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Learn About Places Rajasthan > Baran Rajasthan

Baran Rajasthan

Baran Rajasthan :: District Baran was carved out of erstwhile Kota District on 10th April 1991. The district got the name from the town Baran which is also the district hqts. District comes under parliamentry constituency Jhalawar-Baran and divided in four assembly constutuencies namely Anta, Kishanganj, Baran-Atru and Chhabra. The total area of the District is 6955.40 Sq.Km. out of which only 35.88 Sq.Km. is urban. The total forest area in the district is 2.15 Lacs Hect. The total population of the distirct is around 10,21,653 (as per 2001 population). Main dialect is Hadoti. The district Hqts. Baran city falls in the ‘C‘ Class category. The District has a tremendous scope for the rapid industrialisation, especially among agro-based industries. There are eight tehsils in the district namely Baran, Anta, Atru, Mangrol, Chhabra, Chhipabarod, Kishanganj and Shahabad. Best climate to visit the district is between September to November. The district is well connected with rail and road network. The Computerised reservation facility is available at Railway station in Baran city. ATM facilties and all Mobile Networks are available in the district.

History of Baran
Baran city was under Solanki Rajputs in the 14th -15th century. It is not exactly known that when the main town of the twelve villages under Solanki's was being named as 'Baran'. There are several thoughts for it, like some says since it was formed by twelve villages so it is called 'Baran', others says since the city was built by the 12 nearby villagers so it is named as 'Baran'. There are also saying that since the soils of the area is mostly 'Barani' so it is called 'Baran'. In the year 1948, joint Rajasthan was formed and that time Baran was one of the districts in the joint Rajasthan. On 31st March' 1949, Rajasthan was reconstituted and that time Baran district headquarters was converted into Sub Division headquater of Kota district. It is also worth noting that 'Baran' in urdu means rain and no wonder that Baran has the second highest rainfall in the state after Banswara district.

Location and Geography
The district extends from 24-25' to 25-25' North latitudes, 76-12' to 77-26' east longitudes and 262 mts. altitude. Located on the south-east corner of Rajasthan and being adjacent to Shoepur, Shivpuri and Guna Districts of Madhya Pradesh(M.P.), it forms the boundary of Rajasthan State. It is bounded on North-West by Kota and on South-West by Jhalawar District of Rajasthan State. The maximum length of the district from North to South is 103 Kms. and maximum width from west to east is 104 Kms.

The land slopes gently northward from the high table land of Malwa in Madhya Pradesh. It is well watered, drained by rivers flowing in North and North-Eastern directions. There are hills in the South, North and Eastern portion of the district and it is generally fertile. There are hills in the east in Shahabad tehsil, having the highest point, named as Mamooni, which is 546 meters above mean sea level, in the district. These hills form part of Aravali Ranges. Their slopes are gently and steep and they are mostly covered by woods. The land of the district slopes gently from South to North and the drainage is through Chambal and its tributaries.

Climate of Baran
The district has a dry climate except in the monsoon seasons. The winter season runs from mid of November to February and summer season runs from March to mid of June. The period from mid of June to September is the monsoon season followed by the months October to mid of November constitute the post monsoon or the retreating monsoon. The average rainfall in the district is 854.5mm. January is the coldest month with the average daily maximum temperature of 24.3'C and the average daily minimum temperature of 10.6'C.

Baran MineralsOwing to the absence of metamorphic rocks, no metallic ore of importance except Bauxite occurs in the district. However a variety of non-metallic minerals are exposed, the important of them being sandstone and limestone. Besides, small deposits of red clay, glass-sand, dolomite and kankar are also found. The main mineral of the district is building stone.

Baran Forest, Flora and FaunaThe forest covers an area of 2.15 lacs hectare of the district. These are mainly concentrated in the south-western and central portion of the Mukundra hills having rich forest belt. The main forest found of the district are Sagavan, Kher, Salan, Gargsari. Local wild animals are Panther, Sloth, Bear, Chital, Wild Bear, Chinkara, Samber, Langoor, Jackal etc. Birds found in the district are Bulbul, Sparrow, Peacock, Saras, Teetar etc. Among the poisonous snakes, Cobra, Passel and Viper are common. Water snakes are also seen near the tanks. Crocodiles are sometimes seen in the big tanks and in certain pools in Chambal and Kalisindh rivers.

Baran IrrigationThe irrigation facilities available in the district are mainly in the form of Canals, Tubewells and Wells. The rivers namely Parvati, Kalisindh and Parwan provides an important source of canal irrigation.

Major Rivers in Baran District

Kalisindh This is the important river of 'Hadoti' region. This river makes about 40 Km. western border of Mangrol tehsil after being merged with the Parvan river. This river is very uncertain for flood. A large bridge has been constructed on this river near 'Palaytha'. This bridge is said to be one of the largest bridges in the Rajasthan state.

