Arna Jharna: The Thar Desert Museum is located in the Moklawas village in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. It is the brainchild of the famous folklorist and ethnomusicologist- Komal Kothari. He wanted to make the public aware of the folk culture and oral traditions he witnessed and documented during his entire life for Rupayan Sansthan.
The museum was built in 2000 on a 10-acre land in Arna Jharna. It is a beautiful place with rocky plains, protected forest areas, sacred spots, and water bodies surrounding the area the museum. This museum is known called a living museum because it is not limited to some air-conditioned galleries.
Instead, it is built just like a local village in Rajasthan. It has around 30 different types of shrubs and trees. You can find almost everything from Babul to Phog tree and Tulsi to Zijnni. All of them are laid over a variegated carpet containing several grass types. Apart from that, it also has houses built like earth-red buildings in the local village style.
What to see at Arna Jharna?
- A vast collection of brooms from Rajasthan, along with videos highlighting the communities involved, the production process, the risk involved, and other factors of broom production.
- A wide collection of Unique Musical instruments from Western India includes ravanahatta, surinda, jantar, nagfani, and others.
- The art of Pottery and Puppetry is also exhibited here.
Address of Arna Jharna
Arna Jharna: The Thar Desert Museum
Arna Jharna, near Arna Vihar
Jodhpur Rajasthan – 342001
Timings of Arna Jharna
The Thar Desert Museum is open from 8.00 AM to 6.00 PM.
Important information
- You can contact the museum at [email protected] to plan your visit to the museum.
- You can also plan a customized visit for schools, universities, researchers, youth organizations, photographers, bird watchers, artists, and activist groups.
How to reach Arna Jharna?
Arna Jharna is located in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Local transport, including taxis, auto rickshaws, and tongas, is available to travel to different places within the city. You can reach Jodhpur in the following ways.
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By Air
The nearest airport to Jodhpur is the Jodhpur Airport. It is a prominent airport in Rajasthan. Flights from Delhi and Mumbai arrive and depart from here every day. You can take any local transport from here to reach Arna Jharna.
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By Road
Jodhpur city in Rajasthan has a well-developed road network. It is connected to several National and State Highways. It is connected to all major cities in India, including Delhi, Ahmedabad, Surat, Ujjain, and Agra. State, as well as inter-state bus services, are running to reach the nearby cities. You can hire a taxi or take any locally available transport to get Arna Jharna.
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By Train
The nearest railway station to Jodhpur is the Jodhpur Railway Station. Trains from all major cities of India arrive and depart from here. These cities are Delhi, Mumbai, Alwar, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Pune, Kota, Trivandrum, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Bareilly, Indore, Lucknow, Nagpur, Guwahati, etc.
Other Places to visit near Arna Jharna
You can visit the following places near Arna Jharna
- Pratap Sagar Lake
- Machia Safari Park
- Kala – Gora Temple
- Arneshwar Mahadeva Shiva Temple
