Tucked away in a beautiful fort 30 minutes from Jaipur is a world record holder Museum, that few people know about.
The castle, Kanota Garh, built in 1872 is the seat of the Thakurs of Kanota. Built by the then Thakur of Kanota, Zorawar Singh Ji, who was also a cabinet minister in the government of Jaipur, the castle is located just 15 km east of Jaipur on the Jaipur-Agra Highway. With a Majestic Durbar Hall, Golden Suite, and a big beautiful garden with a fruit orchard, the fortified medieval castle is a magnificent experience. The Castle also houses a Library called Pothi Khana is covered in gold work and boasts of a unique collection of over 10,000 rare books, manuscripts, miniatures and a very rich (16th century) armoury.
#DidYouKnow Cannons to protect the castle were purchased from the British Navy.
hile every Rajasthan noble family has its collections of paintings and arms and some might have archives of manuscripts and documents, none has a library, indicating that bookish learning was not a priority for the erstwhile royals. The closest parallel to Amar Singh’s collections would possibly be the large country house libraries in the UK, typically built by generations of a family. Amar Singh’s library, on the other hand, is the work of one man. Besides the historical value, the library is a valuable resource as it includes first editions, out-of-print books and rare titles.
But what the castle is really known for, is its most famous resident, Thakur Amar Singh and his detailed hand-written diaries that run into several large volumes and give us privileged glimpses into courtly life in Rajasthan at the turn of the century. By all accounts, Amar Singh was a remarkable man: The grandson of the founder of Kanota nobles, Zorawar Singh, and a protégé of Idar’s Maharaja Pratap Singh, his military career straddled the British Raj and free India, taking him to service locations in China, France and Afghanistan. Balancing his itinerant lifestyle was a deep love of reading and writing.
The museum is filled with the personal trinkets and books of the general, that have been preserved by the family over the years and arranged as closely to how they were during the general’s life and times. Old teak consoles with black marble tops line the room, which is dominated by book-crammed cupboards. Old frescoes of Hindu gods accentuate the sacred emotion of reading and growing with each book. An old hookah and an ebony-and-ivory chess board add to the personal sense of the space. Thakur Amar Singh could have just left his library for a spin around his estate at Kanota.
The collections include diaries, paintings, maps, photographs, books and household accounts to carriages, arms, armour, and firearms. As part of the living heritage of Kanota, many of these objects are regularly used for ceremonial purposes. The introduction gallery houses the history of the Kanota family and collection of pocket maps of Amar Singh. The Sports and Military section of the museum has objects such as rifles, long spears, trophies, and Amar Singh's uniform. The period library above the taikhana, the basement, recreates Amar Singh’s library and personal rooms, offering visitors the opportunity to physically experience the spaces he lived in, the objects he used, and the books he selected lovingly and treasured. The display in taikhana recreates Amar Singh's life through objects and the spaces he inhabited. The family galleries exhibit an eclectic variety of objects, including reproductions where appropriate, especially for conservation reasons.
General Amar Singh’s journaling is also known for another reason. He started writing them in his Meerut College exercise books and didn’t miss an entry for a single day between 1898 and 1942 except for one, when he was unconscious after a fall from a horse! The 89 volumes of Amar Singh’s writing make up the world’s longest diary. The observations of daily life, social, political, military and family affairs, provide captivating insights into life in the princely states during the British Raj.
While researchers can access the microfilmed diaries, Amar Singh’s Waterman-penned entries are open for the visitor to read. Museum-keepers plan to switch around the diaries and change the display to reveal new dimensions of Amar Singh’s writing. For preservation, it is a good idea, since constant exposure to lights can damage the diaries.
The museum is open seven days a week, morning to evening and is accessible for a small entrance fee. So don’t forget to include a dekko at this amazing slice of history when you are in Jaipur next!
For more information about the museum and how to make your trip more interesting, write to us at info@thethingstodoinindia.com
