach out to that department where he knows he shall be heard and his work shall be given utmost priority?

Sometimes we do believe that since its government work, it is bound to take time. Time can be days, weeks , months, years; you never know. The problem is the time and accessibility of resources. Your documents keep piling, waiting to reach the correct department where your application shall be read and reverted back to you with a positive note.

What about those backward tribes, who stay away from reaching out to the government thinking there is a high transaction cost associated to gaining governance information. How about the Youth, do we ever try to find out the employment opportunities, credit and loans availability. Why do we often remain outside the governance region?

According to me, the governance information needs to be crisp. If it’s timely updated and is readily available when required, if its customized for individual needs and requirements and thirdly if the authenticity is maintained, if its trustworthy then the Governance information provided is Crisp else it turns cold and soggy and is liked by none.   

And I am happy to  know that our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, in his independence day address to the nation suggested that he is looking forward to transforming the country into a digitally empowered and connected knowledge economy.  E governance is core to creating the Digital India envisioned by the government.

According to me, Sarkaar Apkae Dwaar  which means Government at your door step, is the most apt and simplest way to put down the working of e governance. With e governance we shall have access to all citizen services, timely and updated information of reforms, platform to collaborate with the government where we can reach out to them, be heard and get replied back in no time. Technology is the key enabler in realizing the Digital India vision. This shall lead to two fold advantage. One for the Government where the government shall get all the statistics and reach out to millions at once . this shall reduce the cost and help manage time, at the same time Govt. shall get an idea of the problems faced by even the most backward classes, this shall help mitigate the problems which arise cause of gaps in communication due to in active channels and other reasons. Govt. can then plan the budget keeping the present scenario in mind. At the same time, paper work shall be highly reduced and loads of data can be stored of entire India for years to come and shall be available on a single click, that means another problem of searching for lost files and documents shall now be a thing of the past. Governments around the globe are becoming online and digital which helps reduce the cost to access relevant government information. One thing that I personally appreciate is that we are going to save loads of paper and this step is undoubtedly a step further towards clean green and environment friendly India.  This digitalization is of utmost importance for us, we the people of India as this adds value to us as Indians.  Intel is committed towards India’s vision of a digital India. Digital skills for India and Innovate for India initiatives by Intel are worth a mention when it comes to e governance. This shall help each Indian learn the skills of reaching out to the government online and having their problems resolved.  This initiate shall insipe the youth, policymakers, NGO, private sectors and we as an individual to then innovatively and consider our government as an asset for us that shall bring us happiness and success in our lives. http://www.intel.in/ 

SARKAAR APKAE DWAAR!