Happy TravellerWelcome to Nawalgarh, a heritage city located in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan, India. Known as the Golden City of Rajasthan, Nawalgarh is famous for its stunning frescoes and havelis. Founded in 1737 AD by Thakur Nawal Singh Ji Bahadur (Shekhawat), Nawalgarh is part of the Shekhawati region and is located midway between Jhunjhunu and Sikar. The city is encircled by high Parkota walls consisting of four Pols (gates) in different directions, namely Agoona Darwaja, Bawadi Darwaja (in north), Mandi Darwaja, and Nansa Darwaja. Each gate has iron doors, and the Bala Kila Fort is situated in the center of the Thikana, while Fatehgarh Fort is situated outside the Parkota as an Outpost. The market place of the town and layout of the havelis indicate that the original city was well-planned before construction. Nawalgarh was considered to be one of the most modern towns of Shekhawati.
History:
Thakur Nawal Singh Ji Bahadur (Shekhawat) founded Nawalgarh in 1737 AD at the village site of Rohili, and his descendants ruled there till the abolition of Jagirs in Rajasthan. Many great business families of Marwari community like Mansinghka, Padias, Birlas, Goenka, Jiwrajka, Khaitan, Nemani, Dharnidharka, Somani, Chhawchharia, Ganeriwala, Murarka, Poddar, Seksaria have their origins from Nawalgarh. Nawalgarh was a tazimi thikana of Bhojraj Ji Ka sept of Shekhawat in Shekhawati.
Forts and Palace:
Nawalgarh Fort (Bala Kila Fort) was built by Maharaja Nawal Singh in 1678 AD, but today it stands largely disfigured by modern accretions. Now it houses five banks (SBI, HDFC, CANARA, BANK OF BARODA, PNB, OBC) and a few government offices. Roop Niwas Palace, about one km from the Nawalgarh fort, is a salubrious palace built by Thakur Kunwar Jagmal Singh Ji. The palace is enchanting with a well-laid garden and fountains and has now been converted into a heritage hotel. Anandi Lal Podar Haveli, built in the 1920s, houses a school but has many fine paintings. It is the only haveli in the whole Shekhawati, which has been restored by its owner. Sheesh Mahal is an astounding building with a ceiling mural that includes maps of Nawalgarh and Jaipur. Other places to visit include Murarka Haveli, Sanganeria Haveli (behind mahamaya mandir), Chhawchharia haweli Bansidhar Bhagat Haveli, Chokhani Haveli, Seksaria Haveli, Bhagat Haveli, Poddar Haveli, Bedia Haveli, Chudi wali Haveli, Morarka Haveli, 8 Haveli, Jummachoudry haveli.
Temples:
Nawalgarh has many temples, including Shri Ramdev Ji Mandir (Famous temple of God Ramdevji), Shri Balaji Mandir (Built by Shree Ramchandra Seva Dham Trust), Lakshmi Narayan Mandir (Built by Thakur Udai Singh in 1869 V.S.), Shri Gopinath Ji Mandir (Built by Thakur Nawal Singh), Shri Bawari Wala Balaji Mandir Bawari gate, (Built by Atma Ram Sharma in 17-10-1972), Shri Kalyan Ji Mandir, Gangamai Temple, Shri Ganesh Mandir, Mahamaya Temple, Shri Shanishar Mandir, Shri Hanumangarh Balaji Mandir, Shri Surya Temple, Shri Shiv Mandir, Shri Narsingh Bhagwan Mandir, Shri Vishwakarma Mandir, Shri Ranisati Mandir, and Shri Murli Manohar Mandir.
Education:
Nawalgarh is an important education hub in the Shekhawati region. ‘Asha Ka Jharna’ is a voluntary non-profit organization working for the cause of disability since 1997 running three special schools for mentally challenged and hearing-impaired children. Seth Gyaniram Bansidhar Podar College and Shri Nawalgarh Mahila Mahavidyalaya are the most important higher educational institutions in the city. Digital Marketing Training Institute also belongs to this city. Apart from these, there are few recently opened institutes also offering higher education like Gyan Vihar College. For school education, the city has some very good schools offering education in Hindi as well as English as a medium of instruction. Here one of the best-known schools is Saraswati Senior Secondary School Balwantpura, and others are Subodh Public School, Shri Nawalgarh Senior Secondary School, Prerana Senior Secondary School, Gayatri Vidypaeeth Senior Secondary School Shri Seksaria Saraswati Girls Senior Secondary School, GEMS Gurukul International School, New Indian Senior Secondary School, Podar Matushri Senior Secondary School, Godavaribai Ramdev Podar Senior Secondary School, Gautam Balika Senior Secondary School, Shekhawati Public School, Dundlod Vidyapeeth, Dundlod, and Dundlod Public school (in Dundlod), Mother Teresa Senior Secondary School, Vidhya Bharti Shikshan Sansthan are few names in the list. Nawalgarh also has a science park that has a planetarium and galleries showcasing dinosaur models, nuclear science, and fun science for students.
Connectivity:
Nawalgarh is well connected through rail, road, and air. The city is connected through a broad gauge railway line and situated on the Sikar-Loharu railway line section. The broad gauge section passes through the western corner of the city where the main city railway station is situated. Now the city has direct connectivity through broad gauge line section to Delhi via Loharu and to Kota, Jaipur via Sikar and Ringus. Nawalgarh city starts from Ghoomchakkar on the state highway 8. Recently Nawalgarh got its own bus depot which is situated on the north-west side of the city along with state highway 8. State Highway-8 passes through the center of the city which connects the city to Sikar and Jhunjhunu. Buses for all the major cities of Rajasthan like Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Bikaner, Jodhpur, and Delhi and other cities also operated from here. The nearest airport to Nawalgarh city, Jaipur International Airport, is 154 km (
