There is one abandoned village in the Jaisalmer region of Rajasthan in India. It was once a prosperous settlement, whose inhabitants were Brahmins, a social group that is found in all Indian states and is considered one of the highest castes. The village appeared in the 13th century, and at the beginning of the 19th all its inhabitants simultaneously disappeared.
All that remains of the once flourishing village is located almost twenty kilometers southwest of the Indian city of Jaisalmer. The former village was territorially a rectangle with a total area of 225 square kilometers. All buildings were concentrated around the temple of the mother goddess.
There was also a city wall here - its remains can still be seen in the northern and southern parts of the village. On the eastern side was the now dry bed of the small river Kakni, which, most likely, was the main source of water for local residents. There was also a small pond, which, as described in the history book of 1899, was excavated by the first settler of the village of Kuldhara. He was the brahmana Kadhan, a native of the industrial Indian city of Pali.
In total, 410 buildings can be seen in the now abandoned village, another 200 were located on the outskirts of the village. But when by 1890 only 37 of the local residents remained here, the number of occupied houses decreased by almost 4 times and amounted to 117 buildings. Also in the village there are cremation grounds, wells for the extraction of groundwater.
The inhabitants of Kuldhara were farmers, engaged in agriculture and made ceramics. And they paid taxes all the time. But due to worsening weather conditions, agriculture began to decline. And, according to local legends, the ruler Salim Singh was distinguished by excessive greed. He refused to allow the Jaisalmer State to reduce the tax to the villagers. After that, the settlement began to decline and at some point, the inhabitants finally left it.
But there is another legend about the reasons for the disappearance of the population. True, it is also associated with the name of the same ruler - Salim Singh. According to this legend, the official fell in love with one of the villagers and wished to marry her, not paying attention to the girl's disagreement. He ordered his guards to come to the village and take his beloved by force. But the villagers persuaded the guards to wait until morning. And since the head of the village community was the father of that same girl, he ordered everyone to pack up and leave the village of Kuldhara at night. Leaving people cursed Saleem Singh, this curse, as many believe, still exists. For unknown reasons, no one else was able to settle here. Although there were such attempts.
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There are also other versions about such a speedy eviction of all residents. One of the reasons could be the drying up of the river and, as a result, the lack of water. Another reason, the researchers say, is the earthquake, which was observed in the local area around the same time as the population disappeared. The third probable reason could be the war unfolding here. None of the reasons is proven or disproved.
But residents of nearby towns and villages are more fond of the story of the curse of Kuldhara. They themselves do not really believe in this version. But, since this story began to attract a large number of tourists to the village, they began to actively use it. They even invited paranormal researchers, who reported that they allegedly saw strange shadows, heard inexplicable sounds, and even felt the touch of ghosts. Therefore, visitors are told all sorts of stories about the ghosts living in the village. And at the same time they ride camels for money, dance, play and find other ways to get treasured banknotes from travelers.