Ghanerao

Ghanerao

By kevinstandagehotography on April 7, 2015 • ( 6 Comments )

Ghanerao is just 19km north of Ranakpur, and makes for a useful place to stop if you end up arriving at the Ranakpur Jain Temple before it opens at noon. Just keep heading north and Ghanerao is the next place you come to.

I had 90 minutes to spare, so asked the driver to take me to Ghanerao. Originally this was to see an old ruined castle which has now been renovated and turned into a hotel, but I never got that far. As is so often the case when you drive around India, there’s unexpected things around almost every corner; from unsettled fruit bats up in the trees above, to a donkey that clearly doesn’t mind if it’s next in line for that days roll call of roadkill…

The driver dropped me off by the main road through the town and I did what I always do, just head off down the back streets and see what unfolds. Ghanerao was peaceful and yet full of activity, and so friendly – in fact my lasting memory of this town will be the people and the (granted limited verbal) interactions I had with them. I really must get to learn some Hindi…

One of these back streets opened up to a fenced off enclosure scattered with Chhatri.  Chhatris are commonly used to depict the elements of pride and honor in Maratha and Rajput architecture. They are widely used in palaces, forts, or to demarcate funerary sites.

Perhaps I was closer to this restored fort than I thought, I really don’t know. On google maps the area seems to be called Malviga Bhavan.

Back at the car, the next stop off on the way back to Ranakpur was only a ten minutes away down a left turning just as you leave Ghanerao; the Muchhala Mahair Jain Temple.

The temple resides by itself with no other signs of habitation nearby. High up on hills off in the distance you can just make out Kumbhalgarh Fort, and I believe this track way does in fact lead you there (though not good for cars I can assure you !).

The core of the temple appears to be quite old, the caretaker suggested the main idol was 4,000 years old but I think some exaggeration must be injected into that statement. All around new smaller temples and shrines are being chiseled out of pristine white marble, so clearly donations are good for this amount of work to be undertaken.

This little add-hoc side excursion was a good warm up for the main event – Ranakpur Jain Temple. I think my new found canine friend agrees…

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Categories: Ghanerao, India, Rajasthan

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