The bygones and bylanes of Bikaner

Depending on what you’ve heard, Bikaner to you could mean Bhujiya (the famous spicy savoury) or the land that gave Rajasthan, the tradition of the female folk (Maand) singers. The famous folk great Allah Jilai Bai was from here. Or the draw for some has been the terrific tie and dye Bandhej tradition. We bring you a two part series that goes to the heart of Bikaneri living – its havelis. As with many midsized heritage vaults of India, there is a real estate mafia on the prowl. Zilch political will. No effective renovation scheme. In the middle of all these odds, passionately documenting it all is a young Bikaneri Gopal Singh Ably supported in photographs by Madhu Reddy. Their effort led to the Havelis of the walled-city of Bikaner as proposed to be included in the World Monuments Fund’s biennial. List This is a list of endangered sites that face severe survival challenges. In October 2011, it was successfully included in The World Monuments Watch List. Watch List is the flagship advocacy program of the World Monuments Fund, New York. These photographs give you a sense of what’s disappearing.