Kuldhara
No one knows why the village was deserted all of a sudden. Some say it was because of drought, others attribute it to an earthquake and still others to Salim Singh, a powerful minister of the then state of Jaisalmer, who took delight in harassing the villagers with his unscrupulous tax collecting ways.
It is said that Salim Singh’s roving eyes fell on the beautiful daughter of the village headman. He tried to take her away by force but was prevented by her father and some villagers. Infuriated, he warned the people that he would levy steeper taxes if they dared to come in his way again. The villagers panicked and as night fell, they packed their belongings and quietly trooped out of the village. Kuldhara hasn’t been inhabited ever since. Many believe that this is because the villagers had cursed the place before leaving, saying that it would never be inhabited again.
People visiting or travelling through Kuldhara have reported hearing about people meeting with strange deaths if they tried to live there. Many have supposedly heard spooky sounds and seen ghosts walking about at night.
Ruins of empty houses, stepwells, temples and other community structures with pretty carvings stand as silent sentinels today. Kuldhara now enjoys the status of a heritage site and is being maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. As the exodus took place on Raksha Bandhan, no member of the Paliwal Brahmin community celebrates the festival.
