Rakhigarhi

A visit to “RAKHI GARHI” – an ancient place of Harappan Civilisation

We started our journey from Delhi late in the morning of 26th October, 2014 and went past Rohtak and Jind towards Narnaud. After crossing Jind, our GPS failed to identify the roads while we started asking for Rakhi Garhi to pedestrians and shopkeepers. They all knew the name “Rakhi Garhi” and pointed towards a direction in each stretch. Nearing Narnaud, there was a light forest of Eucalyptus where a big number of monkeys were flocking on both sides of the road – I realised this must be a place where people feed monkeys as the monkeys were dangerously criss-crossing the road amidst full speed traffic.

Just then we asked a few old men sitting in front of a tea stall and got the final direction: “Go to your left and you will have to cross two villages and then you will find “Gulkani” the third village. There you will notice a tall temple on your left – take the right lane opposite to the temple – you will reach “Rakhi Garhi”. We started counting the villages and stopped on each one to ask again and again (to ensure we don’t miss the way) and every time we got the same direction.

Finally we reached the site around 4 PM.  On asking a few inquisitive onlookers, they pointed us towards a high area – from far we could only see the heap of cow dung cakes (a common fuel used in rural India for cooking).  The man we spoke to told us “there you go to the Village and speak to Suresh, he knows about whatever you are asking”. We were sure – it would be next to impossible finding Suresh at that time in the evening among a few hundred (if not more) villagers, over and above the thin patch by the side of the pond through which I would have to drive to enter the village restricted our search for Suresh and we looked around and found a way to go closer to the heaps by going down from the road into the knee deep dust (if it rained would be thick mud).

There were a few mounds with boundaries made with brick walls and iron railings. The Gate was broken and the locals were using the area for their regular cow dung cake making.  This place in no way looked like a place of tourist interest. It was a very common Indian village sight – lot of buffaloes bathing in the pond, little children playing on the road, dusty lanes going off towards the village. Lucky – it didn't rain that day.

We could not see any open excavated area or building ruins, but saw a few places on the mound where some black PVC sheets were visible in square patterns.

Very disappointed we started our return journey, while this young man from the locality looked at us amused and was expecting us to stop and talk to him. We stopped and he said “You came to see the place where they dug right?” We immediately said YES and he started telling us the story: “In the beginning of last year a group from the government (ASI people must be) came here and did a lot of digging. They found lot of stuff and they kept it in the Pradhan’s house. Pradhan created a small display of the articles in his own house like a museum. Then the Americans came (anyone with white complexion and a hat may be called American) and they studied the place and the articles. After this half the items were gone – some thief or smuggler took them. Then Pradhan had given the rest to Haryana government. Now few things may be left at Pradhan’s house if you want to go and see there (we were no longer interested as the sun was below the trees and moreover the thin dusty lane by the side of the pond stopped me). The government made a small office there (we saw a raw brick room constructed), now there is no one – they all left.” He paused and we thought we found SURESH – and asked his name. No he was not Suresh but Amit.

Finally with the explanation from Amit, we were satisfied that we reached the place we wanted to see – but this was not like going to see an ancient palace or temple – one needs to see the place through “an archaeologist’s eye” or with “great imagination” - about the ancient time when a group of people who lived here thousands of years ago.