Kuldhara – An Untold Tale of Ruins

Many a times, ancient ruins are referred to as hauntingly beautiful. We don’t really realize this often, but referring to ruins as beautiful really overshadows the pain and sadness that must have enveloped the place after it really turned into a ruin. Sometime back, I visited what remains of the ancient settlement of Kuldhara, near Jaisalmer. It left me spellbound, not because of it’s beauty or the story behind it, but the sheer sadness that seems to have stayed back even though it’s inhabitants didn’t.

The abandoned village of Kuldhara is around 18km from the golden city of Jaisalmer. This village was once a flourishing town, inhabited by the Paliwal Brahmins. And then one night, they all just left, leaving behind their homes, their lives, and a curse of never being inhabited again. No one really knows where they went, whether they survived and why they left. Kuldhara was suddenly transformed from a prosperous village to a no man’s land overnight. One fateful night is all it took.

What remains today are ruins which are not beautiful. The stones left behind aren’t even enough to convey what happened here which lead to such a strange turn of events. Many stories go around, and with no real guides, the locals from the nearby areas cash on the opportunity by narrating tales with doubtful authenticity. I listened to a couple of those and could not make out if any of it was closer to the actual story of this place.

Some say that they fled because of the dwindling water supply and others romanticize the tale by narrating a version that they know visitors would like to hear. According to this version of undocumented history, the Prime-Minister of Kuldhara wanted to marry the daughter of one of brahmins of the clan. He threatened of dire consequences, if they didn’t agree. There was no way that they were marrying off their daughter to a cruel minister who they didn’t really appreciate of. So, they all decided to flee, leaving behind just the traces of a once inhabited Kuldhara village. Legend goes that they their unity saved them from the wrath of the minister who could never find out where the brahmins went.

 

Kuldhara gave me a feeling that something really terrible happened at this place. This cluster of few villages try to narrate incomplete stories that no one really is capable of deciphering. How sad is that? At Kuldhara, one can see long lost ruins in all possible directions, and it seems that it’s infinite. As far as the eyes can go, these ruins follow. Broken homes, mansions, temple complexes greet the few visitors who land here in search of the story, but then there is nothing to tell, because no one really knows what happened.

There is a temple complex in the village too, and it hasn’t survived either. Stories of Kuldhara being haunted go around and the ruined temple falls perfectly in place with that story angle. I’ve heard tales from fellow travellers trying to spend a night here. But I can’t guarantee if they’re telling the truth either because these ruins are now promoted by Rajasthan Tourism and have a ticketed entry with guards making sure everyone leaves before they close the gates of Kuldhara.

If I have intrigued you enough, do add this to your Jaisalmer itinerary. Also, let me know if you unearth another story. If you plan to visit Sam Dunes , Kuldhara is a short detour on the way. Jaisalmer can be reached by road or train but my preferred way of transit is a Spicejet  flight to Jodhpur, and a road-trip thereafter.