Parvan This is the auxiliary river of the Kalisindh river which enters in the Baran district from the Southern part of the Harnavdashahaji kasba. From there, it maintains the South-Western border of the Chhipabarod, Atru, Baran and Mangrol tehsils and merged into the Kalisindh river.

Parvarti This is the main river of Baran district which is the auxiliary river of Chambal river. This enters in Baran from the Kariyahat kasba of Chhabra Tehsil from Madhya Pradesh. This partitioned the Kishanganj Tehsil from Chhabra, Atru, Baran and Mangrol Tehsils.

Andheri This river enters in Baran from nearby Chhipabarod. About 15 Km. bordering to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, it merges in the Parvati river near Atru.

Ban-Ganga This is the rainy river which passes through Bamla and Sehrod in the southern part of Baran. It merges into the Parvati river after passing through the east of Baran city and west of Bohat and Mangrol Kasba.

Soil
Mainly Black-Kachari soil are found in the Baran and Mangrol tehsils which is highly fertile. Stony soil are found in the Southern and Eastern part of the district.

Tourist Attraction and nearby Places

Sitabari
Sitabari is an ideal picnic spot, situated about 45Km from Baran in Kelwara kasba on National Highway road connecting Shivpuri-Gwalior. This is a holy worship place. It is well known in the area that 'Sita mata' has lived in this place after being left-out by Bhagwan Ram. This place is also known as the birth-place of Lav & Kush. There are several Kunds in Sitabari namely Balmiki Kund, Sita Kund, Laxman Kund, Surya Kund, Lav-Kush Kund. Sita-Kuti is also situated in the forest area near the temple. The tribal Sahariya fair is held at this place in the May/June every year.

KakoniKakoni is situated about 85 Km. from Baran district Headquarters in the Chhipabarod Tehsil. It is surrounded by the Mukundra mountain ranges and on the bank of Parwan river. It is said that the temples at Kakoni are built in 8th century. These are the remains of the 'Vaishnav', 'Shiv' and 'Jain' temples. About 60% statues of the Kakoni temples are kept in the Museums at Kota and Jhalawar districts. Archaeological department has announced the place as secure since 1970.

Ramgarh - Bhand Devra Temple
Ramgarh-Bhand Devra temples are situated about 40 Km. from Baran. The Shiv Mandir of Ramgarh was built in 10th century and are based on the Khujraho style. Due to the Maithun Statues, the place is named as Bhand Devra. This temple is situated on the bank of pond and is now under the Archaeological department. This temple is known as Rajasthan's mini Khujraho.

On the top of the Ramgarh hill, Kisnai and Annapurna Devi temples are situated in the natural cave. About 750 stairs were constructed by Jhala Jalim Singh for reaching the temple on the hill top. The main speciality of this temple is that one Devi is worshiped with Meva and another is with Mas-Madira. At the time of Parshad, curtain is raised between the two Devis. Fair is also organised during Kartik Purnima.

Tourism in Baran :: Baran District Tourism

Kanyadeah-BilasGarh
Bilasgarh is situated about 45 Km. from Baran in Kishanganj tehsil. Connecting road is from village 'faldi' between Kishanganj and Bhanwargarh. Bilasgarh was the big city during the Khechi kingdom which was destroyed to ruins by the order of Aurangazeb. The daughter of the king Khechi was very beautiful and for her Aurangazeb has send his force which has ruined the city Bilasgarh. The princess ends her life in the 'Bilasi' river, the spot is now known as Kanyadeah. The ruins of the Bilasgarh is still situated in the lonely place inside dense forest area.

Shergarh FortThe historic Shergarh fort is situated about 65 Km. from Baran district hqts. in Atru tehsil. Sitting atop a hillock on the bank of Parban river, the fort of Shergarh looks impregnable. The fort stands a little detached from the walled township, which boasts of its ancient Brahmanical and Jain temples. A stone edict of 790 AD proves the antiquity of the place, which was once knows as Koshvardhan. The fort is one of the best forts in Rajasthan in the present time.

Kapildhara
Kapildhara is about 50 Km. from Baran. This place have natural beauty and pleasant place for visit. Water flows all the time from the 'Gaumukh' in the mountains.

Brahmani Mataji - Sorsan
The temple of Brahmani Mata is about 20 Km. from Baran in the village Sorsan. The 'Akhand Jyoti' is continously flowing in the temple since last 400 years. The statue of Brahmani Mata is situated under the large natural rock in the cave. The fair is organised on Shiv Ratri every year.

