Gajner is a tiny oasis in the Thar Desert, near Bikaner, filled with blackbuck, chinkara, neelgai and fox. It was once the private hunting reserve of the maharajas of Bikaner. Gajner palace is a flamingo pink sandstone palace with jharokhas, jaalis and was designed by a British knight. It was all Rajput from outside but the interiors were all English to my surprise. From the palace courtyard we watched a stream of blackbuck and chinkara and were roaming at the lake side. At the edge of the palace is a small little Dargah of a pir, it is said if we tie a small talisam around his mazaar and pray passionately then his prays will come true one day. Every September there is a fair in this Dargah and many devotees offer their chadar.
In the evening Gajner looks pretty and the sound of drums and prayers in the
twin temple of Ganesh and Shiva in the outer palace courtyard are all over the place. The priest was a young boy who with one movement, divests himself of T shirt and jeans and then fills into sacred thread and spotless dhoti. The sound of the aarti spills over the lake like a tide and the first stars glimmer.
HRH chain took over the Gajner palace and they restore and repair the place into exactly what it used to be. The hotel is pretty good heritage hotel with their rajasthani cuisine which was delicious. The best time to go to Gajner is from September to March
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