Menaria (Menariya, Menaria) is a warrior community of

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

community found in south Rajasthan, mainly across Udaipur,

Chittorgarh Chittorgarh (; also Chitror or Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It wa ...

Bhilwara Bhilwara () is a city and administrative headquarters in Bhilwara district of the Mewar region of Rajasthan, India. It has been termed as 'Textile city'. History Stone Age tools dating from 5,012 to 200,000 years were found in Bundi and ...

and

Rajsamand Rajsamand is a city, located in Rajsamand Mewar district of Rajasthan, India. The city is named for Rajsamand Lake, an artificial lake created in the 17th century by Rana Raj Singh Rajsamand Udaipur of Mewar. It is the administrative head ...

Nimbahera Nimbahera is a town and a municipality in Chittorgarh district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located around 32 km from Chittorgarh city, south-west of the state capital, Jaipur. Nimbahera is connected through both rail and road; ...

Banswara Banswara is a city in the Banswara district in southern Rajasthan, India. The name, Banswara, came from king ‘Bansiya Bhil’. Banswara is also known as "City of a Hundred Islands", "The Green City", which is often referred to as " Cherrap ...

About

Menaria (मेनारिया in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

), also known as Menaria, Menaria Samaj is a

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

inhabiting the Indian state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. Local tradition holds that Menaria Brahmins once served as soldiers for the Mewar kingdom. Historical accounts (notably of Holi-era celebrations in Menar village) recall Menaria aiding Maharana Udai Singh against Mughal forces in the 16th centurytimesofindia.indiatimes.com. Menar village Holi ritual (‘Baroodon-ki-Holi’) commemorates how local Menaria men “captured the Mughal booth and defeated the enemy”, a victory still celebrated on ''Jamra Beej.'' Many people from the community are famous as professional chefs. Several generations of Menaria cooks have worked in the homes of India’s elite – for example, Poonamchand Aklingdasot of Menar cooked for Lata Mangeshkar’s family and then spent ten years as personal chef to Dhirubhai and Kokilaben Ambani. Bhanwarlalji Mangilalji Menaria cooked for Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Modi’s 2016 Tokyo visit.

References

{{Reflist, 30em2 *S, Monika (11 June 2017)
"Congratulations Arpit Menaria , 22nd position in JEE(Advanced)2017"
''Udaipur Times''.
"Court Judge Count Report: State Rajasthan: District Chittorgarh"
Indian castes Social groups of Rajasthan Surnames of Hindu origin Surnames of Indian origin