Jarar has been the main seat of the family since 1472. Rai Saheb Ch. Suraj Pal Singh, the Zamindaar of Jarar, built the Mela Kothi in the late 1890s. Nestling amidst acres of woodland and pasture, the Mela Kothi was ideally located to serve as a camp office for the family’s bi-annual cattle fair (Mela). In 1999, Rai Saheb Suraj Pal Singh’s great grandson, IIT engineer and conservationist Ram Pratap Singh, and his environmental scientist wife, Anu, began restoring their neglected inheritance. The product of their labour, set within 35 sprawling acres of the original heritage plantation, surrounded by farmland - Mela Kothi – The Chambal Safari Lodge is an oasis of peace, tranquility and gracious hospitality.
