Nawalgarh, Rajasthan

Nawalgarh नवलगढ़
—  city  —
Nawalgarh नवलगढ़ Location of Nawalgarh नवलगढ़ in Rajasthan and India
Coordinates	27°50′45″N 75°16′05″E
Country	India
State	Rajasthan
District(s)	Jhunjhunu
Nearest city	Sikar and Jhunjhunu
Population	56,482 (2001)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 379 metres (1,243 ft)
Climate Temperature • Summer • Winter	•      46 – -48 °C (115–-54 °F) •      1–0 °C (34–32 °F)
Distance(s) • From Birodi • 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) (land) • From Sikar • 30 kilometres (19 mi) (land) • From Jhunjhunu • 39 kilometres (24 mi) (land)
Codes • Pincode • 333042 • Telephone • +91-1594 • Vehicle • RJ-18

Nawalgarh (Hindi: नवलगढ़) is a town in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan state, India. It is part of the Shekhawati region. It is midway between Jhunjhunu and Sikar. It is 30 km from Sikar and 39 km from Jhunjhunu. Nawalgarh is located at 27°51' North, 75°18' East. Nawalgarh is famous for its fresco and havelis and considered as Golden City of Rajasthan. It is also the motherland of some great business families of India.

History

Thakur Nawal Singh Ji Bahadur (Shekhawat) founded Nawalgarh in 1737 AD at the village site of Rohili, before abolition of Jagirs in Rajasthan. Many great business families of marwari community have their origins from Nawalgarh. Nawalgarh was a tazimi thikana of Bhojraj Ji Ka sept of Shekhawat in Shekhawati. Nawalgarh was encircled by the high Parkota (walls) consisting of four Pols (gates) in different directions, namely Agoona Darwaja, Bawadi Darwaja (in north), Mandi Darwaja and Nansa Darwaja. Each gate has iron doors. Bala Kila Fort is situated in the center of the Thikana, and Fatehgarh Fort is situated outside the Parkota as an Outpost. The market place of the town and layout of the havelis indicate that the original city was well-planned before construction. Nawalgarh was considered to be the most modern towns of Shekhawati. The Rulers of Nawalgarh belong to the Shekhawat sub-clan (Bhojraj Ji Ka September) of Kachwaha Dynasty of the earlier Jaipur Princely State.

Geography

Nawalgarh is located at 27.85°N 75.27°E / 27.85; 75.27. It has an average elevation of 379 metres (1243 feet).

Forts and Palace

This temple built by Shekhawat ruler of Nawalgarh

Old Haveli

Nawalgarh Fort (Bala Kila Fort)

Built by Thakur Nawal Singh. Founded in 1737 AD but today it stands largely disfigured by the modern accretions. Now it houses two banks and a few government offices.

Roop Niwas Palace

About one km from the Nawalgarh fort is the salubrious Roop Niwas Palace. Built by Thakur Roop Singh Ji and Rawal Madan Singh Ji. The palace is enchanting with a well-laid garden and fountains. It has now been converted into a heritage hotel.

Anandi Lal Poddar Haveli

This haveli, built in the 1920s, houses a school, but has many fine paintings. It is the only haveli in the whole Shekhawati, which has been restored by its owner.

Sheesh Mahal

It is an astounding building with a ceiling mural that includes maps of Nawalgarh and Jaipur.

Other places

Murarka Haveli, Bansidhar Bhagat Haveli, Chokhani Haveli are also important sites to visit.

Temples

• Lakshmi Narayan Mandir: Built by Thakur Udai Singh in 1869 V.S.
• Shri Gopinath Ji Mandir: Built by Thakur Nawal Singh.
• Shri Kalyan Ji Mandir
• Gangamai Temple
• Shri Ramdev Ji Mandir

Education

Nawalgarh Poddar College

Nawalgarh Poddar College Tower

Shekhawati region is known for education in Rajasthan. Sikar and Jhunjhunu are education hubs in the region. Pilani, Laxmangarh, and to a small extent, Nawalgarh are important education centers.
Seth GB Poddar College (commonly known as Poddar College)and Shri Nawalgarh (P.G.) Mahila Mahavidyalaya(Commonly known as SN Girls College) are the most important educational institutions in Nawalgarh. Nawalgarh has some good schools like GEMS Gurukul International School, Shri Nawalgarh senior secondary School, Shri Nawalgarh Primary School Prerana Senior Secondary School,Shri Seksaria Saraswati Girls Senior Secondary School, Holy Light Play School, Shekhawati Public School and Dundlod Public school CBSE (in Dundlod), New Indian Senior Secondary School, Kariwala Public School, Poddar Matushri Senior Secondary School, Gyanodya School,godavaribai ramdev poddar sr. sec. school (GPS)an english medium school affiliated with CBSE from new delhi located near poddar college,Gautam Balika Senior Secondary School (exclusively for girls), New Indian Senior Secondary School, Mother Terasa School, Sheksariya School (exclusively for girls). It also has New Indian Polytechnic College. Shekhawati Engineering College is located in Dundlod, not very far from Nawalgarh.

Transportation

Rail

Nawalgarh is connected through Metre gauge railway line, it has its own railway station, which is situated in the western corner of it. Nawalgarh railway station is situated on the Sikar-Loharu railway track. Recently Norther Western Railway started gauge conversion of the Sikar-Loharu line section in to the broad gauge section. It is expected that it will be completed in next 1-2 years.

Road

Recently Nawalgarh got its own bus depot which is situated on the north-west side of the city along with State highway 8. One state Highway-8 passes through center of city which connect city to Sikar and Jhunjhunu. Buses for all the major cities of Rajasthan like Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Delhi and other cities also operated from here. All the buses operated from Sikar and Jhunjhunu depot passes through Nawalgarh as well as other depot buses also passes through Nawalgarh.

Air

The nearest airport to Nawalgarh city is Jaipur International Airport, which operate daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Indore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Guwahati, Kolkata, Udaipur, Dubai, Sharjah, Muscat.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Nawalgarh had a population of 56,482. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Nawalgarh has an average literacy rate of 57%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 68%, and female literacy is 46%. In Nawalgarh, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

External links

• Genealogy of Nawalgarh Rulers
• Shakhawati Festival
• Travel Guide
• Nawalgarh map
• Rajasthan tourism- Information about Nawalgarh

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.