Johda or an old bath pool near the Beehad in Fatehpur on Agra-Bikaner Highway in Rajasthan, India || A great spot to stretch your legs and click a few photographs
While travelling from Laxmangarh to Bikaner on Agra-Bikaner Highway, you will notice some chhatris on your left. When you do so, stop your car, get down for a bit, and stretch your legs. For this is a heritage site that you may want to capture in your camera.
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The point where you have stopped is right next to a beehad (बीहड़), which is an area of wilderness with bushes and scrubs and is in general used as a grazing area for cattle by farmers. And at the edge of this beehad is a beautiful Johda (जोहडा). A Johda is a water reservoir for collecting rainwater. These are common in the Shekhawati region in Rajasthan. This was perhaps a practical solution to the scarcity of drinking water all year round. And many of the these Johdas were built by the royalty or rich businessmen for the benefit of their people all around. We had seen some of these Johdas when we had visited Churu a few years back.
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Looking at this Johda, it was clear that this was a beautiful structure. However, it appeared as if no one was taking care of it, or like someone was only half-heartedly looking after it. There was garbage strewn around and the water at the center was covered in algae. And it was also clear that with just a bit of care, the structure would be a great stop for tourists visiting the Shekhawati region.
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Just outside the Johda was a hawker selling Ker. For some reason, we visualized ourselves making a ker pickle and bought a kg of them. Right now, they are lying at our place, soaking in a bit of chaach, being prepared for pickling. Let's see how successful the experiment turns out to be.