The desert state of Rajasthan is popular for its unique culture and lifestyle. This distinctive nature of Rajasthan attracts many tourists from all over the world. The Marwaris form the main set of people in Rajasthan.These people basically belong to the business class of Rajasthan. The top business families like Birlas, Goenkas, Ruias, Singhanias are Marwaris from Rajasthan. The native people of Rajasthan are a lot more than the popular Marwari families. The Rajput chieftans are another group of people who are equally famous in Rajasthan. These are the ones who built the grand forts, palaces and havelis of Rajasthan. History is replete with legends of their bravery, their romantic forays, and their adventures. The Rajputs were generally stoutly built people of good height; they generally worshipped the Sun, Shiva, and Vishnu.
As the Hindus mostly inhabit Rajasthan the main religion of the people is Hinduism. But as the Muslims, Jains, Sikhs, and Christians also form a fair proportion of the population, other religions have incorporated in the state of Rajasthan. The Hindus are divided into numerous castes and sub-castes. The Muslims include the new-Muslims or quasi-Hindus who observe both Hindu and Muslim customs and rituals. Of the Jain sects, the Digambars are undivided but the Svetambars are divided into two as idolaters and Sadhumargis including Terapanthis and Sthanakvasis.After partition the Sikh population has increased in this region since partition. Christians in Rajasthan are mostly concentrated in the big cities and include Roman Catholics, Methodists, Anglicans, and other Protestant denominations. Apart from these main religions there are many local folk heroes and deities like Pabuji, Ramdeoji, Gogaji, Mahaji, Tejaji and Harbuji who command as much allegiance and loyalty of the disciples as any other main religion of Rajasthan.
The Rajasthani people are identified by the style and color of their Rajasthani turbans, which vary from region to region, and caste to caste. The Rajputs favor the turbans in the Safa style. In Marwar, high turbans are used and the same style is found in Sirohi and Jaisalimer. Bikaner has a special type of turbans known as the 'Khirkia pag'. In the Udaipur region, the style is called Mewari. The buttoned-up short coat is the official dress in Rajasthani courts. The women in Rajasthan normally wear colorful skirts with cholis.
The cuisine of Rajasthan has much to offer both for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. The Rajputs generally preferred shikar meat and the Marwaris on the other hand were vegetarian, but their cuisine, though not too different from the Rajputs, was richer in its method of preparation. Rajasthani cooking was influenced by the war -like lifestyle of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this region.
The main aim was to cook food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred, more out of necessity than choice. Scarcity of water, fresh green vegetables have all had their effect on the cooking. In the desert belt of Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bikaner, cooks use the minimum of water and prefer, instead, to use more milk, buttermilk and clarified butter. Out of the most popular dishes of Rajasthan is the Dal-Bati-Churma. |