Shahabad Fort
Shahabad fort is the one of the best and strongest fort amongst the forts in Hadoti area. It is situated about 80 km. from Baran. The fort was constructed by the Chauhan Vanshi Dhandhel Rajput Mukutmani Dev in the century 1521 (Samvat 1577). This is situated in the dense forest area on the high mountain ranges. The fort is surrounded by Kundakoh valley on two sides. Third and fourth sides are surrounded by Ponds and high rocks respectively. The Topkhana(artillery), Barudkhana and some temples in the forts are still secure. It is said that the fort had 18 Cannons(Topes) in the past and one of the cannon was 19 feet.

Shahi Jama Masjid of ShahabadShahi Jama Masjid is situated in Shahabad city and 80 Km from Baran city. This masjid was beautifully constructed during the reign of Aurangazeb. Its pillers and Mehrab are worth for seeing.

Nahargarh Fort
The fort is about 73 Km. from Baran in Kishanganj tehsil. Fort is an impressive structure in red stone and a fine example of the Mughal architecture.

Tapasviyo ki Bagechi
This is situated nearly 1 km. from Shahabad city which have large statues of Shivling and Nadiya. This place is surrounded by mountains and contains natural beauty. This place was used as a betal farming previously whose remains still exit in the ruined state.

Manihara Mahadevji Mandir
Manihara Mahadev Mandir is about 3 kms. from Baran city. The mandir has a famous and ancient Mahadevji and Hamumanji temples. Till now only 591 years brief history is known about the temple. This place is surrounded by green trees and a pond with full of natural beauty. The place has a religious importance for the people of the area. A fair is organised at the temple on Shivratri festival every year. District administration has authorised Sarvjanik Sanstha Dharmada, Baran as a caretaker for the place.

Fairs and Festivals in Baran District

Dolmela
Dolmela is organised at the Dol Talab (Pond) in the Baran city from Jaljhulni Akadshi. The main attraction of this day is a big Shobha Yatra (procession) which have about 54 Dev Viman (The Holy Statue Carriers) which is also known as DOL, of all the major temples of the city. In this procession some Akhadas also demonstrates their Kartab (type of physical exercise). The procession started from Shreeji temple comes to the Dol Talab where all the Dev Vimans are worshiped and then these are sent back to the respective temples. This fair is organised for 15 days which is very popular among the local residents as well as the residents from the Rajasthan state. People from adjoining Madhya Pradesh also visit for this fair. This fair is the symbol of communal harmony in the area. This fair is one of the main fairs of the Rajasthan state.

Sitabari Mela
Holy place Sitabri is about 45 Km. from the Baran city near the Kelwara Kasba. A big tribal fair is organised here on Jeshta Amavasya. The place has number of "Kunds" attributed to Sita, Laxman, Surya, Lav & Kush and taking a holy dip in them is considered auspicious. Lakhs of people come here for this fair which is taken as Kumbh in the Sahariya tribe. The Swyambar (marriage function) of Sahariya tribes is organised in this fair where people comes from all over Rajasthan state and adjoining Madhya Pradesh. A Sahariya boy drops the handkerchief for proposing Sahariya girl in the fair, if the Sahariya girl accepts the Handkerchief, it is said that they are agreed for marriage. The bride and grooms take the 7 rounds (sat phere) of the Barnawa tree and after the blessings of their parents they are accepted as married couple.
This fair is also called animal fair where good varieties of Cow, Buffalo etc. selling-purchasing are made. It provides an ideal opportunity to view the tribal life style.

Brahamani Mataji Mela
This fair is organised in the old fort near Sorsan about 20 Km. from Baran. This is the only Donkey fair in the Hadoti region. Brahmani Mataji temple is in this fort. This fair is organised in Magh-Shukla-Saptmi. Other animals are also brought for selling-purchasing in this fair but mostly Donkey & Kachhar are sold and purchased in the fair.

Piplod Christmas Fair
This fair is organised in the only Church of the Baran district in the village Piplod in Atru tehsil. This fair is organised on 25th December every year. Though this fair is organised near Church but local Hindu-Muslim also participate in the fair.

Phuldol Folk Festival
This is the one of the oldest folk festival of the Rajasthan state. This festival is organised every year in the Kishanganj town on the occasion of Holi festival. The local residents of the town started this festival by the marriage ceremony of the 'Tulsi' plant with the statue of God Charbhujanath in their home for more than 120 years ago. It is the tradition in the families that after the marriage, groom comes to in-laws home with their friends to play Holi. This tradition is followed by the God Charbhujanath and all the residents of Kishanganj town. On the day of Holi-Dulandi, lots of Swang(type of drama) is being played in the town whole day. Some of the famous swangs are Gidh-Rawan-Yudh, Band-Bandi swang etc. In the night big 'Shobhayatra' known as 'PhulDolo' is taken out in the town. Lots of people from nearby places come to witness the festival.

