Match list-I with list-II and select the correct answer using code given below - List–I (Tourist Centre) (A) Lalgarh (B) Tripura Sundari (C) Gagron Fort (D) Nakoda List–II (Location) (i) Jhalawar (ii) Barmer (iii) Bikaner (iv) Banswara Code -

Correct — option (3), A-(iii), B-(iv), C-(i), D-(ii).

A-(iii): Lalgarh is in Bikaner. Rajasthan Tourism's Bikaner page says Maharaja Ganga Singh commissioned the red-sandstone Lalgarh Palace to commemorate his father, Maharaja Lal Singh, to a design conceptualised by Sir Swinton Jacob.

B-(iv): Tripura Sundari is in Banswara. The Banswara District Gazetteer (1974) places a temple of the goddess about 5 km from Talwara, and says it is commonly known as Tartaimata.

C-(i): Gagron Fort is in Jhalawar. Rajasthan Tourism lists it among Jhalawar's sights, a hill and water fort surrounded on three sides by the Ahu and Kali Sindh rivers.

D-(ii): Nakoda was in Barmer district when this paper was set in 2021. The Barmer District Gazetteer (1962) describes the well-known Jain temple of Nakora Parasnathji close to Balotra, with a fair held there every year.

A-(iii) appears only in options (3) and (4), and both also have C-(i). The B pair decides: Tripura Sundari is in Banswara, so the answer is A-(iii), B-(iv), C-(i), D-(ii).

Lalgarh–Bikaner, Tripura Sundari–Banswara, Gagron–Jhalawar, Nakoda–Barmer.

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  A-(ii), B-(i), C-(iv), D-(iii) — Every pair in this code is wrong. It sends Lalgarh to Barmer, Tripura Sundari to Jhalawar, Gagron Fort to Banswara and Nakoda to Bikaner.

  The correct places are Lalgarh–Bikaner, Tripura Sundari–Banswara, Gagron–Jhalawar and Nakoda–Barmer. The code gives every site a district that belongs to another site.

• (2)
  A-(iv), B-(iii), C-(ii), D-(i) — Every pair here is wrong too. It puts Lalgarh in Banswara, Tripura Sundari in Bikaner, Gagron Fort in Barmer and Nakoda in Jhalawar.

  Lalgarh Palace belongs to Bikaner, the city of Maharaja Ganga Singh, and Gagron Fort to Jhalawar, on the Ahu and Kali Sindh rivers. Neither is in the district this code gives it.

• (4)
  A-(iii), B-(ii), C-(i), D-(iv) — Two pairs are right: Lalgarh–Bikaner and Gagron–Jhalawar. The other two are swapped, sending Tripura Sundari to Barmer and Nakoda to Banswara.

  Both are religious sites, which makes the swap look plausible. The Banswara Gazetteer places Tripura Sundari near Talwara in Banswara, and the Barmer Gazetteer places Nakoda near Balotra in Barmer.

Rajasthan's tourist centres are of several kinds: palaces of former princely capitals, forts, and temples that are also pilgrimage and fair sites. Each one belongs to a district.

Gagron is one of six forts that UNESCO inscribed together in 2013 as the Hill Forts of Rajasthan, with Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Amber and Jaisalmer. UNESCO calls Gagron an exemplar of a river-protected fort.

The Barmer District Gazetteer (1962) says Mewa Nagar, about six miles from Balotra, was once called Virampur, a village said to have been built round the temple of Nakoraji. An inscription, it says, dates the temple to 1076 AD.

Key facts

• Rajasthan Tourism: Maharaja Ganga Singh commissioned Lalgarh Palace, Bikaner, in red sandstone to commemorate his father, Maharaja Lal Singh.
• Banswara District Gazetteer (1974): a temple of goddess Tripura Sundari stands about 5 km from Talwara and is commonly known as Tartaimata.
• Gagron Fort, Jhalawar, is one of the six Hill Forts of Rajasthan that UNESCO inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2013.
• Rajasthan Tourism describes Gagron as a hill and water fort surrounded on three sides by the Ahu and Kali Sindh rivers.
• Barmer District Gazetteer (1962): the Jain temple of Nakora Parasnathji is close to Balotra; a fair is held there every year.

Common traps

• Swapping two religious sites. Tripura Sundari and Nakoda are both temples, but one is near Talwara in Banswara and the other near Balotra, in Barmer district in 2021.
• Stopping at the first matching pair. A-(iii) and C-(i) are shared by two codes, so the B and D pairs have to be checked as well.
• Treating spelling variants as different places: Nakora is Nakoda, and Gagraun is Gagron.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following forts is not one of the six forts inscribed together by UNESCO as the 'Hill Forts of Rajasthan'?

  • (a)Gagron Fort
  • (b)Amber Fort
  • (c)Jaisalmer Fort
  • (d)Junagarh Fort, Bikaner
  Answer(4) — UNESCO's 2013 inscription covers Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Ranthambore, Gagron, Amber and Jaisalmer; Junagarh Fort of Bikaner is not among the six. Option (1), Gagron, option (2), Amber, and option (3), Jaisalmer, are all part of the property.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  The temple of Tripura Sundari near Talwara is located in which district of Rajasthan?

  • (a)Dungarpur
  • (b)Banswara
  • (c)Pratapgarh
  • (d)Udaipur
  Answer(2) — The Banswara District Gazetteer (1974) places the temple about 5 km from Talwara in Banswara district. Option (1), Dungarpur, option (3), Pratapgarh, and option (4), Udaipur, are other southern districts; the gazetteer's placing rules them out.