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Churu, Rajasthan

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Churu, Rajasthan
Churu
city
Population
 (2001)
 • Total97,627

Churu (Hindi: चूरु) is a town in the desert region of Rajasthan, India. It is presently the administrative headquarters of Churu District. It lies in the Thar Desert on the National Highway-65 connecting Pali to Ambala. It is famous for the shifting sand dunes of the Thar Desert and beautiful grand havelis with marvelous fresco paintings, namely Kanhaiya lal Bagla ki Haweli and Surana Haweli, with hundreds of small windows. It also has some fine Chhatris. Nearby the town is a religious seat of the Nath sect of Sadhus where there are life-size Marble statue of their deities and a place for prayers. There stands a Dharam Stup, a symbol of religious equality. At the centre of the town is a fort built about 400 years ago.

History

Kamadhajdhara {the Land of the Kamadhajs'} CHURU is a district of enchanting topography in Thar Desert. The Churu City is encircled by large shifting sand dunes. About one lakh energetic hardworking honest and peace loving people and the District populations about two million inhabit the town. The majority practices Hinduism yet Muslims and Jains are also in good number. The area is scanty in vegetation. Phoge and Kair bushes and Khejra, Royara and Babul trees are to be mainly found on the sand dunes. In the towns Neem and Peepal and Sira trees can also be noticed. One can find Sand dunes all over the area with a couple of small limestone hills. The region boasts record temperatures ranging from below freezing point in the winters to over 50 degrees I the summer afternoons. Before dawn in the months of December/ January one may not be surprised to notice ice in small waterpots or frozen water dews on the little vegetation. Yet one may find that summer nights are cooler and winter days are warmer. The variation in the minimum and maximum temperature is perhaps greatest for any place in the world. Perhaps it is the only place in the world where temperature dips below sub-zero but does not have snowfall.

A view of the desert near Churu

The city of Churu was founded in 1620 by a Jat chieftain Churru.[1] [2] It was part of Jangladesh prior to annexation by Rathores.[3] Churu was ruled by Thakur Maldeo, the grandson of the famous Rao Kandhal and uncle of Rao Bika, the Rathore Rajputs of Bikaner. In 1871 Churu fall to Bikaner. In this battle between the forces of Churu and Bikaner when all the copper and brass had been exhausted, Churu Thakur asked his womenfolk to part off their silver ornaments and with this metal, shells for the cannons were made and used in the battle.Maharaj Randhir Singh who belongs from the royal family of Churu at present he is living at "CHURU HOUSE" Bikaner. The famous temple of Salasar Balaji is situated in the Churu district.

Economy

The economy of the town and surrounding area is mainly based on agriculture and animal husbandry. The oilseeds, especially mustard seed, is the predominant crop in recently developed small, well-irrigated fields. Wheat, kharif pulses, bajra (pearl millet), and gwar are other produces.

Churu is the main mandi (market) for agricultural produce of the area. The town has a Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) . The Food Corporation of India has its warehouses in Churu. The town is the main supply point for surrounding villages.

There is no large or medium size industry in the Bhinmal industrial area. The main small-scale industries are granite slabs and tiles, cutting and polishing, and mustard seed crushing.

Infrastructure

Transport- Churu is on Rewari - Bikaner section of Northern Railway. The name of railway station is Churu Junction. The railway tracks are meter gauge. There are plans to convert these to broad gauge. Churu is connected to all major cities by all weather roads.

Electricity- There is one sub grid station of 220 KV at Churu itself. The town receives power from Power Grid Corporation of India's grid station in Hissar Haryana. Almost all villages of the Churu sub division are electrified.

Water- The town gets drinking water from local wells which is hard and salty. The town area drinking water supply is managed by PHED (water dept. of Govt. of Rajasthan). The Govt. is trying to get drinking water for the area from Indira Gandhi Canal. The main source of irrigation for farmers continues to be rain water and wells at a few places.

Accommodation- There are a few hotels in the town. Some well known hotels are: Rathore Lodge, Hotel Natraj,. There is a Government Rest house & Circuit House too run by Public Works Department(PWD).

Education- The town has a Post-graduate College called Lohia College affiliated University of Bikaner. There are several higher secondary and primary and middle schools in Churu.

Telecommunications- All the basic phone and cellphone service provider companies have their network in Churu. Internet and fax services is available at Public booths.

Hospitals- Churu town has good medical facilities .The town has a government D B hospital and a few private hospitals. There is an Aryuvedic hospital too.

Sports- The town has a Stadium. It has indoor & outdoor games facilities. The yearly state level tournaments can be held here.

Banking Many nationalised Banks State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur , Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Rajasthan Bank & some other banks have their brances here. Some co-operative banks also have their branches in the town. They are: Churu Central Cooperative Bank and Bhumi Vikas Bank.

