VISIT RAJASTHAN

Rajasthan - the land of royal trappings, chivalry and romance - is a feast for the senses.

It has the largest concentration in the country of monuments of historical and architectural interest: magnificent royal forts on high mountain tops towering protectively over ancient living walled cities, exquisitely painted and carved palaces, cenotaphs, victory towers, pleasure gardens, hunting lodges, and mansions of aristocrats and merchant princes.

Bazaars brim over with beautiful handicrafts nurtured by centuries of royal patronage and secure trade routes, and  the dramatic colour and fragrance of spices.

The royal courts and feudal fiefdoms also sustained distinctive urban traditions of classical music and dance, as well as rural communities of bards who recorded the exploits of the aristocracy through poetry and music. The courts also spawned the art of fine miniature painting of gods and royalty - on silk - in luminous colours extracted from precious stones and other minerals.

Rajasthan's desert districts have been home to India's largest concentration of nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes. Historically breeders of fine horses, camels, milch cattle, sheep and goats, these tribes are a rich repository of folk culture - haunting music that rings across the sandy wastes, mesmerising dances, colourful wool-based weaves, brilliant embroidery on fabric and leather, and much more…and folk knowledge about local animal and plant forms.