Haryana: Land of Marvellous History & Culture

Haryana Special: Haryana: Land of Marvellous History & Culture

Intro: The State has  dignified history but yet mysterious to have a perfect identity. We can call it ‘Land of Vedic Civilisation’, ‘Land of Battles & Wars’, ‘Land of Jawaans’, ‘Land of Farmers’, ‘Land of Sportsmen’, ‘Land of Rustic Humour’ and offcourse, notified for its Doodh-Dahi Ka Khana, Ye Mera Haryana.

Haryana is a proud Indian State, standing out on the slogan Jai Jawaan Jai Kisaan, where jawaans (Armymen) stand to safeguard the country and kisaan (Farmers) play their roles to sustain our heritage practice of farming and agriculture. It has a population of about 2.10 crore (less than 2% of the total Indian population) and an area of 44,212 sq km (1.37% of total country’s area).
Haryana is known for its brave soldiers, farming implements, Basmati rice, dairy products, rustic humour, and Murrah buffalos. The state bird is Kala Teetar (Black Francolin). The most popularly used language in the state is haryanavi but Hindi and English serve as official languages. Haryana has carved a place of distinction for itself during the past three decades. Whether it is agriculture or industry, canal irrigation or rural electrification, Haryana has marched towards modernity with leaps and bounds. Today, it enjoys the unique distinction in India of having provided electricity, metal led roads and potable drinking water to all its villages within record time. Haryana is among the most prosperous states in India, having one of the highest per-capita incomes in the country.

Haryana became a new state of India on November 1, 1966 with Chandigarh as its capital, and since then it has made spectacular progress to become one of the most prosperous states of India. Haryana's geographical proximity to the national capital New Delhi and, a well developed telecom and transport infrastructure, are its major strengths in the economic field.
It is considered as city of battles from ancient times. The state has seen sheds of blood a number of times. Be it Mahabharata, The three Battles of Panipat or the Battle of Karnal. Recent archeological excavation in Kunal and Banawali in Hisar district are adding more to our knowledge of Haryana's history. As the birthplace of ancient Indian Vedic Civilisation, the 5000 year old history of Haryana is steeped in glory. It was in Haryana, that Lord Krishna taught us about Karma and Dharma through the Bhagwad Gita. Here, Maharishi Ved Vyas wrote Mahabharata (in Sanskrit) on the banks of river Saraswati. The Arya Samaj has a large number of followers among Haryana's people. And now, Rewari district, popularly known as ‘Land of Jawaans’ for its endless joining and service in Army.

Haryana has a rich variety of craft, folk dances and fairs and festivals. Most awaited and popular fair in Haryana is the Surajkund Crafts Mela that is held in the month of February 1-15 every year. Despite of region wise festivals, there are some of the other important fairs and festivals in Haryana that are celebrated in the state with much fervor are Lohri (January 13), Baisakhi (April 13), Teej, Sanjhi (October), Kurukshetra Festival in Haryana (May-June), Kurukshetra Festival in Kurukshetra (Nov-Dec), Sohna Car Rally and Mango Festival (May-June).
Folk music and dresses are also acknowledgeable as Khandwa (Turban) for men with dhoti-kurta and Daaman (3/4th skirt) and shirt with chundadi (Duppatta) for women. The accessory includes very prominent Borla (Round Maang-teeka). The music includes the beats of rubber-tubed pot and Been (Lute) to portray folk lore popularly known as Raagni.

In Haryana, games and sports play a significant role in the development of qualities of discipline, tolerance and leadership. Haryana is the state having highest number of sportsperson in various sports and also implementing many Sports Schemes.
Haryana also hailed as a tourist’ delight because its salubrious climate and array of tourist attractions like the rugged hills, chill tanks, dense forests, century-old monuments, soul-stirring temples, lush green gardens, romantic lakes, picturesque landscapes and more.

Tourist Places to visit:

• Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary & National Park, Farukh Nagar
• Surajkund Lake, Faridabad
• Surajkund Crafts Mela, Surajkund
• Dumdama Lake, Sohna
• Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary, Jhajjhar
• Rock Garden, Chandigarh
• Sukhna Lake, Chandigarh
• Rose Garden, Chandigarh
• Karna Lake, Karnal
• Morni Hills, Panchkula
• Brahma Sarovar (Shri Krishna Museum), Kurukshetra
• Hathni Kund, Yamuna Nagar
• Pinjore Gardens or Yadavendra Gardens, Chandigarh
• Mansa Devi Temple, Bilaspur
• Star Monument, Dhilaud, Bhiwani
• Rakhi Garhi (Bank of dry Saraswati River), Hisar
• Agroha Complex, Agroha, Hisar
• Choudhary Devi Lal Herbal Nature Park, Chuharpur, Yamunanagar
• Chuharpur Reserved Forest, Yamuna Nagar
• Ibrahim Lodi’s Tomb, Panipat
• Kala Amb, Panipat
• Kabuli Bagh, Panipat
• Hodal Saraj & Pond, Faridabad
• Matia Fort & Minar, Palwal
• Kishori Mahal, Hodal
• Kanjpura Fort, Karnal
• Sohna Fort, Gurgaon
• Tomb of Razia Begum, Kaithal
• Tomb of Ibrahim Khan, Narnaul
• Chor Gumbad, Narnaul
• Tomb of Shah Vilayat, Narnaul
• Madhogarh Fort, Mahendergarh
• Taoru Fort, Gurgaon
• Tosham Baradari, Bhiwani
• Meham Bawri, Rohtak
• Church Tower, Karnal

-Monica Sangwan