Water Channel running from Siliserh to Alwar

Siliserh Palace in Alwar District of Rajsthan, built amidst the Aravali Range, presently it is one of the Hotels under Rajsthan Tourist Development Corporation. It is few kilometers away from the Alwar city.  Initially it was built by some king with the name Vinay Singh in 1845. The palace was a hunting Lodge. 

It has a sprawling lake of about 7 to 10 sq. km in area.  We booked the tickets online with an imagination of a palace but the moment we landed in our room through its zig zag stairs it was not a good feeling initially. We felt duped as we have earlier stayed at Sheesh Mahal in Orchha which was marvellously exciting experience.  The service in the hotel was very poor which is quite contradictory as Rajsthan is famous for its hospitality.

No doubt the palace speaks about its magnificent past.  Alas, it could have been maintained better.  We saw the roots of the plants peeping out from the wall of bedroom.

Anyhow we stayed there and went out to venture the nearby places after few minutes rest. 

We came to know about some Hanuman Temple in the nearby village.

 For the temple one has to climb at least hundred stairs amidst the rocks.

On way to the Hanuman Temple, the roots of tree emerging from the rocks strewn every where. Roots emerging like from anywhere, 
shows that LIFE IS STRONGER than anything else.

 Life has that extraordinary power that it can emerge from any where 

and no body can stop it from flourishing with grace.

The formation of the rocks are in the shape of Horse Shoe,

 hence the milestone shows direction as Horse Shoe Base

The Horse Shoe formation of the Valley. 
 The Rock formation is really very fascinating.

It appears as if the rock have been formed with Lego pieces. 
We seldom see such formations. 

It says NIRALA SHELTER. Must be built for the devotees going to the 

Hanuman Temple.

But there was nothing inside the  shelter. Probably that is the reason it is called Nirala, it is small room with no facilities.  

One can rest here for a while during rainy season.

 It is very necessary for people to demonstrate their name for every stone they erect specially in the name of temples.

Here in the picture down below, the formation of the stone is of an old man.  One can find such formations in the rocks. Thankfully, he is not resembling any Deity otherwise there could have been a temple. Who knows one day any of the creative minds may find something or somebody resembling this face. 

In the evening when we sat down in its sprawling balcony, the anger / frustration that we felt while entering the rooms of the hotel and rude behaviour of the staff,  vanished. The weather was excellent and there were few activities in the lake were going on. Enjoyed the setting of sun.  Sitting in the balconies at night was such an exciting experience that we didn't feel like going to the room. 

I just heard about the place Siliserh, but knew nothing about it. When I searched about Siliserh, I came to know that the erstwhile Maharaja (Dont know the name) of Alwar State, built a dam here which resulted in formation of this lake. 

Later on, while conversing with villagers in Alwar, I heard that the Maharaja Jay Singh had contributed a lot in the field of agriculture.  He built a water channel to bring the water to the Alwar from Siliserh, as told by one of the villagers.

Now the lake is being used for recreation only. We were told by the staff of the hotel that during saturdays and sundays the collection through entry fees only reaches upto lakhs. We saw the locals thronged the place on weekends for boating as well as lunch and dinner. 

This water channel stands magnificently even today. First I noticed it few years back while returning from Jaipur when our bus driver detour the route to Delhi through Sariska.  This time when I was visiting Alwar, I was looking for this channel and when I found it, I was enthralled. I had seen such water channels in pictures of Greece or Italy. But when I see such things in my country, then my happiness sees no bounds.

This water channel runs through hills, fields above the smaller water bodies and along the road. It was built around 150 years back, as told by the villagers. One can imagine the engineering and planning during that era. Though this water channel is not being maintained properly and it is still standing tall after the neglect though decades. 

I have seen during my visits to various places in our country and have found the rulers have erected such buildings or such channels which shows their planning for their present as well as future for the forthcoming generations. In this part of the Rajsthan, where water is the scarcity, this water channel depicts the thought process of the erstwhile rulers.

Sadly, no material is found on the internet about this asset. 

I wonder why no body has given importance to this structure. 

Why it can't be make functional today??

The channel crosses the villages where it is used for other purposes. 

It has become a cattle shed and also a shed for bikes of the villagers.

  Saw number of cattle tied beneath it. 

Good, at least it is serving some purpose. 

It is lost when it enters the city area. It has become just a wall. Why it cant be used as one of the tourist spots where the history of this princely state along with the marvellous work by the erstwhile rulers can be shown. 

This country has such a huge potential for tourism, which actually needs a will.  We have a rich heritage which is beyond the religious stories being narrated through generations. There were many rulers in this country who have done lot more during their regime and their contribution to the society is tremendous.  This requires to be brought to the forefront. I have seen the water management in other places also, which is simply superb.