Palwal - The Cultural City of Haryana

Introduction of Palwal :

Palwal is a city and a municipal council. It is the headquarters of Palwal district, the 21st district of Haryana state in northern India. It is a centre for the cotton trade in the area.

Palwal is 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Delhi, 313 kilometres (194 mi) from Chandigarh and 143 kilometres (89 mi) from Agra.The latitude of the town is 28° 40' N and longitude is 76° 59' E. The area of town is 22.10 square kilometres (8.53 sq mi).^[1]

The local tradition identifies Palwal with the Apelava town mentioned in the Mahabharata, which was later restored by Vikramaditya.^[2]

^{On 15 August 1979, Gurgaon district was further divided to form a new Faridabad district, and Palwal became a part of it.[4] On 15 August 2008, Palwal became the administrative headquarters of the newly formed Palwal district, 21st district of Haryana.}

^{Tourism In Palwal :} 

^{Hodal :}
The ancient history of the town is obscure. It lies within Brij Bhoomi, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, and, therefore, follows all the traditions of the region. In the pre-Mughal era, the site of the present Hodal is said to have belonged to Odes, a nomadic community whose traditional occupation related to digging and managing the excavated earth. The services of Odes, who were expert in building earthen dams and kutcha ponds, were utilised even by kings and monarchs. It is not known for how long the Odes remained in occupation of the old site of Hodal before the arrival of the Jats. Some old persons in the town say that a few Deshal Brahmin families used to live here with the Odes. The Odes were traditionally a brave as well as a haughty community. It is said that on some occasions they had offended their Brahmin neighbours, who could not bear such humiliation and became vengeful. A few days before Divali, the Brahmins thought of taking their revenge and called upon the Sorot Jats who lived at Kashi Khera, near Hodal. The Brahmins and Jats invited the Odes to a feast on the eve of Divali. The Odes drank plenty of wine unaware of what was in store for them. When the Odes were in an inebriated condition, the Jats eliminated them.

Hodal is well known due to three reasons: firstly, Maharani Kishori Devi, first wife of Jat Raja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur belonged to this place; secondly, it is the head village of a group of 24 villages inhabited by the Sorot Jat clan; and thirdly, an ancient temple devoted to Lord Krishna is situated here.

Kishori Devi was the daughter of one Chaudhary Kashi Ram Sorot. Legend has is that one day Maharaja Suraj Mal was passing Hodal on his stately elephant when he noticed an unusual incident. An agitated bull was frightening everyone and roaming angrily when Kishori Devi, along with her friends, was returning from a well with pitchers on her head. She put her toe on the loose bridle and restrained the bull. Kishori was a brave, stout and beautiful young maiden. Suraj Mal was greatly impressed and after some time sent his purohit with the marriage proposal. Her father is said to have agreed to the relationship but wished that his status was at par with that of the reputed Raja. Upon hearing this, Maharaja Suraj Mal granted him the title of Chaudhary with the authority to collect revenue from the parganah of Hodal. The marriage was solemnised sometime around 1730.

Haveli Built by Kashi Ram
There are a number of old buildings and places of historical importance in and around Hodal. The most notable are the ruins of a haveli of Chaudhary Kashi Ram and the adjoining Court House, known as Izlaas Khas, built by him around 1750. Apart from these, there are the ruins of a fine baoli, a step well, in the middle of the new settlement. These dilapidated buildings are situated on an elevated ground in Andua Patti, to which Kashi Ram belonged. Of the Court House, only the high facade now survives. The adjoining courtrooms and storehouses, which were on the verge of coming down, were demolished on orders of the Municipal Committee a few years ago. The old haveli of Chaudhary Kashi Ram has fine stone carving on the surviving interior walls, masonry columns, and a high façade. All of them are made out of heavy blocks of stones, brought in bullock carts in those times from Bansi Paharpur and Dhaulpur mines. The haveli is in a poor condition. Its upkeep seems to be nobody’s responsibility, for it has several claimants.

                                                                                             Haveli of Mr. Kashiram

Sati Temple and Talab:

To the eastern side of the town, and not far away from the house of Jaildaar Balwant Singh, is a finely built large masonry tank known as Sati ka Talaab, the Sati temple, an artistically built cenotaph, some other temples of deities revered in the village and ruins of an old kachehri. All these structures are in front of the P.W.D. Rest House at Hodal and not very far away from the G.T. Road. The Sati ka Talaab is quite deep and has eight quays around it. The presence of corner quays is a unique feature of this tank. The tank used to receive considerable flow of rainwater from the eastern and southern side till five decades ago. During the last several decades the catchment-area has been encroached upon by builders of colonies.

