Do you want to visit a place which gives you glimpses of the world's ancient civilisations, a place where history, gods and age-old architecture appeal and also offers a cultural sojourn at the same time?
And, does the story of sustainability and rural tourism attract you?
If the answer is yes, then you should try visiting Aaram Bagh in Rajasthan's Pushkar, where the stories of civilisations from Arabic, Greek, Egypt, China, Persian and the tribal world come alive via grand statues and plush architecture which take you to the royal bygone era. Beautiful statues here strongly communicate the tales of gods, history and culture of the ancient world.
Aaram Bagh is a vast spread garden resort where you can bask under the beauty of different civilisations recreated via courts to take you to the princely past where the royal experience was the order of the world.
Not many know that a small and silent town Pushkar, known as one among the world's oldest, accommodates this differently themed property where Greek gods, Socrates, Archimedes statues and logo of Olympic Games, dragon, pyramids, tents, thatched houses, chaupati, boats, tractors, fields, etc., are found at one place.
In the Arabic court, you will find tents which were once found in the Arab world, with wind towers to cool their interiors.
Most of the Arab world for several millennia was a desert; to dream into the past of how their ancestors lived a nomadic life in tents and how wind towers were made to cool those tents, this court has been designed.
Arabs, when they came to India, brought their architecture of long fountain gardens, which have been depicted here, says Rajendra Pachar, managing director of Pachar Group.
Similarly, there is a beautiful Persian court in white and blue contrasts with a plush green garden which shows how the civilisation was born in Mesopotamia about 5 000 years ago and how it developed along the banks of River Tigris and Euphrates, being ruled successively by Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians and finally followed by Persians.
It shows how the world's main three religions, Christianity, Islam and Zoroatrianism, were born in this region. Three out of seven wonders of the ancient world were built here," he added.
Next, there is a Greek court, which speaks at length about how the Olympics started decades ago in Greece and how Socrates gulped poison which is depicted in a statue.
Also, there are statues of Greek gods and statue of Rhode and a statue of mathematician Archimedes, which are built on vast spread land depicting the separated islands of Greek in its initial days.
In fact, all rooms in different courts also have interiors of the same fashion depicting their culture and history.
Greeks have symbols like Ganesha, which have been put up on curtains, says Pachar.
Next to the Greek court is the Chinese court, where the Dragon welcomes you.
Since the Tang Dynasty, Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the architectural styles of Korea, Vietnam, and Japan, and structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, says Pachar.
As you take the stairs to climb up, you will find thatched roofs in hut format, which have murals drawn on its walls and roofs. This is a tribal court.
"A tribe is viewed developmentally, economically, and/or historically, as a social group existing outside of or before the development of states.
“A tribe is a group of distinct people, dependent on their land for their livelihood, who are largely self-sufficient, but yet have not integrated into the national society, adds Pachar.
Next is the Egyptian court, which shows in detail how the great Pharaoh built the pyramids about 5000 years ago and how civilisation developed along the banks of the River Nile, showing in detail sphinxes, obelisks, Egyptian gods and its history and how about 1 000 years ago all this vanished under the blowing sand only to be unearthed by Napoleon's team of explorers and historians about 200 years ago.
Two out of seven wonders of the world which existed in this area are shown in detail.
Different courts have Hamam Swimming pool in each room, which looks stunning, being covered by beautiful European style Verandas open from top.
Why all these ancient civilisations' stories have been narrated in Pushkar.
"Pushkar remains the world's first city, which was formed by Lord Brahma, as has been mentioned by our scriptures. World's tourists visit here to bask in the beauty of God's creation. So thought of bringing world's ancient civilisations here to narrate how different civilisations got inspired from Indian civilisation and scripted their own success stories thereafter," says Pachar with pride.
He adds: "We also follow a sustainability model here where vegetables being produced by the local farmers are used for cooking. Villagers here get decent jobs serving these tourists, and hence our economy grows."
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