Jaisalmer holds a fascination for every bong. Satyajit Ray immortalized the fort with his famous short story Sonar Kella and every bong’s fantasy is to visit the Kella (fort) once in his lifetime. The case was no different for me. I too wanted to visit the fort and experience the hackneyed pleasures of a camel ride, walk in the dunes during full moon etc. But no blog, no account or description prepared me for what I saw.
Having lived in Rajasthan for the past two years I am accustomed to the vivacity and the verve of the State. But Jaisalmer, I found is distinguishable from all the other cities that I have visited so far. Unlike the smartly commercial Jaipur, idyllic Udaipur and vibrant Jodhpur, Jaisalmer is an ex-trade town and a strategically important point on the former silk route. Owing to its position in the Thar Desert and the proximity to the border it has been ravaged many a times by man and by nature. After the lines had been drawn severing Pakistan from India, the city’s main source of income which was trade dried up destining it to lose its identity and perish in isolation. Today the city subsists on tourism. Our guide attributes the growth in tourism to three people- Indira Gandhi, Sunil Dutt and Satyajit Ray.
In 1974, India conducted underground nuclear test near the desert town of Pokaran (Rajasthan) making it the world’s youngest nuclear power. During this historical event Mrs. Gandhi, Prime-minister then visited Pokaran and Jaisalmer which is a couple of hours away by road. Apart from the fort she also visited many sandstone mansions better known as havelis. One of them is the Patwon Ki Haveli constructed by a rich merchant and money lender for his five sons. It took about six decades to be completed. The haveli is not a single unit but a cluster of five separate units. The estimated cost of construction then was close to rupees ten lakhs. Each of the five wings is full of delicate filigree work on it. The fine and detailed jalis rival the Mughal monuments and Dilwara temples. The unique feature of this monument is that it is bonded without any mortar or cement. The structure is formed by interlocked stones which are detachable. Mrs. Gandhi impressed by the ingenuity and the craftsmanship declared the building ‘protected’. To conserve the beauty and integrity of the structure three conditions have been imposed they are-it is not to be detached, it is not to be transported in any form and structural changes are prohibited.
When Jaisalmer ceased to be a trade centre the Bapna clan migrated to greener pastures. Presently two parts of it are under Government care, a part of it is owned privately and the remaining two have been turned into handicraft shops. Indians consider west facing houses to be inauspicious. And the Rajasthanis believe that houses constructed with a lot of carvings and detailing do not prosper for long. Legends take birth and die yet Patwon ki Haveli stands its ground, reminiscent of opulence and beauty of a forgotten era.
