Bikaner is a District in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan in northern India. It was formerly the capital of the princely state of Bikaner. The city was founded by Rao Bika in 1486 and from its small origins it has developed into the fourth largest city in Rajasthan. Just like Jaipur, Bikaner is called the [Camel City/Land of Camels]. Till the 11th century, the area now known as Bikaner, was under the Gurjara - Pratihara clan and was ruled by a powerful Bargujar King. It was then known as Jangladesh and Churu was the centre of Bargujar power.
It was only in 1472, that Rao Bika established the city of Bikaner. Bikaner, though a desert land of the Thar Desert, was considered an oasis on the trade route between Central Asia and the Gujarat coast since it had adequate spring water sources. Bika’s name was thus tagged to the Bikaner city as well as to the then state of Bikaner (“the settlement of Bika”) that he established. He built a fort in 1478, which is now ruins and 100 years later a new fort was built about 1.5 km from the city centre known as the Junagarh Fort. History of Bikaner and the fort within it thus start with Bika. Ganga Singh who ruled from 1887 to 1943 built the Ganga Niwas Palace, which has towers at the entrance patio. This palace was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob. Ganga Singh’s son Sadul Singh succeeded his father in 1943 but acceded to the Union of India in 1949. He died in 1950. There are various fair & festivals celeberated at Bikaner like Karni Mata fair, Gangaur festival, Kapil Muni fair, Camel festival as on & each January the state government organises a camel festival with camel races, various cultural events and a fire dance performed by the Sidh people.
Every year on aksaye tritya or "AKKHA TEEJ": the foundation day of Bikaner when Rao Bika laid the foundation of the new empire, people from across the social spectrum enjoy themselves by flying kites or "CHANDA". They also enjoy a special meal, such as "Khichra and Imlani". The Junagarh fort was built by Raja Rai Singh, the sixth ruler of Bikaner who reigned from 1571 to 1612. Rai Singh had conquered part of Marwar and had been granted territory in Gujurat and Burhanpur by the Mughal emperor Akbar as a reward for his services as military commander. This, as well as funding from Jodhpur, enabled him to build the fort. Rai Singh held high rank in the imperial courts of both Akbar and his successor, Jehangir. During his imperial service he travelled extensively, giving him an appreciation of art and architecture. These ideas have been incorporated meticulously into the architectural style of Junagarh Fort. The Laxmi Niwas Palace is a former residential palace of the king of the former Bikaner state, Maharajah Ganga Singh in Bikaner in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was designed by the British architect, Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob in the year 1902. The style of architecture is Indo-Saracenic.
It is now a luxury hotel owned by Golden Triangle Fort & Palace P. Ltd. The magnificent structure in red sandstone is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in Bikaner. Lalgarh Palace was built between 1902 and 1926 according to Rajput, Mughal and European architectural styles. The building was commissioned by Maharaja Ganga Singh (1889 - 1925) in memory of his father Maharaja Lall Singh and was designed by the British architect, Sir Swinton Jacob. It is coated in red sandstone and has several grand halls, lounges, cupolas and pavilions. The building features magnificent pillars, elaborate fireplaces, Italian colonnades and intricate latticework and filigree work. The palace houses the Shri Sadul Museum as well as the fourth largest library in the world. Though the Bikaner Royal Family still live in the palace, part of the building has been converted into a Heritage hotel operated by the Royal faimly of Bikaner. Kolayat is a famous pilgrimage spot with a temple dedicated to Kapila who, according to his devotees, sat in meditation near the lake. One week before Pushkar Festival and till one week later this lake is more interesting if you like to see Sadhus. Pushkar will have some Sadhus but Kolayat will have many hundreds. The world famous Karni Mata Temple the shrine of Karni Mata can be found in the town of Deshnoke 30 km south from Bikaner on the road to Jodhpur. Karni Mata is worshiped as an incarnation of Goddess Durga. This temple is famous for rats which can be seen everywhere in the temple.
