Rajasthan Trip Oct 2013 - Part 4 (Jodhpur)

Continuing from Part 2........ And Part 3............



Meherangarh Fort

After lunch, we headed for the main attraction of Jodhpur, The Meherangarh Fort.

Unlike the Jaisalmer Fort, this fort is privately owned by the King, and has no residents. In the eighties, the present king started renovating the fort and has opened parts of it to the public. It is a beautiful fort and has been done up very well. In Jodhpur, all sites have an official Royal family approved, guide with standard rates. The guide takes you around, tells the story and walks you through the various exhibits placed in the rooms.

The route has been so planned that after the tour, you land up at a handicraft shop located within the premises followed by an eatery.

It was dark by the time we finished. The fort looked beautiful as it was lit at night. 

This fort is the venue for various cultural activities. There was a Rajasthani musical evening that day. But the cheapest ticket was Rs.2000. ***Please refer to RANT***. These activities are meant for popularising the folk arts. But in reality are a elitist get-togethers. As we walked out of the fort, we saw the large number of guests of the King, mostly foreigners, arriving in fancy cars. There was sufficient security to ensure that the riff-raff general public doesn’t get anywhere close. In fact we saw an altercation between these guards and a journalist, probably drunk, who denounced these activities which were meant only for the rich and famous.

Once we were out, the autos, as usual, demanded an exorbitant amount. ***Refer RANT again***. Since it was night and the weather was pleasant, we walked down to town and took an auto back from there.

Jodhpur has very limited number of sites to visit. In fact, one day is enough to see all the tourist places. The only place left for us to see was Jaswant Thada, which is very close to the fort. However, we could not see it the previous day as it was too late.

The next morning, we did some running around for our train tickets, which were still wait listed. In a nutshell, seven of us boarded the train at Delhi with two confirmed tickets (Me and Yuvraj sat in the unreserved coach and finally managed a reservation by midnight). For our return leg, which was tonight, we didnt have a single confirmed reservation. But that is a story for another day.

Jaswant Thada

After lunch we went and saw Jaswant Thada. This is a marble memorial (apparently they are called Cenotaphs in proper english), built in 1899, by the King Jaswant Singh II, for himself.

As the story goes (acoording to the guide. Not corroborated), he was not a very popular king. As is generally the case, as he got older, he started getting philosophical and having worrying thoughts about how people would remember him after his death. So, one day, he decked himself up in all his jewelry, and faked death (It seems he could hold his breathe for a reeeaally long time and go into a trance, according to the guide). His favourite queens, on seeing him dead, instead of mourning his passing, started dividing up his jewellery between them. He finally woke up when one of them was about to chop off his finger for the ring (How he knew it was about to be chopped when in a trance is anybody’s guess). The guide did not know about the fate of the queens, but the King turned over a new leaf and went on to become a very good king who executed various projects for the general good.

The Jaswant Thada is a beautiful, but whimsical, structure. It has a small inner sanctum dedicated to the king. As is generally the norm in India, we have found a marble Jaali nearby to tie threads on as it is believed that the king will fullfill your wishes.

The entire area is the royal cremation ground and is full of smaller Chattris and tombs of other kings.

It also provides a great spot for taking pictures with the Meherangarh Fort as a backdrop.

Overall, the tourist experience in Jodhpur, ***despite my RANTS***, is much nicer. It is more organised and the king has streamlined the experience as he owns all the major tourist attractions. Unlike Jaisalmer, Jodhpur is a much more compact city with all places to visit within easy reach. As a result, the autos can be both a convenience as well as a nuisance.

That night, we took the train back to Delhi (and yes, we had confirmed reservation for four) and were back home by 0700 on monday…. ready for another day at the office.

Read More

Rajasthan Trip Oct 2013 - Part 3 (Jodhpur)

Continuing from Part 1 and Part 2..............

I have just been reminded about the great responsibility I now have as there are people following this blog. The burden is almost too much to bear.

Getting back to Jodhpur, the saga continues…….

Jodhpur is also called the Blue City due to the large number of houses painted Blue. Originally, the blue indicated a Brahmin’s house. But over time, many people started adding indigo to the white wash of the house as it was believed to keep insects away from the house. I have seen Jodhpur 9 years back. You can still discern the Blue, but it was much more clearly Blue then. Obviously, paints are available in a much more variety of colors now.

We reached Jodhpur at 0600 in the morning and took an auto to the Air Force Officers Mess at Ratanada.

