From the archive record
In a tiny village called Sonkhaliya on the Kota Cross Road, time has its own speed and the folk culture is the only culture. Rajasthan (/ˈrɑːdʒəstæn/; Hindustani pronunciation: [raːdʒəsˈt̪ʰaːn] ( listen)), known as "the land of kings", is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It comprises most of the area of the large, inhospitable Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, which parallels the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan to the west. Rajasthan is also bordered by Gujarat to the southwest, Madhya Pradesh to the southeast, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the northeast and Punjab to the north. Rajasthan covers 10.4% of India, an area of 342,239 square kilometres (132,139 sq mi). In North-West India, a dh