Baran District, Rajasthan Overview :

Baran district is a district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The headquarters of the district are located at the city of Baran. was carved out of erstwhile Kota District on 10th April 1991. The district got the name from the town Baran which is also the district headquarters. The district covers a total area of 6955.40 Sq.Km, out of which 35.88 Sq.Km. is urban while the rest is primarily rural. There are eight tehsils in the district namely Baran, Anta, Atru, Mangrol, Chhabra, Chhipabarod, Kishanganj and Shahabad. Baran district comes under the parliamentry constituency of Jhalawar-Baran and is divided into four assembly constituencies namely Anta, Kishanganj, Baran-Atru and Chhabra. The main dialect spoken here is Hadoti. 

History :

Baran was under the Solanki Rajputs in the 14th - 15th century. It is not exactly known as to when the main town of the twelve villages under the Solanki's was named as 'Baran'. There are many views as to the same. Some say that it was formed by twelve villages, and is therefore called Baran. Some others say that the city was built by the twelve nearby villages, and is therefore named as Baran. It is also said, that since the soil of the area is mostly Barani, the district has thus acquired its name. In the year 1948, the state of Rajasthan was formed, and Baran was then a district in Rajasthan state. On 31st March' 1949, Rajasthan was reconstituted and at that time Baran district headquarters was converted into Sub Division headquater of Kota district. It is also worth noting that 'Baran' in Urdu means rain. It is therefore no wonder that Baran has the second highest rainfall in the state after Banswara district. 

Geography :

The land slopes gently northward from the high table land of Malwa in Madhya Pradesh. It is well watered, drained by rivers flowing in North and North-Eastern directions. There are hills in the South, North and Eastern portion of the district and it is generally fertile. There are hills in the east in Shahabad tehsil, having the highest point, named as Mamooni, which is 546 meters above mean sea level, in the district. These hills form part of Aravalli Mountain Ranges. Their slopes are gently and steep and they are mostly covered by woods. The land of the district slopes gently from South to North and the drainage is through Chambal River and its tributaries. The district has a dry climate except in the monsoon seasons. The winter season runs from mid-November to February and summer season runs from March to mid-June. The period from mid of June to September is the monsoon season. The months October to mid-November constitute the post monsoon or the retreating monsoon. The average rainfall in the district is 854.5mm. January is the coldest month with the average daily maximum temperature of 24.3 degree Celsius and the average daily minimum temperature of 10.6 degree Celsius. 

The main river of the Baran district is the Parvati River, an auxiliary of the Chambal River. This enters Baran from the Kariyahat kasba of Chhabra Tehsil from Madhya Pradesh. It separates the Kishanganj Tehsil from Chhabra, Atru, Baran and Mangrol Tehsils. One of the most important rivers of the Hadoti region is the Kali Sindh River. It flows for around 40 Kms along the western border of the Mangrol tehsil, after merging with the Parvan River. The uncertainty of floods is quite high with this river. One of the largest rivers in the state of Rajasthan, the Palaytha, has been constructed over this river. The Parvan River is the auxiliary of the Kali Sindh River. It enters the Baran district from the southern part of the Harnavdashahaji kasba. From there, it maintains its flow along the south-western border of the Chhipabarod, Atru, Baran and Mangrol tehsils and merges into the Kali Sindh River. The Andheri River enters Baran from nearby Chhipabarod. It runs for about 15 Kms bordering Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and finally merges into the Parvati River near Atru. The Ban Ganga River is the rainy river which passes through Bamla and Sehrod in the southern part of Baran. After passing east of Baran city and west of Bohat and Mangrol Kasba, it merges with the Parvati River. The irrigation facilities available in the district are mainly in the form of canals, tubewells and wells. The rivers Parvati, Kalisindh and Parwan provide an important source of canal irrigation. 

Soil found in the district is mainly black Kachari soil, found primarily in the Baran and Mangrol tehsils. This soil is highly fertile. Stony soil is found in the southern and eastern part of the district. Owing to the absence of metamorphic rocks, no metallic ore of importance except Bauxite occurs in the district. However a variety of non-metallic minerals are exposed, important among them being sandstone and limestone. Besides, small deposits of red clay, glass-sand, dolomite and kankar are also found. The main mineral of the district is building stone. 

The forest area of the district is around 2.15 lacs. The forests are mainly concentrated in the south-western and central portion of the Mukundra hills, which have a rich forest belt. The main forests found of the district are Sagavan, Kher, Salan, Gargsari.

