Rajasthan's Mystery Spot: An Entire Village Abandoned Overnight

When I planned my Rajasthan trip with fellow Tripoto writer Divyangana, I was most excited about seeing ‘Sonar Kella’ a.k.a Jaisalmer’s Golden Fortress. Any Satyajit Ray fan or rather, Feluda fan will know why I say so.

But when Divyangana told me about this spot near Jaisalmer I found the lover of stories in me feel more excited than I was before! It's because this place was so intriguing and had multiple stories, or rather folk-tales.

This was the village of Kuldhara.

The village, which was founded in the 13th century and is now a protected site, was abandoned in the 19th century, and the ruins today make you feel like you're in a period film about rebirth like 'Karan Arjun.'

But as to why it was abandoned overnight?

Some say it was haunted and people had to flee....

Some say it was a natural disaster, probably an Earth quake - but that doesn't truly explain the abandonment - does it?

Some stories speak of a Diwan who was evil and wanted to abduct/forcefully marry a girl (daughter of the Mukhya) and the village head had no choice but to flee with his entire community and apparently the 85 villages that were nearby !

Filmy right?

Minister Salim Singh, is considered the 'Diwan' in the story above. But apparently the Mukhya and the village of Paliwal Brahmin's not only left but also put a curse so the village still remains barren.

But the more logically accepted reason is that Salim Singh had raised taxes so much that people were forced to migrate.

Personally, as a story I want to believe the filmy version.

It was absolutely beautiful. The entire village is built with the same yellow limestone that Jaisalmer is famous for – the ‘sona’ of that yellow stone really stood out and made everything so much more beautiful.

Lone 'angans' (courtyards), large open terraces, and broken 'jharokas' (windows) were left behind, and they still stand now, likely with many buried secrets.

What is your take on Kuldhara? What do you think happened there? Leave your comments below!

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