Urs - Balakhera
About 33 Km. from Baran, there is a small village Balakhera, where Urs is being celebrated for last 33 years. It is interesting to note that this Urs was initiated by a Hindu Brahman family. Even today the flag of the Urs is taken out from the house of the descendant of this family.

Sahariya Tribe Areas in Baran

History
Sahariya, the only primitive tribe of the Rajasthan state, resides in the Shahabad & Kishanganj Panchayat Samiti's of Baran district. They are mostly under privileged group. They are basically 'bhel'. There are some differences with the 'bhel' tribe like the main arms of 'bhel' is 'Dhanush-ban' and Sahariya's is 'Kulhada'. The name Sahariya is said to be derived from the Arabian word 'Sehara' or 'wilderness'. The Muslim rulers found them residing in jungle, gave them their present name 'Sahr' which means 'Jungle' and accordingly they came to be called 'Sahariya' meaning residents of jungle. Even in the absence of genuine historical account it may be stated that the Sahariyas have been one of the earliest settlers in Rajasthan. Rajasthan Government has announced this area as a Sahariya region. Sahariya live in infrastructurally weak and remote areas, not well connected through road/bridge network even now. Lack of exposure to modern life and historic exploitation by landlords who paid them less wages, has left Sahariya extremely primitive and backward. In the last one decade there has been some interest and efforts towards 'Sahariyas' development. After the emergency period, state government has constituted 'Sahariya Innovative Project' whose office is in Shahabad. There are large number of NGO's working for the upliftment of Sahariyas, prominent among them being, ASSEFA, SANKALP, Adim Jati Sangh, Lok Jumbish and DPIP. Most of them have produced successful results in one area or the other.

Social Life
Sahariyas generally reside in separate basti in the village which is called Saharana. The religious practice by these tribals is Hinduism and they speak a dialect influenced by Hadoti. The Sahariyas maintained ecological equilibrium with their environment for ages, despite low level of technology. Mostly they were engaged as gatherers of minor forest produce and agriculture labourers. The main business are gathering & selling of forest wood, Gum, Tendu leaf, Honey, fruits and vegetables. Though Sahariyas, in general are primitive, but all of them are not so. Some of them are settled cultivators. Others are landless labourers and forest produce gatherers. They live in small families. The elder sons live separately after marriage and younger son bear the responsibilities of the parents amd unmarried brothers-sisters. Marriages are performed after attaining the age of 15 years. There are some arranged marriages and some in the ceremony in the fairs.

Gautra
Gautra are very significant in Sahariya's marriages. The main gautra of the Sahariya's are 'Sohara', 'Gorchia', 'Dotiya', 'Chauhan', 'Seliya', 'Bakhudiya', 'Parodiya', 'Gogaiya', 'Kalkhoriya', 'Somliya', 'Khelra', 'Nugapan', 'Sagruliya', 'Bandwal', 'Babuliya', 'Jeswariya', 'Baraliya', 'Pagdiya', 'Kanwar', 'Kasriya', 'Susiyar', 'Navoliya', 'Churawat', 'Dewriya', 'Badhiya', 'Parani', 'Matvehi', 'Semriya', 'Devriyan', 'Bhagya', 'Silwar', 'Pawar', 'Girwar'.

Education
They are less educated. Only 3-4 percent people are literate. State government is trying to literate them.

Festivals
They worship public Goddess 'Tejaji', 'Dhakar Baba', 'Durga', 'Hanumaan', 'Lalbai', 'Bejasan'. They mainly celebrate festivals like 'Makar Sakranti', 'Savni Amavasya', 'Janmashtmi', 'Raksha Bandhan', 'Deepawali', 'Holi' and 'Teja Dashmi'.

Food Habits
Sehariya takes seasonal 'Kandmul' fruits and vegetables found in forests. Vegetables leafs of 'Senjna', 'Phang', 'Bichotiya', 'Kanna', 'Bansi', 'Charetha', 'Churangli', 'Barsak', 'Lahaylai', 'Chaurai', 'Totam', 'Chani', 'Bajar', 'Rajan' etc. are very commonly taken by Sahariyas in their foods. Crushed dry 'ber' with salt is also eaten with interest. They are non-vegetarian also. They eat Hen, fish, sheep, goat, egg, pigeon, rabbit and other forest found animals.

Sawa
'Sawa' is the seeds of the special grass found in the jungle. Sahariyas made delicious foods from the seeds of these grass. The seeds of the sawa grass are crushed to flour and chapatis are made. The sawa flour are also used to make 'kheer', 'Rabri' etc. The sawa seeds flour is a nutritive value which is also used by the urban people in their fast(Upwas).