The mess is a grand old structure built by the Maharaja to house official guests. It was called the State Hotel. In fact, the impression of the name is still visible on top of the building after all these years. The Air Force acquired/ were gifted the building for their use sometime after independence and converted it into an officer’s mess. We had booked rooms through two separate sources, both of whom had confirmed the booking. But our names did not figure in the register. Luckily Yuvraj had spoken to the Mess Secretary a day earlier to confirm the booking. As there seemed to be some slip up, they gave us the only rooms available, the VIP Rooms :-). It was only while leaving that we realized that the rooms were booked in the name of our sources.

We had beautiful rooms with bay windows overlooking the lawns.

We generally took it easy in the morning. We took an auto and proceeded to Umaid Bhawan Palace at around 1100.

This was the last palace to be built in India prior to her independence. Work started on this Palace in 1929 and was completed in 1944. Built at a cost of Rs.9.5 Million in those days, it was the largest private residence in its day with 347 rooms.

The interiors were designed by Maples in London. Unfortunately, the ship carrying it to India was sunk by a German U-Boat. So the interiors were redesigned by Stefan Norblin, a Polish Art Deco interior designer who had fled war-torn Europe. In fact the painting from the Ramayana adorning  parts of the building are very interesting as they have a distinctly European, or should I say Art Deco, style.

****RANT BEGINS****

I do not like Indian Royalty. I have nothing against such enormous projects as they add to the cultural heritage and beauty of this country. What irritates me is the fact that all of them are now in politics, minting money in business but try to portray themselves as the saviours of their people/subjects. If they had any concern for their subjects, they wouldnt have been in this sorry state in the first place.

The Jodhpur Royals are a prime example. In all the literature, it says that the palace was built to provide employment to the people as there was a famine in his state. Bull****. If he had any concern for them, he would have used the 10 million rupees for some useful public works, such as a canal system, etc instead of a private residence. My theory is that he got cheap labour. In fact he paid them with food, no money. Today, the maximum part of the building is an ultra luxury hotel run by Taj, part is his private residence and one small side section is all that is open to the public…telling them that this building was built for the public good. You need to pay Rs.2000 to just enter the main building. Bull**** again.

****RANT ENDS****

The museum was decent. Just a few photographs, painting and artefacts glorifying the history of the Royal Family. There was also an antique car collection to be seen through a glass partition.

The most important takeaway were the photographs with the Palace in the background.

On completing the tour, we came out to take an auto to head back. We paid Rs.80 to come up. They demanded Rs.200 to go back…because there is no other mode of transportation available to head back.

*****RANT BEGINS****

We, as a country, have become adept at availing every opportunity to profit from the handicaps/ disadvantages of others. We therefore no longer have any sense of the value of labour. The auto rates at Jodhpur vary depending on how much you need him or he thinks he can fleece you. In fact, Yuvraj called the auto driver a thief. The driver had the gall to threaten us and ask if he had picked our pockets. He seriously thought that he wasn’t doing anything wrong by demanding extra money. In any case, he threatened the wrong customers. We gave it back to him, reminding him about govt rates, and threatened to complain to the police about them not using the meter. That quietened him down, and he quietly slunk away. Fortunately, we still have a few decent people, and so we found an elderly driver willing to take us back at the correct rate.

****RANT ENDS****

Continue reading Part 4 .....................

Read More

Rajasthan Trip Oct 2013 - Part 2 (Jaisalmer)

Continuing from Part 1........

Jaisalmer Fort

The next morning, we were shown the facilities available with our hosts, and I will leave it at that.

At 1100, we left for Jaisalmer fort. This fort, also called the Golden Fort, is a living fort.

We took a guide to show us around the fort and began our tour. Once you enter the fort, it looks like any old town with narrow streets and houses and temples and palaces. You have to keep reminding yourself that you are in fact standing inside a fort. The first landmark we saw was a Jain temple.

(admission ₹30, camera/video/mobile phone ₹70/120/30; h7am-1pm) Within the fort walls is a mazelike, interconnecting treasure trove of seven beautiful yellow-sandstone Jain temples, dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. The intricate carving rivals that of the marble Jain temples in Ranakpur and Mt Abu, and has an extraordinary quality because of the soft, warm stone. In a vault beneath the Sambhavnath temple, the Gyan Bhandar (daily 10–11am) contains Jain manuscripts, paintings and astrological charts dating back to the eleventh century, among them one of India’s oldest surviving palm-leaf books, a 1060 copy of Dronacharya’s Oghaniryaktivritti.

We then wandered around the fort, shopping, etc and finally climbed up to the Cannon point, a view point from where the entire city is visible. It is called Cannon point because there is an old cannon placed here, and not because you take photographs using a popular camera brand.