Library The town has a public libraries managed by the Government

Religion

There are many temples in the city mostly dedicated to Hindu deities – Hanuman, Bhagwan Ram, Krishana, Satyanarain, Durga Mata, Santoshi Mata Local Deities Gogaji, Ramdevji, Karni Mataji, Shitala Mata and a few Mosques as well as a Digambar Jain Mandir.

  • Digambar Jain Temple
  • Upahshara Jatiji
  • Hanuman Balaji temple
  • Ganesh Temple
  • Ram Mandir
  • Punchmukhi Balaji
  • Shaniji
  • Gogaji
  • Shitala Mata

Others

  • Bhaninath Muth
  • Dharam Stup [All religion Tower Temple].

Geography

Churu is located at 26°36′N 75°27′E / 26.6°N 75.45°E / 26.6; 75.45[4]. It has an average elevation of 315 metres (1033 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India censusTemplate:GR, Churu had a population of 97,627. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Churu has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72% and, female literacy is 51%. In Churu, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Marwaris and Havelis

The famous wealthy Marwari merchants of the town, having business connections all over India, added to its splendour by building beautiful majestic havelis, made of lime and brick and decorated them by the best of the frescoes on the facade as well as inside of the rooms. The best of the masons and 'Chitera' or painters were employed to decorate these buildings. Initially, the Chiteras practised dry and wet methods using mineral and vegetable colours. Later on, around in 1860's they made brighter and colorful paintings with the help of chemical colours. Some merchants, the Mantries, Suranas & Kotharis got few rooms painted in gold with extensive mirror work. The prosperity of Churu reached its zenith in 18th century when the atmosphere of peace and security prevailed and the caravans passed through. Consequently, the business of wool, silk, opium and spices flourished. The merchants moved away to the British India and onwards to Calcutta and other business centers in central India. They made a lot of money using their unique business acumen and decided to raise the palatial houses for their families in Churu. There is yet another haveli whose creation does not lie in grand plans but a small plan blown out of proportion. This haveli commonly known as 'Jahaz Kothi' (jahaz literally meaning ship; but in hindi airplanes are also populary referred by this term). The builder of this kothi, Malchand Nagwan, wanted his home to be a little different so wished to build a small air plane on his terrace, but the constructer being a great fan of the man wanted big things for his big man so instead of modesty he chose flamboynace- and today there hangs an airplane of the size of a helicopter on this kothi! And thus the name'Jahaz Kothi', a kothi known more by its design than by the name of its owners and builders. The Agarwals, Lakhotia, Bagla, Poddar, Kothari, Banthia, Surana, Heerawat, Jain, Sharma, Vyas, Bohra, are the some of the surnames of the people from the town. Churu is an important town in the history.

The havellies were impressively decorated with Belgian etched kaleidoscopic glasses in many shapes and designs. Their intricate designs and their carved woodwork doorframes are admirable. Their arch shaped gateway with provision for two seats on both the sides and their stipulations for privacy in the inner courtyard for the womenfolk are of note. Special care was taken about the security of the inmates and thus they used to make thick and blind outerwalls in the earlier times. Only the upper stories had windows small and big neatly decorated with wooden inlaid doors.

These Havellies are best known for their colorful murals {wall paintings} within fresco artwork. The variety of the subjects incorporated in these murals can be of great interest for any Research Scholar. Once can discover the portraits and details of Hindu mythological gods such as Raja Ram along Sita, Hanuman, the Bhairav, Goddess Kali and the Romantic and artistic depiction's of Lord Krishna along with Radha and other maids. The pre- historic Epic Ramayana's portraitures in golden n works also find place on many ceilings of the massive temples & Havelis and the domes of the Chhatris. Wall paintings of a sea Vessel made in Germany, Dhola-Maru and Sassi-Punnu {the Rajasthani versions of Romeo-Juliet}. The Hess Christ, Railway Station to the center plan of a city, Jesus smoking a cigar, a Railway Train, a Limousine etc., etc. are the other themes that can be noticed among many. AT some sites neatly placed one may find erotic scenes as well.


Many people from Churu are now settled in Mumbai, Kolkatta and are engaged in trade, building , construction and export-import and other businesses. Some well known business houese are Surana group, Bagla group business houses,. Some people from Churu presently reside in Bangalore, and Ahmedabad too. They keep regular contact with Churu through social and religious functions.

Churu constituency elects one member to the Vidhan Sabha ( Rajasthan State Assembly) & one to LokSabha (Indian Parliament)

Monuments

  • Fort Churu
  • Ghantaghar
  • Dharam Stup

Climate

The Churu city is situated at 26° 36'N 75° 27'E. This City shows maximum range of temperature in any given 12 month and often comes into news for extreme temperatures in winters and summers; with lowest rain. The recorded minimum and maximum temperatures are -6 °C (21 F) and 52 °C (125 F) respectively.

See also

Famous persons from Churu District

References

  1. ^ Churu article in Encylcopædia Britannica
  2. ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 10, p. 335
  3. ^ James Tod: Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, 1829-32
  4. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Churu
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