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The town of Surajgarh in the
Shekhawati region of Rajasthan derives its name from the 18th
century fortified Palace SURAJGARH. The name literally means
"The Castle of The Sun". This 4 acre fortified palace is
being lovingly restored to give our guests the experience of
living like a Maharaja.
Established in 1780 by Shekhawat Suraj Mal, ruler of the
Jhunjhunu thikana, the township of Surajgarh came up with the
construction of the fort, for the construction of the fort not
only offered employment to the people from the neighboring
villages, but after its completion also offered a safe sanctuary
from marauding bandits and invading armies.
The frescoes for which Surajgarh and Shekhawati are famous owe
their existence to the many travelers who came through this
region, bringing along with them stories of the lands far away,
the local populace started to decorate their homes with frescoes
of the tales told by the travelers and from scenes from the Bhagvad Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata. The materials used for
painting the frescoes were crushed cowrie shells, lime and
vegetable dyes which were produced locally. The cowrie shells
were used as currency at one time, but since the chipped and
broken shells had no value, they were crushed to produce a water
resistant base for the frescoes.
The Fort is managed by Tikaraj
Aishwarya Katoch and Tikarani Shailija. Tikaraj Aishwarya is the
son of Princess of Jodhpur and Maharaja of Kangra. Tikarani
Shailija is the eldest daughter of the Maharaja of Sailana,
Sailana is famed for India’s finest cuisine and Tikarani
Shailija’s grandfather has written a popular cookery book called
Maharaja Sailana’s Cookery Delights. |
