Dholipal
Dholipal is a large village in the district of Hanumangarh of Rajasthan, India.
History
It was known as Karanpura earlier and now Dholipal. It had to do something with the sand dune out there. But now its on the little greener side because of many canals. The region irrigated by the Ganges canal and the Bhakra canal tributaries.
Climate
Dholipal's climate is, sad to say, very bad. Temperature in summers go up to 50 Degrees. And with no 24 hours electricity, people spend their day in criticizing the Government. In December and January, temperatures can dip to near-zero.
Get in
It is 17 Kilometers north of Hanumangarh district headquarters.
You can reach via train from Delhi to Hanumangarh and then take a bus to Dholipal. However train is pathetic. People with General class ticket or no tickets will enter into the reserved compartments and will wake you up advising you not to sleep in day time. Politely speak to them unless you want to get into a brawl. Local buses from Hanumangarh to Dholipal are available after every 15–20 minutes but are overcrowded. Many passengers in the bus do not purchase tickets and travel free specifically students and other passengers who travel daily. If conductor asks for a ticket, they say "student" and get away with that.
There is a railway station miles away from the village and thus useless. There is a story that Sarpanch of this village was not willing to establish a railway station in Dholipal fearing it may lead to accidents and people will find an easier way to suicide.
Getting around
Getting around Dholipal is certainly not the most exciting thing to do. You can hire a bicycle or walk on foot to get around. However streets are full of garbage and water dumps. With no proper sewerage system, be careful while walking after evening as your next step can directly go into a water dump. You will not find many people on the streets because half of the population goes to fields for agriculture work in day time.
Talk
The native language is Rajasthani. Almost everybody you meet will be able to speak Hindi, with the Bihari and Punjabi accents. However most educated people will be able to speak fluent Hindi. You may not be able to find anyone who speaks in fluent English but educated ones understand this and will be able to communicate in extremely broken English.
Sights
There is nothing special to see in this village. Streets are deserted and you will find people playing cards at the popular joints. The best way is to go outside the village to a Dhani (a farm house kind of thing) or to open green fields where you can have a bottle of chilled beer and have a fag. There is a watermill on the border of the village which is also a good place for such activities.
Government and politics
Politics is the favourite subject to talk about in this village. The smallest political unit is Sarpanch. Also there have been women Sarpanch but all illiterate and didn't even know how to sign. Obviously, administration was run by their husbands or other male members of the family.
There has not been a single politician from this area who is a well known name. They were simply not able to pull it off to the state or the national level.
Sports
Youngsters used to play Cricket with all the equipment like bat, ball, pads, helmet, leather ball etc. but today's younger kids are not interested that much and focus on study rather than sports. Still there are people who play with Tennis ball to satisfy their passion to an extent. They have to go to Shivaji Stadium (nothing like a stadium, but a plain field and a home made pitch) or to the Government School which are on the outer corner of the village and far from the centre. There used to be a small ground beside the watermill but now abandoned due to rise of buildings.
Volleyball and Football are also played at the school level, however there is nothing to mention because of poor infrastructure and lack of funds.
Elderly people play cards on the popular joints with an enthusiasm like teenager kids.
Economy
The economy of the area is based on agriculture, its main crops are wheat, mustard and cotton. Other crops are guar, bajra, sugar cane and grams. The majority of agricultural land is owned by Punjabis and Jaats giving them political and societal leverage over other communities in this area. The favourite job one can dream is to be a Government school teacher or into Rajasthan police. Every second person you meet will be preparing for exams to get into police or teaching stream.
Culture
Punjabi and Bagri cultures dominate the village.
The embroidered Odhni (mostly red in colour) is a symbol of Bagri women. A long shirt and ghaghra (long frock type clothes) and boriya (a head ornament) is the traditional dress of Bagri women. Punjabi women wear a suit and salwar with chunni (cloth on head). This attire has also become popular with women of other communities. Some women of the Hindu and Muslim Seraiki people still wear ghaggra (long frock). The Purdah (or veil) is mainly in vogue among Bagri women. Men mainly wear a pant-shirt, kurta payjama and dhoti (Punjabis call it the chadara-kurta). Traditional Sikh and Rajasthani devotional music is popular. Bollywood songs are listened to with same enthusiasm as in other northern Indian regions.
Cuisine
Non vegetarian food is considered bad in this area. The concept of breakfast, lunch and dinner is altogether different here. Most people eat two times here (like do waqt ki roti). Morning around at 10 AM and evening around at 8 PM. A meal is generally composed of daal/vegetable with desi ghee, chapati, and buttermilk. When there is a guest, most common and essential dish is choorma (a mixture of crushed roti, suger and ghee) and suji ka halwa. The strange fact is that no one knows about famous rajasthani dish dal baati. Another strange thing is that people do not eat rice. So don't expect curry rice, daal rice, pulav or fried rice and no fancy dishes please.
Condition of women
Sad to say, condition of women is not very good in this village but they don't complain about it. They are happy in their daily routine like the women in any other village. After marriage they are required to cover their face with a ghoonghat (veil or headscarf). A woman will cover her face from all men to whom she's related by marriage and who are senior to her own husband. This would include for example her husband's father, elder brother and uncles. Generally a pallu (the loose end of a sari) is pulled over the head to act as a ghunghat. A dupatta (long scarf) is also sometimes used as a ghoonghat.
Situation is changing gradually and parents are more serious about the education of their daughters. Sex ratio of 906 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 68.00% approximately.
Night life
People sleep at night leaving no scope for night life. They believe in the concept of early to bed, early to rise.
Security
Generally the village is safe, peace loving people with very low crime rate. In fact you will have a warm welcome out there. People will look at your dress and comment. Do not react to the comments, instead smile and try to be polite and humorous. Girls should not wear revealing or tight clothes to avoid staring eyes.
Padharo Mhare Des
Most people are friendly in nature. If you say Ram-Ram ( customary greeting when individuals meet) to anyone, they will offer you a cup of tea by default. Visit this place once and you gonna have experience of a lifetime for sure.