Travel Mail: The charm of Churu

Everything about Churu is underrated. It has all the ingredients of a tourist attraction - its location in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan (an area famous for its mural paintings), the nearby sand dunes (the town is known as the gateway to Thar) and the presence of an authentic Rajasthani shopping experience. Yet, somehow, Churu has stayed off the tourist radar all these years.

The town - a five-hour train ride from Delhi - is home to 100,000 odd people, a significant population of goats and dogs, and several exquisitely painted havelis. It was in one of the latter - a beautifully restored 1920s haveli - that I stayed at during my two-day trip to the charming town of Churu.

Malji Ka Kamra, built around 1920 by Malji Kothari (a rich merchant) as a place to host Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner on his travels, is a vision in sea green. The heritage hotel has a total of 15 rooms that are a marriage of authentic Rajasthani experience, and modern amenities and furnishings.

The other remarkable building - this too has undergone restoration work - in Churu is the Jain temple. The 150-year-old structure is a piece of art in itself - its interiors resembling more a lavish royal court than a temple courtyard. Another famous temple in the area lies in the nearby hamlet of Mahansar.

The Shri Raghunath Ji temple, said to have the biggest temple roof in the Shekhawati region, was built in 1846. Unlike the more common placement of solitary idols, the deities inside have their family to keep them company.

There's a moustachioed Shiva with his entire family, Rama with his wife and brothers, and Hanuman with his son Makardhwaj inside the temple complex. Upstairs, from the rooftop, the entire hamlet including the Mahansar fort is visible.

The Mahansar fort, built in 1768, is a heritage hotel now and is managed by the descendant of the Mahansar Thakur. The highlight of Mahansar, though, is the Sone ki Dukan. Built in 1846, the erstwhile jewellery shop is both a testament to the artistry of the region and a lesson in Indian mythology. The building opens into three rooms - with a dedicated work of murals on the lives of Rama, Vishnu and Krishna respectively. The paintings are detailed and some of them - the tableau on Lanka in the Rama section for instance - have been done in gold. Mahansar is also famous for one more thing - its brand of homemade liquor.

While a taste of the Mahansar liquor was not in my destiny, having tea amongst the sand dunes certainly was. A few kilometres away from the main town of Churu, the sand dunes are the perfect place to sip on the hot beverage while the sun goes down. Incidentally, the area is also home to chinkaras, whom I spotted on an early morning jeep safari. The dunes aren't as extensive as the ones in the heart of the Thar, nevertheless they make up for it with its exclusivity.

Tea on the dunes, though, is just one of the many eating options the hotel provides. During my two-day stay, the options ranged from a lunch beside a water body (the Prem Sarovar), dinner on the hotel rooftop and, of course, in Malji Ka Kamra's standard dining area.

After having breakfast in the latter on the second day of the trip, I finally headed out to do what every tourist essentially visits a destination for - shopping. In Churu, that meant a visit to the shop of one of its oldest bangle makers, and a stop at its silver jewellery market. My intangible souvenirs, on the other hand, were more extensive in nature.

Looking up at an exquisitely designed ceiling of a 150-year-old Jain temple, racing past a herd of chinkaras and staying at the guest house of a Maharaja - such experiences don't come that often in life.