Haunted Kuldhara, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan-Villagers of 83 villages vanished!

The Ghosts Of Kuldhara

We were staying at Kuldhara Heritage Resort and were enchanted with sand dunes, quite desert and yellow sand. Our young couple friends, Nilash and Geeta were experiencing the romance of desert village with traditional folk music and dance.

Kuldhara Heritage Resort was only 11 Kms from Jaisalmer city and spread over an area of 15 acres. The Resort was just 5 km's from KULDHARA VILLAGE and gave a picture of a typical desert village with "DHANIS" (Mud house) of local villagers and craftsman. Though others enjoyed, somehow, due to reasons unknown, I felt an eerie silence...of the THAR desert surrounding us.

The sun was setting but as the excitement was running high, we decided to visit Kuldhara.

As we entered insidewe saw an entire village--empty with broken walls and bricks strewn all around. A self-sufficient village with a deep well, a few temple like structures and houses. The dusty little village had long narrow lanes crisscrossing everywhere -don't know whether it was the heightened senses but one could really feel strange faces peeking from behind the walls. By the time we completed tour of the village

The night had crept in. The wind in the desert howled, a sandstorm enveloped us with haunted sounds.

We were sitting in the middle of a near empty camp with ultramodern tents. A fluttering bonfire lit up the pitch dark sky and traditional singers were singing in the romantic reflection of the yellow light. As the music drifts away and the we got restless, our guide started narrating One of the most bizarre stories...

Residents of Kuldhara near Jaisalmer vanished into the night!

It started with an existing proof of the power of spirits by the villagers of Kuldhara in 1825. The notorious king of Jaisalmer happened to lay his eyes on A beautiful girl of locals and wanted to take her as his wife. The king was famous for his debauchery and some loyal friend tipped the chieftain about his mal-intentions. The entire village of Kuldhara anong with inhabitants of nearby 83 villages evacuated bag and baggage in one night and all that remained was an empty village without a single soul. As the locals (Paliwal Brahmins) left, they cursed death upon anyone who ever came to live in that village. Over the years, a few skeletons had been discovered in the village.

Then we heard it! There was a cry, a female, perhaps. Tommy Singh with few others quickly headed towards it. Rest of us waited, holding our breath. Soon they returned. There was nothing.

Later we had a quite dinner back at a our resort.

Author's note: It's unfortunate that in the name of "restoration", efforts are being made to distort the heritage structure of the village. A country, state, town or a village is created keeping in view the locals and not the foreign tourists.

The cuture and heritage can not be sacrificed or changed to suit tourists.
Videos on Kuldhara investigations by "AAJTAK" (Narration in Hindi)
"Kuldhara is one of the places in India where Indian Paranormal Society has registered a significant Paranormal existence. GRIP (Ghost Research & Investigators of Paranormal) Team of Indian Paranormal Society under the lead of Gaurav Tiwari, investigated Kuldhara Ruins with Aaj-Tak Principal Correspondent Mr. Ahmad Azeem in January 2011."
Part1 and Part2

References:

http://blog.chaukhat.com/2010/02/kuldhara-cursed-village-near-jaisalmer.html

http://kunzum.com/2009/10/08/paliwal-brahmins-of-kuldhara-near-jaisalmer-vanished-into-the-night/

http://minx1973.tripod.com/kuldhara.html

• The Kuldhara Heritage Resort http://www.royalmarwarhotels.com/aboutkuldhara.html

Questions to readers:

B. Would you like to visit this haunted place?

C. Should the village be restored and modernized?

The Gray Haunting Ghost of World's Highest Altitude National Park, HEMIS, Ladakh

We chilled out day 1 at The Ule Ethnic Resort, Ladakh (Leh), Jammu & Kashmir to acclimatize us to the high altitute of Leh. More than me, Ladakh has always fascinated my friend Tommy Singh who, though visited earlier, had a life time ambition of visiting the most unique National Park in the world-HEMIS NATIONAL PARK, at the height of between 3,500 to 6,900 m above sea level.

The second reason for us to dare to, if possible, locate and see the gray ghost of the snows that haunts the Himalays from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh (West to East Himalayas):

The Haunting Gray Ghost, Snow Leopard

As it can neither roar nor purr, it is called an intermediate big-cat. The snow leopard prefers higher altitudes. Only in summer is it best sighted, when it frequents the fringes of the snowline & high pasture areas. Perhaps the most beautiful & elusive of cats, it is sadly, endangered today. So, we were prepared for disappointment sighting the gray ghost- The Snow Leopard.

