Jalore Town
¤ Also Known As Granite City
Situated on the southern edge of the vast sandy plain of Marwar, is a
delightful city of Jalore. It is a typical small Rajasthani town where
the hustle and bustle of the bigger cities is missing. The serene and
unruffled surroundings make Jalore a good place to experience the
unspoiled and friendly atmosphere of rural Rajasthan. The city is also
known as the 'Granite City' with hoards of shops dealing in granite.
The bazzar in Jalore is flooded with Rajasthani handicrafts and is
still relatively unaffected by the tourist pricing that affects better
known and more accessible places in Rajasthan.
¤ Famous Jalore Tribal Dance
Jalore district is famous for the dances preformed by the Bhil
tribals. The Bhil tribals are the traditional tribal group of the
south eastern corner of Rajasthan. Dhole is the most popular Bhil
dance in this district. The dancers play a big drum called dhole while
they dance, some carry naked swords in their mouth. This dance
incorporates a series of skillful movements on the beats of the drums.
Other dances by this tribe that have bought them much fame are the
Gauri, a religious dance drama and Ghoomar (see India Dance &
Music), which is the very life-blood of Bhil culture.
¤ Jalore History
Jalore constituted a politically important division of Marwar in the
past. With the Sukri and Khari rivers flowing through it, the land in
Jalore is fertile and meant much economic benefit for the ruling clan.
The fort in Jalore was one of the 'nine castles of Maru', when the
Paramara clan held paramount rule in Marusthali (the desert) and
guarded the southern frontier of Marwar. Later, a branch of the
Chauhanas laid siege to the fortress. The Chauhanas enshrined here
their guardian divinity, Mallianth. Jalore formed that portion of the
Chauhanas sovereignty called Happa Raj, whose capital were the twin
towns of Junah and Chotun (south of Jaisalmer), connecting the sway of
this
clan in the areas along the Luni river which it had possessed after
having crushed the Paramaras. The Chauhanas reigned in the area till
the time the sons of Sevji entered these regions, and this was when
the name Sonagir was exchanged for Jalore. Sevji, the grandson of the
last monarch of Kanauj’s (Uttar Pradesh), with his brother
Saitram in 1212AD moved westwards towards the desert to carve out a
fresh niche for them selves (some historians believe that their trip
west was with the pious intention of making a pilgrimage to the holy
city of Dwarka). Sevji in his living years had annexed the western
region around the city of Bikaner, Palli and some others on the banks
of the river Luni. His three sons, Asothama, Soning and Ajmal extended
his territory further - including Jalore.
¤ Mughals Invaded Jalore
Later the Muslim house of Palanpur ruled the principality of Jalore
as vassals of the Sultans of Gujarat, before the Mughals came to
India. When Akbar’s army invaded Gujarat its ruler Ghazni Khan II
resisted and was captured and imprisoned by the invading army. A few
years later on being urged by Ghazni Khan’s mother Akbar not only
released the Khan but also gave him his foster sister in marriage and
Palanpur as a part of dowry. Unfortunately their son, who is believed
to have been corrupted by bad company and excessive drinking, on being
crown emperor killed his mother. The then Mughal emperor in Delhi
Jahangir sent for him and having found him guilty of the murder of his
mothers and Jahangir’s aunt had him squashed under the foot of an
elephant. However his son, Ghazni Khan’s grandson was allowed to
rule Jalore. In 1704 Durga Das Rathore, ruler of Jodhpur kidnapped the
Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s grandchildren and asked for the return
of Jalore to the Rajput rulers of Jodhpur as ransom. So Jalore once
again came under the kingdom of Marwar.
Major Circuits
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