Even being only about 3 decades old, the Folklore Museum Jaisalmer has become a widely appreciated and often visited site in this desert city of Rajasthan. From among the various cities in Rajasthan, Jaisalmer has plenty of historical significance. Since the time of its establishment in early 12th century, the fort city has undergone plenty of upheavals in terms of fighting for the supremacy as well as plundering by external forces. Major development of the region was seen during the rule of Bhati clan, especially Jaisal Bhati, who had constructed the Jaisalmer Fort in 1156. Presently also, a major part of Jaisalmer is found inside the premises of this fort, although a lot of expansion has also occurred. Tourism is the primary source of revenue for the city and the district, although in the older days, it was a prospering city in the trade route with Middle East.

Establishment of Folklore Museum Jaisalmer

Besides tourism, Jaisalmer is also well known for the folk arts of the deserts. As an initiative to showcase the beautiful heritage of the largest desert of India, Thar Desert, NK Sharma established the Folklore Museum Jaisalmer in 1984. He was also responsible for the large number of collections of different items present in the museum. Architecture of the museum is also draws many tourists, which allows for easy navigation and distribution through different arrangements of the sections. It is located close to the Jaisalmer Fort, very near to the Desert Culture Centre and Museum, in the South East of the fort. These two museums are close to the Gadi Sagar Lake in Mehar Bagh Garden, which is also a good place to visit by the tourists. Nearby, there is a small hill, the top of which can be easily reached by walking. From here, the sunsets are quite awesome to view. Tourists visiting this Museum can get to visit a number of nearby sightseeing places, apart from the items presented inside the museum.

Sections to visit in Folklore Museum Jaisalmer

Due to the interest of NK Sharma in items like coins, old paintings, artefacts and manuscripts, it was easier for him to gather a large collection of historical items for the Folklore Museum. Many more items were collected from different places, which were related to the history of this particular desert region of Rajasthan. For the convenience of the tourists, to appreciate the rich heritage of Jaisalmer and its history, the Folklore Museum Jaisalmer has been divided into different sections. These are sections for costumes, photography, jewellery, paintings, fossils and camel and horse ornaments. Included in these items are some rare pieces of coins and other artefacts, which date back to many centuries ago. Postcards, coins, manuscripts and many other articles can be found in the region, so that the culture prevalent in the older days is clearly discernible. Finer cultural aspects of the region can be studied from the displays of different objects and photographs. It is from this Folklore Museum Jaisalmer that one can know the kind of headgear which showed the status of the wearer. In such a way, many things about the life of people in Jaisalmer are evident. Apart from these, there are various items related to the rulers of different eras, which show their power and influence and contributions towards the development of this desert city. Plenty of puppets and traditional used items from this region are found in this museum. There are even puppet shows on regular basis, which can be seen by the tourists. Videos showing the traditional dances and music instruments are run in the museum.

Entry into the Folklore Museum Jaisalmer is possible by buying of tickets, which allows tourists to visit the nearby Desert Culture Centre and Museum also. The museum can be visited on weekdays and weekends from 8 am in the morning till 7 pm in the evening. Watching the artefacts, paintings, art work and other structures in the Folklore Museum Jaisalmer is sure to revive the pride and glory of Rajasthan in the minds of the visitors. It can be a great experience for the tourists, because such an extensive collection of artefacts, related to Jaisalmer is not possibly found in any other location.