City of Hills - Which City is Called City of Hills in India?

 Small towns offer the best of experiences, loads of learnings, ideas for innovation and thoughts to improve self and country. 

Dungarpur, a great coexistence of urban and rural culture with no differentiation, peace and harmony. A place native to tribes but home to people migrated many decades back, a place where cultures from different places proliferated. An exponentially growing city but lives are still slow paced. A place where many big things are lacking yet many are breeding. 

Located in the southernmost part of Rajasthan, Dungarpur is a small city touching the borders of Gujarat state thus letting the culture of Gujarat and Rajasthan mix. Replete with a colorful past and infused with the flavors of royal Rajasthan, Dungarpur is home to palaces, man-made lakes, myriad temples and the mystic desert landscape of the arid state. Dungarpur resonates with remnants of its past that include the Guhilot and Mewar Dynasties followed by Mughal, Maratha and British rule. Today, it is a vibrant town studded with beautiful architectural delights that celebrate its rich culture with various festivals and fairs throughout the year. The district Dungarpur is named after 'the town of hillocks' and the capital of the former princely state of

Dungarpur. Aravalli ranges and tropic of cancer passing by this city, it also known as "City of Hills ". The material remains of the Ahar civilization discovered in Mewar region constitute remnants of the civilization which may date back to 4000 year ago. They also establish that this territory was, then, ruled by Kshatriyas or Satraps of the Saka, inhabitants of an area lying between Iran and Afghanistan.. In March, 1948 the ruler announced the grant of a responsible Government. However, on the inauguration of the United States of Rajasthan the local Government came to an end when the administration of the State was handed over to ' Rajpramukh' of the newly formed Union of State and Dungarpur was constituted as a district of the United States of Rajasthan.

 

Being a small town, it does not experience a large number of tourists but those who do visit are stuck, but the city has seen a good growth in this respect in the last 5 years. Dungarpur attracts a wide variety of tourists in its land and the city has many historical attractions and there are many religious attractions such as temples and many other beautiful attractions such as forts, palaces, ancient temples which carry the rich historical heritage of this city. Because of these wide tourist attractions; the city of Dungarpur is becoming one of the tourist destinations of Rajasthan.

 

The city has many palaces such as Udai Vilas Palace and the city also has nice museums which represent the ancient heritage of the state. Places like Fateh gadi, Badal mahal, dhan mata, Juna mahal, Galiyakot are most visited. A bird sanctuary park was also recently built to attract tourists as numerous foreign birds migrate here in winter. To much surprise, it is home to World's largest Krishna idol to which the city people are unaware. 

 

Witnessing rule by rulers of different doctrines, there's great diversity in its culture. Major people are Adivasis and bhils.

Bhils are the largest tribe in Rajasthan. Banswara is the main area where Bhils in large numbers. The Bhils are considered to be fine archers. 

The Bhils were originally food gatherers. However, with the passage of time, they have taken up small-scale agriculture, city residence and employment. The major fairs of Bhils are the Baneshwar fair (held near Dungarpur) and Holi. The Ghoomar and Gher dance is one well known aspect of the Bhil culture.

These people have a respectable quality to progress, advance slowly in this growing world but without leaving their cultures and traditions. Sometimes this rigidness becomes the reason for increased poverty and lower literacy rates. Tribal people majorly work as laborers, shop staff, farmers and possess less courage to start with their own profession. Youngsters, teenagers, sometimes even children are forced to work as labour due to the financial crisis. The scenario is changing nowadays with the help of increasing use of the internet, more awareness, increased transport, and many governments. Dungarpur is still counted as one of most backward places in India but also counted as a steadily and rapidly growing place. It has also been announced as Rajasthan's cleanest town. Many small business ventures, startups and services are budding. A large number of people have started living in urban standard houses but no less people live in huts, doing farming, breeding cows. There was a time where a majority of laborers were exploited for work, even when they migrated to work in states like Gujarat. Many people still temporarily migrate to Gujrat as labor due to lack of work in the city and proximity to the state, but many people have built an understanding about what being exploited is . 

 

Being the part of a tribe, these people are always loyal to their community unlike the city people living here. Yes, the non-native, non-tribal people are referred to as city people here. The tribal have a strong sense of unity whether be a revolt or a celebration. Their advancement don't let them leave their culture and traditions which is the main reason why society evils like dowry, child infanticide still exist. Many sensible things are still considered taboo here. This is in controversy to city people who are more advanced than tribal. There is a striking contrast between lives of the two but they coexist like one city. Languages used here are mainly vagdi, tribal language and Hindi. English is part of the curriculum here in schools but not a part of people's lives. Most tribal people prefer to go to government school where the instructional language is Hindi while city people prefer to go to English schools which just teach English in registers and less conversational. Tribal people themselves show a contrast where some people are highly educated doing government jobs and some being unaware about education and attending school for perks offered. Literacy rate among city people is very high and they are aware about opportunities around the globe but even the educated tribes know less about many of the jobs and mainly focus on the government jobs available around being totally unaware about fields like software engineering, blogger, research and many more.

 

Being a city covering an area less than 4000 sq. km, market places are not too far to visit. Market majorly comprises different local, big and small shops. Market here lacks big malls, supermarkets, and franchise food chains, branded clothing. The reason behind this is the no demand no supply rule. City people go to nearby bigger cities to have fun while tribes try to spend less due to less earnings. The trend of looking smarter and richer is growing day by day. There are still older people who don't care about their looks. These people focus more on their bodies and are more healthy and strong as compared to city people. 

 

Being a small town the whole vibe of the city is happiness away from hustle-bustle, loud music of clubs, away from brands, and closer to a life full of satisfaction and little joys.

The more we know about this astonishing city the more we want to know. Living here to a person living in a metro city will give a whole new experience.