hii,one question may have assived on your mind why i am posting something about shekhawati
because mandawa which is a district lies in a band of districts called the shekhawati region so here is
some information about shekhawati :)
The realm of lovely havelis, harking back to the yester years, epitomizes the beauty of Shekhawati, yet another landmark tourist destination of the colorful Rajasthan. Once the bastion of Rao Shekha, this magnificent land, located on the North of Rajasthan, derives its nomenclature from the former.
Shekhawati (Hindi: शेखावाटी, IAST: Śekhāwāṭī) is a semi-arid historical region located in the northeast part of Rajasthan, India.
It encompasses the administrative districts of Jhunjhunu and Sikar. From the administrative and geographical point of view Shekhawati is limited to Jhunjhunu and Sikar districts only. It is bounded on the northwest by Jangladesh region, on the northeast by Haryana, on the east by Mewat, on the southeast by Dhundhar, on the south by Ajmer, on the southwest by Marwar regions. However, some parts of Churu and Nagaur districts are also considered in the Shekawati region.
Its area is 13784 square kilometers.The inhabitants of Shekhawati are considered brave, sacrificing and hard working people. The region provides the highest number of persons to the Indian Army. The region of Shekhawati is also known as Scotland of India because of its brave, sacrificing and painstaking Jat people who are mostly farmers and military men.
Shekhawati is a tourist's paradise. The land of the Shekha is laced with innumerable beautiful havelis or grand mansions, that is guaranteed to capture one's imagination. It is a heaven for a true connoisseur of art and architecture. A riot of colors encapsulates the spirit of this vibrant landscape. Exquisitely embellished havelis mushroomed during the eighteenth century and former half of the twentieth. Mythology and fauna lies at the very core of this wonderful art. Tales narrating the valor of Lord Rama and the miracles of Lord Krishna unfold on a journey of these marvelous mansions. The advent of the British rule and the fact that life is going to change forever, is highlighted in the paintings of chugging trains
Location of shekhawati
Shekhawati in a desert area of Rajasthan and has special importance in the history of India.The natural climatic conditions in the region are very harsh and extreme. The temperature ranges from sub-zero Celsius in winter to more than 50°C in summer. The summer brings hot waves of air called loo. Annual rainfall is very low, around 450 to 600 mm. The ground water is as deep as 200 feet (60 m), and in places water is hard and salty. The people in the region depend on rainwater harvesting. The July and August rainwater is stored in pucca tanks and used throughout the year for drinking purposes.Bawdis and johads are traditionally constructed for storing water received from rainfall in this arid region of Rajasthan. The bawdi is constructed in such a design that it gets narrower as we go down. The water stored in it is very cool and used for drinking purposes. On average every third year is dry and every eighth year the region experiences famine. The famine of 1899 is considered to have been the most severe. During famine years it becomes very difficult for animals to survive and the cattle population declines drasticallyAncient History of Shekhawati
Many historians have considered this region included in the Matsya Kingdom. Rigveda also provides certain evidences in this matter. Manusmriti has called this land as 'brahmrishi desha'.
Shekhawati region was included in 'marukantar desha' up to Ramayana period. Out of 16 mahajanapadas prior to Buddha, only two janapadas, namely Avanti and the Kingdom of Virata were counted in Rajasthan area. This region was also influenced by Avanti but later on Nandas of Magadha defeated Avanti. Historians believe that Mauryas obtained the Rajasthan from Nandas.
In ancient times Shekhawati was not limited to the present two districts. During the Mahabharata period it was known as Matsya Kingdom and extended to the Saraswati River. This was because the first clan ruling this region, in the Mahabharata period, were descendants of fishermen. So the Vedas were supposed to be written and compiled on this very land.During ancient times this region was divided into several janapadas. Every janapada was a free republic state. The development of janapadas in Rajasthan started with habitation of Aryan.
The northern part of Rajasthan was known as Jangladesh (Bikaner and Nagaur) during Mahabharata period,and eastern part Jaipur-Alwar were called the Matsya Kingdom. Pandavas had spent one year of their vanishment in this Kingdom of Virata as their abode, to live in anonymity, after the expiry of their twelve-year long forest life. According to Vimal Charanlal, this Kingdom of Virata extended from Jhunjhunu to Kotkasim 109 km in the north, Jhunjhunu to Ajmer 184 km in the west, Ajmer to Banas and up to confluence of Chambal River 229 km in the south. The capital of this Kingdom of Virata was Bairat.
After the collapse of Gupta dynasty, Shekhawati's some parts like Jhunjhunu, Fatehpur, Narhar were controlled by the Kaimkhanis, until they were defeated by Shekhawat Rajputs.
Kaimkhani is a branch emerged from Chauhans. The first progenitor of Kaimkhanis was Karamchand, born in the family of Moterao of Chauhan clan, the ruler of Dadrewa. Firuz Shah Tughluq converted him to Islam and named him Kaimkhan. Thus his descendants were called Kaimkhani.
so ending my post with giving the places and districts coming under shekhawati region
The major towns and cities of the Shekhawati region are as follows(alphabetical order):
§ Bairas
§ Baggar
§ Chirawa
§ Churu
§ Dundlod
§ Fatehpur
§ Hardia
§ Khandela
§ Khetri
§ Mahansar
§ Taen
§ Mandawa
§ Pilani
§ Ramgarh
§ Sikar
§ Buhana
§
References wikipedia the free encyclopedia
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