Moondwara

Moondwara (मूंडवारा) is a village in tehsil sikar of Sikar district in Rajasthan, India. It was founded by Moond Jats. It is situated at a distance of 18 km from Sikar in the west-south direction on Sikar-Nagaur-Jodhpur road. This is an old historical village founded 600 years back. This is a well-connected village. There are 500 families residing in the village. It is a well designed village. There is one road-crossed the village. There is one bazar in center of village.

Topography and environment

Eastern part of Moondwara is an less fertile area covered by sand dunes. South and west part of the village are comparatively fertile. Agriculture is dependent on monsoon and electricity. Presently, a lot of farms use boring wells for irrigation. The inhabitation's village covers an area of 500 acres.

History

Long ago there were Moond Jats came first and settled here. Hence it was called Moondwara. The village was dominated by Jats and Shekhawat Rajputs.

Post Indian Independence there was attempt to rename it as Ram Nagar but still the name is Moondawra . Farmers of this village have their farms. The villagers are very progressive and they have instituted various revolutionary social reforms to keep up with times. In particular, they have

(1) Stopped post death ritual expenditure (kharach). Although, there is no basis for post death feast in any Hindu holy book; this superstitious tradition had become prevalent in some parts of India. Under this ceremony the family of the deceased would organize a feast on a certain day after the death to facilitate deceased entry into heaven. However, Brahmins swear for absolute need for the ceremony. Not surprisingly, the greatest beneficiaries were Brahmins who would corner the major portion of the offerings. Villagers have instituted a ban on this today. Instead, those who wish to spend money in remembrance of their family members are encouraged to donate money for common purpose.

(2) Dowry is generally discouraged. Although the practice has not stopped altogether, the villagers are in agreement to stop this tradition.

(3) No liquor shop in the village. This step was taken because a few villagers would spend all their money on liquor, while their families would go hungry. Initially any villager found drunk was fined, however this was not not found to be very successful as there were fights.

Village government

Moondwara has own Panchayat. The current sarpanch is Kamla Devi. The panchayat has 12 ward members chosen by the people through polling.

Village economy

70 percent (1000) of the village population is engaged in farming. There are 30 male government teachers, 5 female government teachers,2 lecturer in Govt college, 2 physical education (PTI) teachers, 2 nurses, 15 in armed forces, 3 in RAC, 7 in state police, 4 in electricity department, 3 are retired (Subedar Major),5 are retired Havildars, 30 are working in Arabian countries, and 1 person works as a postman. In other words, only 70 villagers are gainfully employed in occupation other than agriculture.

Jat gotras in the village

Among Jat gotras in the village are Parswal, Dhaka, Takhar, Moond, Muwal.

Other caste in village are Rajputs, Jangids, Gurjars, Muslims Harijans and Brahmins. There is a single family of Chotiya Gotra Brahmins.

Transportation

Camel carts, bullock carts were chief means of transportation a few years back. Presently they are being replaced by cycles, motor cycles, tractors, cars and other automobiles as chief means of transport. Quite a few villagers walk to Sikar and other surrounding places. In rainy season, one can see womenfolk bringing grass on their heads for cows and buffaloes.

There is damar road between Moondwara and Pura Chhoti and Mukunpura. It is connected by asphalt road to surrounding dhanis.

Education

The villagers claim to be fully literate. It is true that all the children go to school. However, many women are illiterate to this day. Many students aspire to get into engineering and medical schools besides other professions such as teaching, nursing, and defense forces. Ladu Ram Joshi was the pioneer of education in the village. He is the first post graduate in Hindi from village.

Society and culture

Society is solely governed by Hindu rituals. Young generation seems to be effected by western culture. Parda pratha (practice of using veils to cover face and other body parts) is discouraged.

Music and Entertainment

Folk songs are sung by women during marriages and other social occasions. Menfolk sing dhamaal ( traditional Holi songs). Many villagers own TVs and Radios. One can hear sounds of popular Hindi music emanating from stereos and other devices during evenings and afternoons from different houses.

Games and sports

Most of the children play cricket. Some villagers also play volleyball and football. Villagers can be seen playing cards in chaupal (village common area).

Festivals

Villagers celebrate all major Hindu festivals. Some of the major festivals are Holi, Deepawali, Makar Shakranti, Raksha Bandhan, Sawan, Teez, Gauga Peer, Gangaur etc.

Important places in Village

As you would enter village by a road coming from Sikar, you will find a shop selling essentials called Jain Kirana Store. As you would travel along the road, you will see the village well supplying water to the village leading by an abandoned well. To the left side of the road is a building of gram panchayat. You will encounter a lot more houses and a few shops if you take right on the same road. To reach the village school though, you need to take a right turn from bus stand. This road to sikar leads to the Government Secondary School.

Notable persons from this village

Ladu Ram Joshi – Freedom fighter
Amra Ram Jat – Member of legislative assembly from Dhod
Paras Jain – Rajasthan Administrative Service officer
Bhuda Ram Bhukar - Major Indian Army
Ramavtar Sharma - Head O&M Ericssion(Airtel) Jaipur
Ram Prasad Jangir - Manager Ambuja cement, Ajmer
Ram Narayan pareek - ASI in Rajasthan Police
Girdhari Muwal - Assistant Enginer Water Works, Sikar
Amit Jain – B.Tech. IIT khargapur, Presently working as Team leader in Mentor Graphics, Noida
Mahesh Jangir - B.E. CTAE Udaipur, Presently working as Member technical staff in Oracle India, Bangalore
Mr. Muwal is lecturer of S.K. Govt. Sen. Sec. School at Sikar.

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References

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