Kishangarh is a city and a municipality in Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It lies 18 miles north-west of Ajmer. It is well connected via Indian Railways and National Highway #8. It is the birth place of the Kishangarh style of painting. Bani Thani, is a famous paintings from Kishangarh that has also been depicted on an official Indian stamp. In recent years, Kishangarh has come to be known as the marble city of India. It is purported to be the only place in the world with a temple of nine planets

Princely history

Kishangarh was the capital of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj, which was located in the Rajputana agency. It had an area of 2210 km² (858 miles²) and a population in 1901 of 90,970. This figure for population represented a decrease of 27% over the census figure of 1891, something presumably attributable to the famine of 1899-1900. The state enjoyed an estimated revenue of Rs.34,000/- and paid no tribute to the British Raj. In 1840, Prithvi Singh, became the 15th Maharaja of Kishangarh, and reigned till his death in 1879, after which he was succeeded by his son, Sardul Singh .

The state was founded in the early 1600s by Kishan Singh, a younger son of the raja of Jodhpur, during the reign of Akbar (r.1556-1605). He was a courtier of the Mughals, and was rewarded for services rendered to the emperor Akbar. In 1818, Kishangarh first came into direct relations with the British by entering into a treaty, in common its neighbouring states, for the suppression of the Pindari marauders by whom the country was at that time overrun. The chief, who held the title of Maharaja, was a Rajput of the Rathor clan.

Maharaja Madan Singh ascended the throne in 1900 at the age of sixteen, at a time when the state was reeling from the impact of a devastating drought. The administration under him and his diwan was widely deemed worthy of approbation; irrigation from tanks and wells was extended and factories for ginning and pressing cotton were started. A social reform movement for discouraging excessive expenditure on marriages made remarkable impact during his reign.

The present maharaja (sic) is Brijraj Singhji. The town of Kishangarh has a beautiful palace-hotel known as PhoolMahal, which is lovely place to holiday.The city also have a large pond situated in the heart known as the Gond Talav. There are many picnic and religious places situated at the banks of Gond Talav such as Mukham Vilas and Bhairu Ghat.There is one oldest famous Dev Narayana Temple at Dev Doongri which is managed by Dhabhai's of Kishangarh.

The city also have a small temple of nine planets known as NavGrah.

Geography

Kishangarh is located at . It has an average elevation of 433 metres (1420 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Kishangarh had a population of 116,156. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Kishangarh has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72%, and female literacy is 52%. In Kishangarh, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

External links

• Genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Kishangarh