Economy :

The major industries in Baran district are primarily agro-based. These include soyabean, mustard oil, pulse/rice mills, coriander and wheatgrinding, agricultural instruments, minerals based units like stone crashers etc. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), A Government of India enterprise is also situated in Anta which produces electricity based on the Gas. Rajasthan Financial Corporation (RFC) is a leading financial institution of the state which caters to the industrial and financial requirements of the medium, small scale and tiny industrial units. For setting up the industrial units in the district, RIICO provide land and infrastructure facilities, technical consultancy and financial inputs. There are three industrial areas in the district.

Tourism :

There are a number of places of tourism that the district of Baran has to offer the visitors. Many ancient temples are found located all over the district, such as the Brahmani Mataji Temple, temples at Kakoni, Sitabari etc. The Shiv Mandir of the Ramgarh-Bhand Devra temples has been built in the classic style of the Khajuraho temples and is hence often known as the Khajuraho of Rajasthan. Apart from the many beautiful temples located here, there are a number of places of historical interest located here in the district. Prime among them are the many forts that have been constructed here by the erstwhile rulers and conquerors of the district. 

Fairs and Festivals :

Fairs and festivals in Baran district figure many in number. A variety of festivals are held in the district as a part of the celebrations of various religious groups. These festivals and fairs are organised on a large scale and celebrated with much pomp and fanfare. The events are participated in and attended by a number of people from all over the state, and the celebrations continue for days on end. Discussed below are the various fairs and festivals in the district of Baran. 

The Dolmela is organised at the Dol Talab (Pond) in Baran city from Jaljhulni Akadshi. The main attraction of the mela is a big Shobha Yatra (procession) which has about 54 Dev Viman (the holy statue carriers). This procession is also known as Dol, and the procession goes around al the major temples of the city. In this procession some 'Akhadas' also demonstrate their 'Kartab' (type of physical exercise). The procession starts from the Shreeji temple, comes to the Dol Talab where all the Dev Vimans are worshiped and then these are sent back to the respective temples. This fair is organised for 15 days and it is very popular among the local residents as well as the residents from all over the state of Rajasthan.

Sitabari Mela is another major fair in the district of Baran. Sitabri is a holy place situated about 45 Km. from Baran city near the Kelwara Kasba. A big tribal fair is organised here on Jeshta Amavasya. The place has a number of 'Kunds' attributed to Sita, Laxman, Lord Surya, Lav and Kush and taking a holy dip in them is considered auspicious. Lakhs of people come here for this fair which is taken as Kumbh in the Sahariya tribe. The Swayambar (marriage function) of Sahariya tribes is organised in this fair which is attended by people come from all over Rajasthan state and adjoining Madhya Pradesh. In the Swayambar of the Sahariya tribe, the Sahariya tribe a sahariya boy drops the handkerchief for proposing to the Sahariya girl in the fair. If the girl accepts the handkerchief, it is said that they are agreed for marriage. The bride and groom take the 7 rounds (saat phere) of the Barnawa tree and after the blessings of their parents they are accepted as a married couple. 

The Brahamani Mataji Mela is organised in the old fort near Sorsan about 20 Kms from Baran. This is the only donkey fair in the Hadoti region. Brahmani Mataji temple is in this fort. This fair is organised in Magh-Shukla-Saptmi. Other animals are also brought for selling-purchasing in this fair but mostly donkey and kachhar are sold and purchased in the fair. 

 Phuldol  Folk Festival, The festival is organised every year in the town of Kishanganj on the occasion of Holi. This festival was started more than 120 years ago by the local residents of the town with the marriage ceremony of the tulsi plant with the statue of God Charbhujanath in their home. It is a tradition in the families that after marriage, the groom comes to the in-laws home with his friends to play Holi. This tradition is followed by the God Charbhujanath and all the residents of Kishanganj town. On the day of Holi-Dulandi, Swang (type of drama) is played in the town for the whole day. Some of the famous swangs are Gidh-Rawan-Yudh, Band-Bandi swang etc. In the night, a big 'Shobhayatra' known as 'PhulDolo' is taken out into town. Lots of people from nearby places come to witness the festival. 

Piplod Christmas Fair is organised in the only Church of the Baran district in the village Piplod in Atru tehsil. This fair is organised on 25th December every year. Though this fair is organised near the Church, many local Hindu-Muslims also participate in the fair. 

About 33 Km. from Baran, there is a small village called Balakhera. Here, Urs has been celebrated for the last 33 years. It is interesting to note that this Urs was initiated by a Hindu Brahmin family. Even today the flag of the Urs is taken out from the house of the descendant of this family.