CHANDELAO
Chandelao is a village in the state of Rajasthan, 40 km away from Jodhpur. It is home for around 1.700 people, who have fields and animals for husbandry. There are some shops and temples, too.
In 1744 the Maharaja of Jodhpur gave the estate of Chandelao Garh (the Fort) to Rao Puranmal for his brave achievements in a battle. He became the Thakur of 5 villages, had to maintain 8 horses for the Maharajas cavalery and be himself ready for any fight. He was the owner and ruler of the land and got his share from the harvest and the animals, which could graze on his ground. So it went on for generations until first independence and later the landreform of Indira Gandhi, which cut off the income of all Thakurs and similar huge landowners in Rajasthan. But the fort stayed with the family, was changed into a hotel in the 1990ies and nowadays gives villagers some income together with an NGO for handicraft of women, called Sunder Rang. Next to the todays Thakur, Praduman Singh, a Panchayat exists which has to take decisions concerning the village-life. Other income is generated from jobs outside the village like from drivers or dealers within Jodhpur area. One can see the growing prosperity by quite some construction-sites in the village.
There are 2 schools, 1 gouvernment and 1 private, a lake and a baori as sources for water and quite a variety of bird species. Daily there are 2-3 buses connected to Jodhpur and 1 to the smaller town of Pipar.
