Bikaner - A city - awesome and beautiful. A vast expanse of rippling sand and scorching son.An arid, rocky scrubland. It is situated on an elevated ground, surrounded by a seven-kilometer-long embattled wall marked by five gates.
The Rathore prince Rao Bikaji, the most enterprising son of Rao Jodhaji of Marwar, founded Bikaner in 1488 AD. The harsh desert surrounds this rich city, no doubt few could gather courage to venture into this part of the globe.
The old part of Bikaner city is surrounded by a stone wall that is 15–30 feet (5–9 m) high and has five gates. Bikaner is now a trade centre for wool, hides, building stone, salt, and grain. Bikaneri woolen shawls, blankets, carpets, and sugar candy are famous, and there are also ivory and lacquerware handicrafts. The city has electrical and mechanical engineering works, railway workshops, and factories that manufacture glass, pottery, felts, chemicals, shoes, and cigarettes. The old part of the city is overlooked by a fort and has numerous buildings of bright red and yellow sandstone. Within the fort are several palaces of different periods, a museum housing Rajput miniature paintings, and a library of Sanskrit and Persian manuscripts. The city's colleges (including a medical school and a teachers' training institute) are affiliated with the University of Rajasthan. Bikaner is situated in an arid tract of undulating sand hills where the breeding of camels, horses, and sheep is the principal occupation. Because there are no rivers, irrigation is chiefly by means of deep tube wells. Bajra (pearl millet), jowar (sorghum), and pulses are the chief crops grown in the locality.