Ramgarh, Sikar

Ramgarh Shekhawati रामगढ़ शेखावाटी Ramgarh Sethan
city
Ramgarh Shekhawati Location in Rajasthan, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District	Sikar
Elevation	306 m (1,004 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	28,431
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Website	http://www.ramgarhshekhawati.com/

Ramgarh is a city and a municipality in Sikar district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. This city is nearest to Nimakidhani.

Geography

Ramgarh is located at . It has an average elevation of 306 metres (396 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Ramgarh had a population of 33024. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Ramgarh has an average literacy rate of 59%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 69%, and female literacy is 48%. In Ramgarh, 18% of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

Ramgarh was founded in 1791 by the Poddar family and it was one of the richest towns in 19th century India. late freedom fighter and social worker Shree Gorakh Ram Ji Varma (Netaji) was born in 1901 in this town.

Origin

The story of Ramgarh's origin is rather interesting. It so happened that in Churu, which was a part of the Bikaner state, a particular Poddar clan (Bhagoti Ram Poddar) rose to great prominence as the main merchant family trading in woollen products. Nothing was wrong with that; trade was the main occupation of the marwaris of Shekhawati. But things became really bad when the state funds dried up and the thakur (chieftain) of Churu imposed a new levy on the wool trade. This obviously angered the Poddars. They thought this was unfair and opposed the hike. But the Thakur was adamant too. So the Poddars lifted their bag and baggage and off they went to settle themselves in a new place (see Churu for more). and with the help of the Raja of Sikar, the Poddars founded Ramgarh in 1791. The displaced Poddars then vowed to make Ramgarh so beautiful so as to outdo Churu and based on historical facts, Ramgarh became one of the most beautiful and prosperous towns in India.

Description

An English traveller of the 1830s has beautifully written that Ramgarh "…is singularly striking and seems to give reality to a vision drawn from eastern romance. The buildings are all constructed from kunkur [gravel] grey hardpan, …numerous handsome houses of the seths [businessmen] some of which are on a magnificent scale, ornamented and painted in various devices outwardly; the neat high wall and gateways and the cupolard chhutrees [cenotaphs] in the suburb in contrast with the desert around, altogether exhibit a scene deserving to be allied with enchantment." But that was more than a century and a half back. Now the town clearly shows signs of aging. However, that doesn’t make Ramgarh less interesting; old is beautiful. and in any case, Ramgarh boasts of more paintings than any other town in Shekhawati.. Ramgarh was one of the richest towns of India till the 19th century and has most beautiful structures like opulent Havelies, Cenotaph(Chatri), Temples etc. which gives great example of ancient art and architect of India. But Ramgarh losing these beautiful structures due to many reasons, to save them and create an awareness a website http://www.ramgarhshekhawati.com/ created, which surly helps to save them.

People and living standard

Population here is mix of all regions. The famous communities in Ramgarh are Poddar's, Ruia's, Khaitan's, Johari's and Agrawal's. All these rich of Ramgarh are now big businessmen in Mumbai and some other part of India.. They have their own set-up of various businesses.The Essar Group,Ruia Group, Poddar Group, Poddar Housing, Shekhawati art exports group and The Phoenix Mills are examples of them. Ramgarh is also famous for the business of Handicrafts,there are more than 30 handicraft industries in Ramgarh. Such as The art palace, Indian art palace, & Global Art Exports. Most of the handicraft factories are run by Johari families and it is said that they took the initiative to start handicraft business in Ramgarh. Today, In spite of living in such a remote area, these Families are producing and exporting handicrafts to USA, UK, FRANCE, GERMANY.

Special exit gates

Ramgarh has a unique built structure, it has three exit gates on the three different directions, Fatehpur Gate, Churu Gate and Bissau Gate. All these three different gates are named as per the neighbor towns.

Places of interest

Chhatris The most beautiful structure in Ramgarh is perhaps the opulent Ram Gopal Poddar Chhatri. As its name suggests, it was built by the Poddars. It came up in 1872 and has some great murals, especially in the dome. The scenes fall into three broad groups – the Ramayana, the life of Krishna and ragamala paintings (illustrating the musical notes). Chhatris, usually consisting of a cluster of pavilions, are a common sight in princely Rajasthan where they were built to commemorate a dead hero. But the Poddar chhatri is so elaborate that it could very well pass for a palace! and would you believe it, there are a whopping 500 murals all over it! The Ramayana Chhatri is more modest, but richer in paintings. It has a beautiful collection of murals in maroon and blue showing scenes from the epic Ramayana.

Havelis (mansions) Thanks to the wealthy Poddars and their inflated ego, Ramgarh has over a dozen beautiful havelis (mansions). The Bashashwarlal Poddar Haveli is one of them, and a fine double one at that. It was probably built in the glorious 1830s, with good ochre paintings of floral designs. Across the road are the ruins of the first haveli built in the region. Near this is the haveli of the particularly prosperous family of Tarachand Ghanshyamdas Poddar, which has a beautifully painted room. But the building is generally kept locked. The Anant Ram Poddar Double Haveli and the Jagannath Poddar Double Haveli are some of the others in the region. The two Ruia Havelis are also worth seeing. The Ruias, who were also a merchant family, managed to grow very important in this Poddar dominated town as the century progressed. Their havelis were built around 1890 and were painted with murals of red and blue of Indians and the British. And among these havelis, there is one of the finest haveli in ramgarh was " SUROLIA'S Haveli.They had 7 haveli and the surrounding area was known as "PANDATA KI MORI" and it is nearby churugate

Temple attractions Ramgarh has some nice temples too. The Ganga Temple is the finest one here, built by a Poddar. and in 1845, it cost as much as 32,000 rupees! But that's not surprising, as the Poddars' main purpose was to make Ramgarh flashier than Churu. But sadly, antique dealers have ruined the place; they've mercilessly torn beautiful pieces off the walls in many places. The Ganga Temple has suffered too; the adjoining dharamshala (rest house) has all its woodwork torn off. Anyway, there are some good murals on the outer walls of the temple. The complex is interesting, with lots of arches that you could weave your way through. The little Shani Temple, devoted to the Saturn god, was built by a Khemka family in 1840. The outside wears a somewhat weathered look, but the inside is a glorious concord of murals and mirror work. The murals, rich in ultramarine, are of varied subjects, though the colour has worn off in some places. The Hanuman Temple was built by the Ruias in about 1885. It is an interesting building with a passage running under it. Locals might call the temple a different name, the Lal Kuan Mandir (the Red Well Temple), probably because of a well somewhere in the premises which was painted red. The vaulted ceiling in front of the shrine had some fine murals, but they have been destroyed badly due to moisture. The Natwar Niketan, Ram-Lakshman Temple and the Sureka Dharamshala (built by Seth Hardayal Sureka) are some of the other monuments.

Current conditions

The current Chairman of the town is Muzammil Bhati, who is putting lot of efforts to develop this small town to get its old reign back. Muizammil Bhati's Big Brother Maqsud Bhati is also Minority Chairmen Jaipur Division (Congress)

Source of information

Any information about Ramgarh may be obtained from http://www.ramgarhshekhawati.com/ or http://www.rswt.in/

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References

sachin sharma