To the brothers who fought that day for a sister they refused to give a Mughal king

In an era of powerful kings and ministers, about 200 years ago, Kuldhara was home to the Paliwal Brahmins. It was during this time that Salim Singh, the Diwan of Jaisalmer, known for his debauchery and unscrupulous tax-collecting methods, set his eyes on the beautiful daughter of the village chief. The Diwan was absolutely hell bent on having the girl and he told the villagers if they came in his way he would levy huge taxes on them.But society refused this proposal as this was beyond their ethics.They did not want their girl to be one of the Mughals, so they decided to fight instead.

Paliwal Brahmin community abandoned their 40 villages near Jaisalmer in western Rajasthan on a single night. Ever since, the ruins of the villages, considered “haunted”, have been closed to tourists after sunset.It’s been said that they cursed the town when they left – that no one would ever be able to settle down in Kuldhara again. Since 200 years  it is known as the cursed and abandoned “Ghost Town of India”.

Many stories floated around. Some say the “chudails” or ghosts walked around in the night, haunting the place. Others say that no body lived here anymore as mysterious deaths have occurred. The silence was not comforting. And then the voice of the old man floated in the air .

“No one knew anything about them, some say they came from Pali in Jodhpur, some say they went back to Pali but only their souls now rest in Kuldhara .”