Jhunjhunu, The Historical Town Of Rajasthan
Jhunjhunu, located in the Shekhawat region of Rajasthan and only 180 kilometre away from Jaipur the capital city of the state, is a historical town with numerous distinctive traits.
The oldest Rani Sati Temple is situated in this city which attracts hundreds of devotees throughout the year. It is a magnificent multi-storied building made completely out of marble stones witnessing elegant carvings of various Gods and Goddesses and a beautiful gold pot at the top of its roof which sets the temple apart from the others in the town by a mile. The complex comprises of one main temple for Rani Sati, twelve other smaller sati mandir dedicated to other prominent satis of the same clan and a few other temples of various deities like Lord Shiva, Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanuman,etc. There is no distinct deity in the main temple and the Sati is depicted by a trident which represents Shakti(power). The temple is surrounded by a beautiful garden where the devotees can sit and relax and enjoy their time with fellow companions. The ambience of the temple is spiritually lit and a feeling of serenity is instantly observed by the visitors of the temple.
The second and equally prominent tourist attraction of the town is the architectural heritage that inspires aesthetic admiration in the mind of the viewer. There is an appealing flow of poetry in the design and the display of the ancient residential houses spread across the town. These houses were built by famous and rich merchants(baniyas) whose genius and artistic minds can be easily witnessed in these old havelis which house beautiful paintings on their walls. While many of the grand havelis have been converted into heritage hotels, some are still occupied for residential purposes by the locals. Some of the famous must visit havelis are Kaniram Narsingh Das Tibrewala Haveli, Six Havelis of the Tibrewala, Khetan Haveli, Bala Bux Tulshan Haveli and Sone Chand ki Haveli.
Another interesting thing to witness in the town are its bawaris. Typically, bawaris are wells dug deep into the Earth and since these have steps leading down to the water they are known as stepwells. During the historical time, they played an important role in providing water to the town round the year. The two most famous bawaris of the town are Mertani Ji Bawari and Khetan Bawari.
