Showcasing history

At the centuries-old camel bazaar in the desert town of Pushkar during the annual fair. - ELIZABETH DALZIEL/AP

Rajasthan's flavour is delightfully medieval; truly, it is a place where time has stood still.

AWARE of the State's immense tourism potential, the Rajasthan government has doubled the budget allocation for this sector. All through the year Rajasthan witnesses tourist traffic, although foreign tourists prefer the cooler months. In fact, despite a temporary setback in foreign tourist arrivals after the terrorist bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001, the number of visitors grew by 46.7 per cent in December 2003 compared to the same period the previous year. December 2004 saw a further improvement (160.34 lakh Indian tourists and 9.53 lakh foreign tourists visited the State last year) and there are visible indications this holiday season of enhanced arrivals.

The success of tourism has an impact on all segments that benefit from this industry. Keeping this in mind, the State Tourism Department has decided to set up two tourist circuits - the Hadothi Circuit and the National Capital Region Tourist Circuit - to make arrivals and departures easy. Determined to promote tourism and also sustain tourist interest in the diverse cultural heritage of the State, every year the department tries to introduce new programmes. In 2004-05, it organised a special Vijaydasami (the day after the conclusion of Navaratri) festival and Rajasthan Day on a grand scale in Jaipur, the capital city. Other events included Grishmakalin or summer festival, Teej festivals and Dasara and Deepavali celebrations. The department plans to expand the conventional notion of tourism by extending it to other areas such as medical tourism and industrial tourism, spiritual and religious tourism. Under the Adopt a Monument Scheme, it encourages participation by private parties who might be interested in the upkeep and preservation of monuments.

An aggressive and impressive promotional campaign through advertisements in the media won the State Tourism Department the Galileo Express Travel and Tourism Award for visual advertising.

Keeping in mind the safety of foreign and domestic tourists, helplines have been set up at tourist spots in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Mount Abu, Pushkar, Ajmer, Jaisalmer, Sawai Madhopur, Bikaner, Chittor and Bharatpur, among other places.

In order to encourage the concept of heritage hotels, there is a plan to convert heritage properties into hotels.

The government has allocated Rs.570.03 lakhs for 2005-06 for the development of tourist destinations. Tourism hubs are planned to be created to provide facilities such as restaurants, parking lots, public utility services and modern communication facilities in and around the tourist sites.

The Central government has sanctioned Rs.129.26 lakhs for a light-and-sound programme, which will be managed by the Amer Development Authority in Jaipur. While remaining focussed on some of the well-known tourist spots and destinations, there is an attempt to take tourism to hitherto unknown areas such as Gogunda in Udaipur. A concept plan has been prepared to develop historical monuments and places at Gogunda, Chawand and Diwer at a cost of Rs.6.75 crores. Gogunda, for instance, saw a Bhil rebellion break out during colonial rule. Many tribal areas of the State have histories of struggle against feudal lords as well as colonial rulers, but these have not been showcased or even documented in the popular history of the State. As a result of this, most perceptions about Rajasthan veer around Rajput glory or martyrdom by Rajput men and jauhar by their women.

The introduction to Rajasthan a la carte, a tourism manual promoted by the government, is self-explanatory. It is beautiful in verse and resplendent in description: "Here they came, the Rajputs, to a land where the Aravalli hills lay like a beam across the desert. And here they built themselves magnificent citadels to their power. These kings, and the sons of the kings, ruled once more, and today the region where their once-mighty kingdoms commanded respect is called Rajasthan, the land of the rulers." If the government were to showcase ordinary people's histories as they existed, located in diversity, then tourism would be infused with an altogether different life.

The government plans to develop roadways, reconstruct and repair old baolis or wells, restructure the Jai Mahal, develop para-gliding, set up ecological parks and launch elephant safaris, in order to promote tourism. Evidently, a lot of domestic tourism needs to be encouraged. The State attracts one-third of the tourists coming to the country. Some of the obvious tourist highlights are the Pushkar fair, the luxurious Palace-on-Wheels, heritage hotels, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, camel safaris and the desert festival on the sands of Jaisalmer where the bard communities such as the Manganiyars entertain visitors with their energetic yet soulful music. Rajasthan, according to the tourist manual, is visitor-friendly. Credit cards are accepted in most towns. There is a fairly extensive network of postal services and banks and telecommunication links with the rest of the world. Says Rajasthan a la carte: "While it may not lack in modern amenities, Rajasthan's flavour is delightfully medieval - truly a place where time, as the cliche goes, has stood still."