From mystic Scheherazade to colourful cities, bumpy camel rides to haunted forts, Rajasthan– the biggest state of India is famous for its folklore. Being one of the most preferred tourist destinations, the state is equally loved by the natives as well as the outsiders. You ought to be living under the rocks if you missed out on legends and fables surrounding the royal, desert state.
Here are some less-heard tales in Rajasthan history that every Rajasthani must know.
- Maharaja Ramsingh was the First Rajasthani to click a Selfie.
Yes, you heard it right. Maharaj Ram Singh, who was an expert at photography and painting, created the first self-portrait in the 18th century that could be passed as a selfie in modern day times. He produced his self-portrait using modern digital reprint technology on wet Collodian glass plate negative in 1870. Until then, the world was unfamiliar with the selfie trend. The king’s portrait features him in a ‘deep thinking’ mode, comfortably seated on his armchair.
- When a Proud King converted Rolls Royce into Pickup Vehicle
In 1920, the King of Bharatpur Sawai Kishan Singh visited London for Sightseeing. Being fascinated by the Rolls Royce car, the king placed orders for 21 vehicles. The showroom owner, who didn’t know that he was a king, mistook him for a crazy buffoon. He quoted high prices to drive the king away. Nevertheless, the king took it as an insult and immediately ordered his PA to make payments.
Once the cars were dispatched to Bharatpur, the King employed 3 of the cars as pickup vehicles for collecting garbage in his city. When Prince of London visited Indian in December 1921, he was astonished to learn about this incident. When he went back to London, he asked the Rolls Royce owners to apologise for this mistake.
- Historians Predict that Buddhism was a Prominent Force in Rajasthan.
In the medieval times, Buddhism was a driving force in south and eastern India. However, very few people know that people in Rajasthan practiced this religion before that. Rajasthan was a well-known tourism destination since the ancient times. Famous for its uninhabited lands, a group of Buddhist monks visited Rajasthan during 300 to 900 BC.
Approximately 52 miles away from Jaipur, Professor Niki Chaturvedi discovered ancient Buddhist scriptures and statutes that belonged to 300-900 BC. This clearly states that people in Rajasthan knew about Buddhism before it was introduced in South India.