The cenotaph was raised sometime between 1765-67 in the memory of Balram, brother of Kishori Devi and only son of Kashi Ram who was killed during the invasion of Delhi by Jawahar Singh. The body of Balram was brought to Hodal like an honorable general and assigned to flames on the banks of the Sati ka Talaab. The cenotaph, raised on a high platform, has a plinth layout which matches that of a cross or a chaupar. The stone pillars are 16 in number. The temple of Sati was built a few years earlier than Balram’s cenotaph. It is said that Chaudhary Kashi Ram passed away at Bharatpur. When his body was being consigned to flames at Bharatpur, his wife Jaskaur wished to perform sati. Her wishes were fulfilled. The ashes of both the husband and wife were brought to Hodal and kept on a chabutra on which the temple is said to have been built. The footprints of both the husband and wife were carved on a stone slab and placed in the sanctum sanctorum. Every year on Magh Sudi Duj and Baisakh Sudi Duj, a devotional fair is held in memory of Jaskaur who performed sati. Rawat Jats of the neighbouring villages congregate here to pay respects to her. Jaskaur belonged to Maanpur village of Rawat Jats.

The Sati ka Talaab has been fairly well maintained. The tank was cleaned and restored a couple of years ago while the Sati Ghat was reconstructed 25 years ago by a local trader, Haridayal, in memory of his wife Chandrawati Devi.

Pando Ban - Where Pandavs take thier exile in Mahabharat

The most revered and sacred place of Hindus in Hodal is Pando Ban. Legend has it that during their period of exile, the Pandavas had rested at this place and worshipped Lord Krishna. A thick forest surrounds this religious place on three sides. It is now a resting-place for monkeys. There is a deep pond inside the forest which receives water only during the rainy season. 

Modern Hodal -

Fifty years ago, Hodal was like a big, self-sufficient village with a bazaar run entirely by local baniyas. At that time there were nearly 200 families of Mahajans. Most of them settled here after the British took over the territory and ensured peace and stability. They had migrated to Hodal from far off places, and built their shops-cum-residences in the mandi and old bazaar area, now within the old town.

Modern Hodal has all the civic amenities except a degree college for boys. The degree college for girls was started here in an impressive new building on the initiative of Harsh Kumar a few years ago when he was a Minister in Chaudhary Bansi Lal’s government. The Municipality at Hodal was started by the Punjab Government Notification No. 1464 of September 24, 1885. It still functions from the old building beside the old thana building.

Dubchik - The Tourist Motel

Location : 92 km from Delhi
District : Faridabad

Dabchick Hodel tourist resort lies on Haryana's stretch of the Delhi-Agra-(National Highway No.2)
On the border of Haryana as one travels to Agra, Dabchick resort greets the tourists. The resort is cosy, compact and geared to cater to the tourists in a hurry. Here the very best of facilities await the travellers

 Pawal Tourist Places - 

Dau Temple -

The Dau Temple is an ancient temple of Lord Balarama (the elder brother of Lord Krishna). The temple has beautiful carvings and paintings narrating the story of how the Lord killed the demon- Palwalsur.

Gandhi Sewashram -

The Gandhi Sewashram is built on the National Highway on the outskirts of the city and is a place of peace and integration. Ashram means a home of service. The ashram is being run by Gandhi Sewashram trust. Every year on Gandhi Jayanthi tribute prayers are organized for the Father of the Nation.

Jama Masjid -

There is an old Muslim Shrine called the Jama Masjid in Palwal. Every Friday mass prayers are offered here by the locals. The Islamic festivals are celebrated in the mosque with great enthusiasm.

Panchvati Temple -

The Panchvati Temple located on the South of the town is dedicated to the five mythological heroes – the Pandavas. The beautiful paintings in the temple narrate the exile period of the Pandavas and inspire the victory of truth over evil. An idol of Lord Hanuman is also placed in the temple.

Historical Places In Palwal -

Draupadi Ghat  -

Draupadi was the wife of the mythological heroes – Pandavas (Yudhishtira, Bheem, Arjuna, Nakula and Sehadeva) from the epic Mahabharata, who is said to have spent a year during their exile. The Draupadi Ghat is located close to the Panchvati Temple.

Idgah Of Shihab Ud Din -

The Idgah of Shihab-Ud-Din is completely in a ruined state today. It is currently occupied by the Jawahar Gausala.

Matia Fort -

The Matia Fort is an old fort in Palwal that is now completely ruined. Only the remains of the temple are left now.

Tomb Of Roshan Chirag -

The tomb of Roshan Chirag is a tomb belonging to Saint Roshan Chirag. The tomb is on the Mathura Road and is made of stone slabs.

 For today, it is enough. I will available again with facts of haryana. So good by for today.