Jhalrapatan--the city of Sunshine

Living in Slovakia in Europe i found the meaning of 'Time slowing down.' I could stay in an open air bistro for hours or walk in the forests and mountains and everything would be waiting for me to see, feel explore. time is what it is but when we rush through things we hardly feel and see the world around us---it just appears and disappears like moving in a car. In Jhalrapatan the city of Sun God Temple the time is like a snail. around me were spread out great treasures! And i remembered the saying, "Far you travel more honey you gather." Slovakia is a wonderful country of open hearted simple people and fragrant countryside and yes the Tatra Mountains and Danube. Kapor is the Christmas celebration fish that flourishes in Danube from Black Forest in Germany to Black Sea. Incidentally I discovered many similarities between European languages and Sanskrit. the word for honey in Slovak and Czech is 'med'and the word in Sanskrit is 'Madhu'.
Coming back to Jhalrapatan I felt so rich for it was a city from more than a thousand years of our past. It was our forefathers who worshipped Sun God and to him they dedicated beautiful temples. Khajuraho, Modhera are the more renowned ones but the Jhalrapatan Sun Temple is beautiful in its own way. the sun temple true to the name of the beautiful town--Jhalrapatan has a lot of bells carved on its exquisite pillars.
Malwa ruled largely by Pariharas seemed to have developed the Shikhara Bhumija style. Jhalrapatan Sun Temple built in 11th century AD is a typical example of this style.



If you wish to know about the Jhalwar under Brtish occupation here is an excerpt--

"In regard to the literacy of its population, Jhalawar stands seventh
among the twenty States and chiefships of Rajputana, with 3-4 per cent,
(6-4 males and 0-2 females) able to read and write. There are now
nine schools in the State, and the daily average attendance during
1904-5 was 424. The only notable institution is the high school
(at the chhaoni), in which English, Urdu, Hindi, and Sanskrit are
taught. The other schools are all primary, and include one for girls
(attended by twelve pupils) and one specially for Sondhias. No fees
are charged anywhere, and the yearly expenditure on education is about
Rs. 6,000.
The manufactures are unimportant, and consist of rough cotton
fabrics, floorcloths, brass utensils, knives, and sword-
blades. The chief exports are opium (to Ujjain and communications.
Indore), oilseeds, and cotton ; while the chief im-
ports are food-grains (mainly from Haraoti), salt, sugar, cloth, and metals.

There is at present no railway in the State, but the Nagda-Muttra
line, now under construction, will pass through three tahslls."

IMPERIAL GAZETTEER
OF INDIA
1908