Bharatpur
- The Eastern Gateway to Rajasthan, was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in
1733 AD, it was once an impregnable well fortified city, carved out of the region
formerly known as Mewat. The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and Dholpur has played an important part in the history of Rajasthan. The legends say that the place was named as Bharatpur after the name of Bharat, the brother of Lord Rama, whose other brother Laxman was worshipped as the family deity of the Bharatpur rulers, Laxman's name is engraved onthe state arms and the seals.
The city and the fort have been believed to be founded by Rustam, a Jat of Sogariya clan. Maharaja Surajmal took over from Khemkaran, the son of Rustam and established the empire. He fortified the city by building a massive wall around the city.
The interesting aspect of the Bharatpur history is the domination of Jats in the region since 17th century, leader like Churaman and Badan Singh brought the Jats together to mould them into a force to reckon with.
Suraj Mal has been the greatest ruler who made them a formidable force and played a very important role in the Indian history during 19th century.
Today Bharatpur is better known for the Keoladeo Natinal Park, a unique bird place, delight of ornithologists.
A paradise
for the avian world, and the pilgrimage for the bird lovers, it was known as
the best duck shooting resort in the British empire. But was declared a reserve
for birds in 1956 and later upgraded to National Park. UNESCO has listed it
as a world heritage site.The geographical location is ideal as it is on the main North-South avian route of India. Although small in size, 29 sq km. Only, it boasts to house more than 375 species of beautiful birds, and more than 132 of them breed inside the Keoladeo Ghana National Park and nearly every year new ones are added to the list.
The sanctuary not only attracts birds from India but also from places like Europe, Siberia, China and Tibet Before monsoons hundreds of these exotic birds roost and nest building activities start on the babool and kadam trees of the park. Water coming through the Ajan Bandh starts filling the various ponds and lakes of the Park.
