The Curious Case of Kuldhara Village
As children we have heard a lot many scary ghost stories. These
haunted stories still scare us in our dreams. We tend to drowse our-self in a pure
hair raising experience on most haunted places in world.
It is amazing to see how people, although scared of paranormal events, but crave to feel those unexplained jolts or 'Kick' as it is said now-a-days inspired from Bollywood.
You may have heard about lot of beaches, hotels, houses, palaces and even a complete town being haunted of mysterious powers. Some claim these are true while the others say those are mere mind games which are created by 'chemical locha' and make us think them to be real. One such place is situated about 17 kms from the golden city of Jaisalmar known as Kuldhara Village.
Kuldhara is a deserted place with a despondent environment brings sadness to
the heart when one thinks of those unfortunate people who were forced to
leave the land of their forefathers. However, the place doesn't seem to
be spooky for any reason other than the legends themselves, and for our
own perception based on those stories
After a visit to the golden city we had our lunch and headed towards Sam sand dunes. We knew about a haunted village situated nearby, but it was not on our wishlist. We were already mesmerized by the adventures that awaited us at sand dunes, it never occurred to us that Kuldhara Village was on our route. So when driver said that this road leads to Kuldhara Village, The Haunted Village, do you wish to visit ? We responded forthwith. Hell YES !!!!
It was a well planned township, but was demolished by the then king Salim Singh. The story behind this godforsaken town was just like every romantic Bollywood flick we saw. A king liked a girl, who was the daughter of the head of town (The Paliwals). The village did not approve of this. Even the girl rejected the proposal. King got furious, ordered his men to collect extra taxes and create havoc to the life of villagers. Ultimately every villager abandoned the town and since then no one has ever returned.
This place was not at all spooky. But it was a unique experience of exploring a demolished town. The tourism department has renovated a house, which they claim to be the home of the Paliwal Brahmins.The hut was not even close to a place which will give you the chills. Infact its beautiful architecture was ruined by the tourists, who ruined the place with the 21st century garbage. People are so pathetic that they even carved their love stories on the walls. I mean it was somebody's house.
Nevertheless, the carvings and some house paintings gave us a feel about the past.
The town had a temple which was pretty much new in construction. But as per the locals it was ancient. A couple couldn't resist the picturesque landscape and grabbed the photo opp at the roof of the temple. It is an unique experience to see people capturing the memories of their journeys with their loved ones. I believe these are mere modern tactics to preserve your experiences. These travels should mark a memory in your heart as well. Then and only then you can say, yes we enjoyed our getaway.
The disrupted walls of once a home to the working class of the 18th century Jaisalmar. It seems unrealistic, as how can a person do such ferocious deeds and ruin life of innocent lives just to satisfy his selfish interests.
My friend taking a stroll in this secluded town.
We saw a bunker like structure in the house. People say that these were built for hiding from the atrocities of the King. This was somewhat spooky considering it was all dark in there and there was not any kind of stairs to climb down and explore what's in there.
So after experiencing this not so haunted place we were about to exit this village, when suddenly my eyes discovered something funny and unique which was not expected. Jurassic Cactus Park.
Scientists say that in earlier ages the sea at Jaisalmer was deepest nearby at Kuldhara village due to
which fossils of many types of sea animals were found there. The stones
at Jaisalmer basin are of different time period with which it is easy to
find out after a study. The scientists also found evidence of a river
flowing after the Jurassic period. As per geology, after the Kremedian
period (150 million years ago) the sea started moving backward and
rivers started flowing. Fossils of flying dinosaurs were also found in nearby villages of Jaisalmar including Kuldhara.
So we were not too happy with this visit except for the fact that some dinosaur fossils were found in these areas. It may also be true that during the English rule, people wanted to protect these fossils from the hands of the greedy, so they devised this whole horror story.
If you want cheap horror, you can sure visit Kuldhara Village. But if you want the real deal, I would not refrain myself from saying that you will be disappointed here. I would not at all recommend anyone to visit Kuldhara Village, because the only horror at this place is of not finding anything worth visiting and wasting your time.
