From Delhi to Jodhpur, Jasailmer and Udaipur

  Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Tuesday, March 31, 2009

In the evening we were collected and driven to the station in old Delhi for our overnight train journey to Jodhpur. The drive to the station was amid crowds of people and vehicles, as manic as during the day. The hordes of people at the station and in the concourses and platforms were an amazing sight to see. Everywhere was like the image conjured up by "The black hole of Calcutta" and just as crowded and jostling as being amidst football supporters after a match. We arrived in Jodhpur about 2 hours late after over a 12 hour journey. This length of delay was repeated several times during the trip but in a strange way was a fun experience. Our guide gave a very deliberate and clear description of what we were seeing from the start, much to Barbara's delight. His jaunty black beret and his knowledge of his subject and of the staff/villagers we met (he gave many of them sweets from a very deep pocket) demonstrated his persona most aptly. Our first and main visit for the day was to the Meherangarth Fort. This is one of the largest forts in India and is built upon a natural rock outcrop from an otherwise flat landscape. This is a very impressive fortress but it has not always been successfully defended. The fort contains several palaces which have been added to over the centuries. It is still undergoing renovation in many parts. It was interesting listening to the guide explain the history and function of the various palaces. He took us to the top of the fort for some great views of the town with its preponderance of Brahmin blue houses for which Jodhpur is famous, apart from the trousers. We were also able to have a good view of the nearby Jaswant Thada, which we subsequently visited. This area is essentially a collection of stunning white marble monuments relating to the Maharaja's who have owned and occupied the fort over the last couple of centuries. We were then taken to a bazaar and then walked through the Sardar market avoiding the phut phuts, motorcycles and cows and the mass of people who shared the space between market stalls.
There were some strange sellers present, including a barber and a dentist. It was fascinating walking through this sea of variety, colour and noise at the centre of which stood a clock tower erected by the British in the 19th century. The next day's main visit was to see the Bishnoi, a Hindu sect who continue to live in a tribal way, albeit they do not live in one village but in their own family designated areas. We drove out of Jodhpur and went through several small villages. These were very ramshackle affairs all with narrow paved roads going through the centre. Everyone appeared to be dressed in traditional clothes; the women in bright Saris and the men in white or whitish baggy dhotis, tunic and turban. This is very much in contrast to Delhi, where men generally dress in western style as do single women, with only married women wearing traditional saris. Our first stop was at a Potter's home,
where we were given a display by him producing three different pots from one lump of clay using a manually powered wheel. We then went on to visit a Bishnoi family, who lived off the beaten track in a very barren and infertile area. They live in huts primarily made from cow dung (cow dung being easy to work and being a good insulator) and straw. They mainly grow crops not dependent on lots of water, like millet and sesame. Surprisingly electricity is available but little used because of cost or supply failure. The women seem to do most of the labouring as well as keeping their huts clean. We were given a demonstration by the head of the family of their allowed ritual of preparing and drinking opium. The men apparently do this twice a day which is perhaps why the women do most of the work. We were told Mick Jagger spent a night here some years ago. We stayed here for about half an hour and then went on to a more affluent weaver's home. He spoke good English and together with his wife gave us a brief demonstration of his traditional family interlocking method of weaving. He was working on a carpet about fifteen by six feet which he said would take a month to produce. Interestingly he had a small solar powered system installed in what were more elaborate brick built units housing his wife and unmarried children. I am surprised there are not more solar energy schemes in evidence since the hot cloudless days seem ideal for them. This was our last visit of the day before returning to the hotel and saying farewell to our amusing and enthusiastic guide.