We left early in the morning by a Jeep and it took us about 2 hours to south to reach at the entry point. One way is to take NH 1 D via Thiksey, Igoo, a distance of 45 kms from Leh.

There are four entry points to Hemis National Park:

• Martselang i.e to the south east of the park which is 45 Km from Leh
• Chilling i.e to the North-West and is 60 Km from Leh
• Third is Stok to the north and is 13 Km from Leh and
• The last is zingchan again to the north and is 25 Km from Leh.

It was a beautiful pleasant day in summer. Our Home stay was arranged with the help of Snow Leopard Conservancy India office at the village Rumbak. Neat basic accomodation. We were welcomed with buttered tea followed by an exotic traditional Ladakhi meal of mutton dumplings (momos), stew (skiu) and fresh vegetables. Wow!

We started with a small entry fee at the gates of the national park. After walking for another half hour, the gorge narrowed with rocky towers on either side. This was fascinating trekking country and the visuals surrounding us 360 degrees were absolutely stunning. I never knew bleakness could be so beautiful with so many shades of brown and slate. It is this landscape that helps the metallic grey feline to camouflage itself and become almost invisible to humans. The trail continued to criss-cross a mountain stream for another hour.

We took mini-breaks to replenish our falling energy levels till we reached a small plantation with a narrower valley to the left. We continued walking along the main valley for another half-an-hour till we crossed the Rumbak stream to the right. The gorge became rocky and narrower as we approached a latho with prayer flags and blue sheep horns on it.

The rest was a dream!

I think we saw the gray ghost...may be at the top of rocky edge, our guide confirmed but I'm not sure...

However we saw snow wild animals-The Himalayan wolf, red fox, wild dog, bharal (Blue Sheep), Ibex, Tibetan argali, Ladakh urial, long-tailed marmot and Himalayan mouse.

Now for the readers, let's have some basic facts before they visit this nature's wonder:

A

The name of the park Hemis is taken from the famous monastery Hemis Gompa, spread out over 600 sq. Km and is located in the L

adakh division of the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir at a distance of around 40 Kms southeast of Leh. The beauty of the Hemis National Park multiplies when it gives an overview of Indus River and the catchments areas of Markha, Sumdah, and Rumbak streams.

B

History

The park is known as the “Snow Leopard C

apital of India” situated at an altitudinal range of 3,300 to 6,000 m, and hosts a remarkable variety of wildlife. Finally, the park came into existence in 1981 as one of the national parks of India. It is also bounded by the historical river of Indus that make the area one of the prime attractions for domestic and international tourists where they have full opportunity to navigate the natural beauty with mountains of various shapes and sizes, mixed with vast flatlands, deserts etc.

C

The best area however to spot the snow leopard is in the Shang Valley, where its density is believed to be the highest. According to a survey the total population of this rare specie ranges approximately from 10 to 30.

D

The cycling is another exciting way to explore the area.

E

The Terrain

The terrain of the park is rocky and the thin soil cover supports a poor vegetative growth. Dry alpine pastures are present in sheltered locations and the grass growth is relatively rapid during the summer season after the snow melts.

Though the park remains open throughout the year, however the best time to visit is from mid-June to mid-October. This is also the ideal time for trekking and forest walks. But if your interest lies in the spotting some rare animals, winter is the best time when animals like the snow leopard come down to the valleys.

This region is in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, and does not receive much precipitation. Hence, dry forests of juniper, Populus - Salix forests, subalpine dry birch - fir are present at lower altitudes.

Home Stays:

Available in villages. Check sites below.

Foreign Tourists:

Inner-line Restrictions

Movement in this majestic land is not free from restrictions. Foreign tourists are not allowed to move beyond one mile north of the Zoji-la-Dras-Bodhkarbu- Khalatse road .However, they can visit the monasteries of Tia-Tingmosgang, Rizong, Likir and Phyang on the Khalatse-Leh road. They are also allowed to visit Shey, Thikse, Chemrey and Tak-thok monasteries lying north of the Leh-Upshi road. The Leh-Manali road is also open upto one mile east of its general alignment. .The north eastern and northern regions of Ladakh have recently been opened partially for foreign visitors, though it requires prescribed permission from the Deputy Commissioner, Leh. This is issued only subject to several conditions, including the condition of travelling along certain identified tour circuits in groups of 4 or more. Permission to enter the other restricted areas can be sought from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi.

Here are some important links for you to visit:

http://www.ladakhiwomenstravel.com/homestays.htm

http://snowleopardconservancy.org/

http://dreamladakh.com/trekking.htm

Questions to the readers:
A. Should there any movement restrictions be imposed on foreigners? If yes, then why?
B. Would you like to visit this place?