Ghost towns and villages that too with paranormal activity, present a charm to inquisitive tourists to explore. These ghost towns and villages give people a peek into the lives of the people who lived there, in its heydays. A desert region, Rajasthan also has its fair share of ghost castles, forts, and villages; and Kuldhara is one of them. Kuldhara in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, India is an abandoned village.
The village established around the 13th century, was once a prosperous village inhabited by Paliwal Brahmins, who had migrated from Pali region of Rajasthan. It was inexplicably abandoned by the early 19th century for unknown reasons.
Many reasons are given, chief among them being dwindling water supply, earthquake, and even atrocities by Salim Singh, the Jaisalmer state’s diwan/minister. Over the years, Kuldhara village, located about 18 km southwest of Jaisalmer city has acquired the reputation of being a haunted site. The village today maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), is located on an 861 m x 261 m rectangular site precisely aligned in the north-south direction with three longitudinal roads with rows upon rows of mud houses, that are architecturally perfectly cut through by a number of latitudinal narrow lanes in regular intervals. The eastern side of the village faces the dry-river bed of small Kakni river, while western side is protected by the back-walls of man-made structures.
The ruins of the village include 3 cremation grounds, with several devalis or memorial stones. Ruins of a total of 410 buildings can be found in the ruins, with another 200 buildings on the outskirts of the village. According to a book, Tawarikh-i-Jaisalmer (1899) written by Lakshmi Chand, a Paliwal Brahmin named Kadhan settled in the village and excavated a pond. The book also states that the population of the village was around 1600 in the early 16th or 17th century, which further declined to 800 by 1815; as per records kept by James Tod, a British officer. By 1890, the village population had further declined to less than 40 and by turn of century was completely abandoned. Several inscriptions on devali or memorial stones either mention the term “Paliwal”; or Brahmin (“Vrahman” or “Vaman”); or “Kuldhar” or “Kaldhar”.
Some inscriptions also mention of sub-caste and clan of residents to which they belonged. As per records the residents of Kuldhara were Vaishnavites. The village was built around the main temple of the mother goddess, which also had sculptures of Vishnu and Mahishasura Mardini. Most inscriptions found in the village invoke Lord Ganesha, whose miniature sculptures are found on the gateways of abandoned homes. Reportedly the villagers of Kuldhara also worshiped a bull and a local horse-riding deity. Numerous idols created on the devalis or memorial stones; indicate that the men wore Mughal-style turbans and tunic; sported a beard, wore jewellery and carried a dagger; while women wore tunics with lehengas, and jewellery.
As per records the villagers were mostly involved in agricultural trade, banking and farming. The villagers used water from Kakni river, several wells and a step-well for agriculture and household purpose. A pillar inscription states that Tejpal, a Kuldhara Brahmin, commissioned the step-well, sometime in the 18th century. The villagers also used a traditional system called ‘khareen’, an artificial depression with barriers on three sides to collect rainwater. When the rainwater evaporated, it left the soil conducive for growing crops. Evidence of 2.5 sq.km wide ‘khareen’ can be found on southern edge of Kuldhara.
By 1815, most of the wells in the village had dried up and by 1850, only the step-well and two deep wells were functional, greatly reducing agricultural activity. As such it is prima facie considered the main reason by researchers that forced the Paliwals to abandon Kuldhara village. However, legend claims that the village was abandoned overnight, when the diwan/minister Salim Singh was attracted towards a beautiful girl from the village. When he sent the guards to force villagers to hand over the girl, they asked the guards to return next morning, and abandoned the village overnight. The legend also claims that while deserting, the villagers who were forced to suddenly leave the village of their forefathers; cursed that none can ever re-occupy the village. Those who tried, experienced paranormal activity, and since then the village remains uninhabited and haunted.
However, in a 2017 study, researchers suggested Kuldhara and other neighbouring villages such as Khabha; were destroyed due to an earthquake. The researchers say, the ruined houses show destruction that can only occur due to earthquake, such as collapsed roofs, fallen lintels and pillars, fallen joists; something that can’t happen due to “normal process of weathering and erosion”. Though in the early 2010s, Gaurav Tiwari (now deceased) of Indian Paranormal Society claimed to have observed paranormal activities in the village, when a team of the society along with others spent a night at the village. They claimed appearances of moving shadows, talking spirits, haunting voices, and other paranormal activities.
Ever since locals have fanned the paranormal activity at the village as a means to draw inquisitive tourist. In 2006, the state government of Rajasthan set up a “Jurassic Cactus Park” in the village for botanical studies. In 2015, the state government decided to actively develop Kuldhara as a tourist spot, in a public-private partnership with a reputed Indian private company. The plan calls for the setting up of facilities such as folk-dance performance area, cafe, lounge, night-stay cottages and curio shops. The village is open to tourists 7 days a week from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, after which the gates are closed. The entry fee for Kuldhara village is INR 10 per person and INR 50 for those going in by a car. The best time to visit Kuldhara is from October to March when the weather is cool and comfortable. Yet people from different part of the world, continue to visit Kuldhara to see the dark side of Rajasthan, the fate of which was changed in just one night.