 
Jaisalmer was our next city. It is located in the middle of the desert in the extreme west of Rajasthan, close to the border. Our guide here was very amusing, simply because he looked so much like the gendarme in "'Ello 'Ello" and also sounded like him too in his broken English. One of our tours was out of town for our camel ride.
This took us off to the nearby sand dunes where we watched the sunset. The cloudless sky made this quite memorable. On our return to the hotel we had a very pleasant meal outside, by the pool and overlooking the dramatic and stunning lit up Jaisalmer fort. This is a very romantic setting and a good way to end the day. Our guide collected us the following morning and we set off to the nearby lake Amar Sagar. This is considered a holy lake and as such the huge catfish living in it are likewise so. Apart from the fish this is quite a tranquil and pretty setting. We visited a couple of small adjacent temples and walked down to the gated lake entrance and heard the tale of its erection by a philanthropic prostitute who was subsequently advised to put a dome on the top of the structure to make it appear like a temple. This prevented the offended local ruler taking the structure down We also briefly saw the site of a local Muslim cemetery, before heading off to the 12th century Jaisalmer fort. This imposing fort structure with large ramparts is built up from a modest sandstone base and still houses over 4000 people. The central palace areas are protected by several entrance gates. Inside we were taken to the richly decorated Jain temples. These temples are always fantastically richly carved with beautifully varied marbled columns. We then went on a general walk around the streets of the fort which are full of small shop traders. There are so many shops one could almost say the fort is a bazaar. I took numerous photos of some wonderfully ornate buildings and latticed balconies throughout the fort, where there is still surprisingly some building development taking place, albeit on a small scale. We went to the highest point in the fort and had a good view of the surrounding town which is home to 40000 people.
Barbara also had her photo taken with a local and ancient musician, before we left the fort and made our way to the town, where we were taken to several shops; including those housed within the magnificently constructed Havelis (mansions) built by the wealthy merchants over generations. The Havelis are very ornate with lavishly and intricately carved facades and pillars.
 


On the way to our next town of Udaipur we visited the important temple of Ranakpur. The scenery close to the temple is interesting being near the Aravalli mountain range. We saw a few groups of monkeys by the road close to the temple which also added interest to what had been a long drive. We paid our entrance fee for using the camera and I had to wear another skirt while we went through the complex. Our guide for the brief tour said he was the head priest of the temple and this carried on the tradition of sixteen generations in his family. He explained the architecture and the building details of this 15th century temple complex. It has 29 pillared halls with 1444 pillars and not one of them is adorned in the same way. The carvings and reliefs are certainly exquisite in design and workmanship, all in marble and are in keeping with the quality of other Jain temples we have seen. Indeed, this is probably the most stunning we have so far seen. It was strange to see a Mimosa tree growing inside the temple said to be over seven hundred years old and still flourishing. Externally the complex is also very grand albeit in need of cleaning
. It has dramatic spires surrounded by cupolas which cover the whole area. After a buffet lunch nearby we drove to Udaipur driving through road works in the mountains and passing a decorative laminate shop on the way (for note by Barbara's family) by which time I had developed a case of Delhi Belly. This stopped us doing anything for a day and a half. We managed to reorganise things with our new guide so that overall we did not miss any of the tour. In the morning Barbara saw several Jainish and Hindu temples including the largest Hindu temple in Udaipur as well as the temple patronised by the current royal family. Interestingly there are no Mosques in the town because the Mughals did not manage to conquer it. She also had a brief stop at the Fatehsagar (Victory) Lake,
where she visited the Saheliyon Ki Bari which has lovely gardens and fountains which operate by gravity from the main lake above. Our afternoon was mainly taken up by a visit to the city palace and museum. The palace is huge and overlooks the very picturesque lake Pichola. It is the largest palace in Rajasthan and is predominantly made of white marble and granite. It was built in the 16th century but has been continually added to by subsequent generations of rulers so that there are now eleven palaces overall, each with a purpose.  Within each of these there are individualistic courtyards, pavilions and terraces. It took nearly 2 hours to walk through the palace before we went on a boat ride on Lake Pichola. This was a lovely tranquil experience, despite the fact there were about twenty other passengers on board. The trip allowed for good photo opportunities not only of the summer and winter palaces built in the lake but also of the shoreline buildings, including a luxurious hotel complex said to be the best hotel in the world. Stunning is probably a good way to describe these mainly white buildings, particularly within the context of the lake and the backdrop of mountains to the west. The boat stopped briefly at the winter palace, which now operates as a rather swish café. We strolled around this for about 15 minutes only and enjoyed the ambience of the place before getting back on the boat for our return to shore in time for another lovely sunset.