Sands Of Time

Founded after a prince left his paternal palace in rage and anguish, Bikaner lives up to the expectation of Rajasthani colour and flavour.

- Anurag Mallick & Priya Ganapathy

In 1488, proud Rathore prince Rao Bika, second son of the Maharaja of Jodhpur, Rao Jodha, broke away from the dynasty after his ego was bruised by his father’s taunt. On a whim, he moved with a band of followers to a barren outcrop of land called Jangladesh to establish his own lineage. This was the wild west, home to warring Jat clans, who were subdued only after local mystic Karni Mata arranged a strategic matrimonial alliance of Rao Bika with the daughter of Rao Shekha, the powerful Bhati chief of Pugal.

The new capital ‘Bikaner’ thrived due to its strategic location along the caravan routes between Western India and Central Asia. Enriched by trade on the Silk Route, Bikaner’s merchants and nobles built opulent palaces, havelis and temples in red sandstone that have withstood the shifting sands of fortune for five centuries.

It was the sixth raja, Rai Singh, who moved from the original bastion and laid the foundation of the more secure Junagarh Fort, giving impetus to trade in oil and spices. Maharaja Sujan Singh invited merchants to settle at Sujangarh while it was Maharaja Ganga Singh who offered them an incentive to make Bikaner their home, with the promise of tax-free income and gifts of land to build houses, ‘for just a rupee and a coconut’. It is said 1,001 havelis were erected during his reign.