"A COMMUNITY VANISHED
OVERNIGHT"
Where people used to celebrate festivals, sit together in the night alongside the bon fire and which was once an oasis in the Thar Desert, is now an abandoned spot. Along with Bhangarh, this place Kuldhara is considered as one of the most haunted and cursed place. But, Why...?
Something had happened one night when all the residents from Kuldhara had abandoned the place; however they left a curse that this place will never be inhabited again. The curse stays till date...
- With their knowledge and enterprising
nature they turned Kuldhara (and 84 villages around Kuldhara) into
a flourishing place for trade and commerce activities.
- The Paliwals were skilled farmers
and were adept in cultivating crops like wheat in the desert lands.
It’s true, they were masters in identifying rock layers underneath
the sand which could hold the required quantity of water for
cultivation. Such was effluence built into the region by
Paliwals that each new Paliwal family was welcomed with a brick
and a gold coin from every other family in the village. Brick was
meant to build a house and gold coin to start a livelihood. I have not
heard of such levels of prosperity and brotherhood in the history of
mankind.
Then the question is why these people deserted this prosperous place. Some legends behind this:
The prosperity of Kuldhara had become a thorn in the eyes of Mughals/ other invaders. It is said that in the 18th century, a raid from the invaders resulted in the exodus of the Paliwal community from the Kuldhara area. It is belived that all the water sources and wells got poisoned due to dead animal carcasses, While leaving, a curse was put on the Kuldhara, which stays till date.
Once a prime minister of the region (Jaisalmer), Diwan Salim Singh got captivated by a beautiful girl of this community and wanted to marry her. When his proposal was not approved by the community, he threatened Kuldhara residents with dire consequences. To preserve their dignity and keep honor intact, Paliwals from Kuldhara and nearby 84 villages made an exit in one night (around 1825 - 1830). While leaving, a curse was put on the Kuldhara that this place will never see any inhabitation, which stays till date.
Taxes were increased by the government/ king to such an extent that residents had no option but to leave.
Widely believed and accepted reason is the 2nd one. However when looking at the condition of the houses, it looks highly improbable that this desertion took place only 200 years back. None of the houses have roof or even a part of roof intact. Houses look like they are lying in this state for much more than 2 centuries. Other reason to question this belief is that this was a peaceful exit, and residents took with them only bare necessary stuff and there was no fight.
This cart got left behind, most probably there were no animals left to drive this with the Paliwals. |
So structure of the houses should have remained intact, albeit gradual deterioration with time. One house which is said to be of the head of the tribe has roof intact. Belief and logic do not coincide here, mystery is still unsolved.
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Underground tunnels, which no one has dared to explore... |
House is being renovated by ASI |
I
personally feel that something related to reason no. 1 is more appropriate.
Generally raiders/ invaders after looting, used to destroy everything, India is
a witness to many such raids. Whatever be the reason, the status of
Kuldhara as a paranormal activity infested place is intact. Visitors to this
place often complaint of uneasiness, touching on shoulders and sudden drop and
rise in temperatures.
Now
Paliwals reside in many parts of the country and doing well, but
some of the Paliwal Brahmins do not celebrate Rakshabandhan till date. It is
believed that they abandoned Kuldhara on the day of Rakshabandhan.