Founded in 1156 by the Rajput ruler Jaisal and reinforced by subsequent rulers, Jaisalmer Fort was the focus of a number of battles between the Bhatis, the Mughals of Delhi and the Rathores of Jodhpur. You enter the fort from its east side and pass throughfour massive gates on the zigzagging route to the upper part. The fourth gate opens into a large square, Dashera Chowk, where Jaisalmer Fort’s uniqueness becomes apparent: this is a living fort, with about 3000 people

residing within its walls; seventy percent of them are Brahmins and the rest, living primarily on the east side, are predominantly Rajput.. It’s honeycombed with narrow, winding lanes which are lined with houses and temples – along with a large number of handicraft shops, guesthouses, restaurants and massage/beauty parlours. The fort so inspired Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray that he wrote a story about it called Shonar Kella (The Golden Fortress), which he later made into a movie.

I also bought a cup made of Habur limestone. This is a fossilised stone which gives it a beautiful appearance. A speciality of this stone is that if you keep milk in ti, it will turn to curd even without adding any jamaavan.

We had lunch at a place called Desert Boys. I had traditional Dal Bati, soaking with ghee (clarified butter). Good reasonable fare.

Patwon ki Haveli

After lunch, we went to Patwon ki Haveli. The Patwas were Jains, extremely religious, drug dealers. They made their money in the opium trade. You can imagine their internal conflicts when you see the temple room within the haveli – it is flanked by a mirrored hall for nautch girls and other ‘manly’ celebrations, and the other side has a false wall to hide opium stash. In any event, their house seemed so much more beautiful and intricate than the kings palace.

The large Patwa Haveli, or Patwon-ki-Haveli (daily 8am–6.30pm; Rs20), down a street to the right a couple of blocks north from the Nathmalji-ki-Haveli, was constructed in the first half of the nineteenth century by the Patwa merchants – five brothers from a Jain family who were bankers and traders in brocade and opium. Five separate suites with individual entrances facing a narrow street are connected from within, and all have flat roof areas – the views are excellent. Traces of stylish wall paintings survive in some rooms, but the building’s most striking features are its exuberantly carved jharokhas, or protruding balconies.

Gadisar Lake

On the way back, we stopped over at the Gadisar (or Gadi Sagar) lake, on the insistence of our escorts. A simple lake, teeming with catfish. Throw in some bread and be prepared for a gross sight of catfish jumping over each other to get to the crumbs.

South of town through an imposing triple gateway, Gadi Sagar Tank, built in 1367 and flanked with sandstone ghats and temples, was once Jaisalmer’s sole water supply. This peaceful place staring out on the desert hosts the festival of Gangaur in March, when single women fling flowers into the lake and pray for a good husband, and the maharawal heads a procession amid pomp and splendour unchanged for generations. It’s possible to rent boats the rest of the year (daily 8am–9pm; 30min; Rs50–100 for 2–4 people). The gateway over the ghat leading down to the lake, Tilon-ki-Pol, was commissioned in 1909 by a rich courtesan named Tilon, who was famed for her beauty. While it was being built, a group of town prudes went to the maharawal to persuade him that it would be inauspicious to have to access the lake through a gate built with the earnings of a prostitute. The maharawal ordered it dismantled, but Tilon was smarter than him: she had incorporated into the top of the structure a shrine to Vishnu, so that its destruction would be an insult to the god. She won the day and her gate still stands.

That night, after dinner, we left for the railway station and caught the Jaisalmer-Jodhpur Intercity express for Jodhpur.

Continue reading Part 3 ......And Part 4

Read More

Rajasthan Trip Oct 13 - Part 1 (Jaisalmer)

This blog post is about the short vacation we had in Rajasthan with friends who asked us if we would like to join them. We left Delhi on 17 Oct and headed for Jaisalmer by Train. We boarded the Delhi Jaisalmer Express from Palam Stn at 1830. The advantage of this train is that it stops at Old Delhi, Delhi Cantt and Palam, allowing us to board at the most convenient station. The disadvantage is that it stops at Old Delhi, Delhi Cantt………. and almost every other station along the way.

The fort of Jaisalmer is a breathtaking sight: a massive sandcastle rising from the sandy plains like a mirage from a bygone era. No place better evokes exotic camel-train trade routes and desert mystery. Beneath the ramparts the narrow streets of the old city conceal magnificent havelis, all carved from the same golden-honey sandstone as the fort – hence Jaisalmer’s designation as the Golden City. A city that has come back almost from the dead in the past half-century, Jaisalmer may be remote but it’s certainly not forgotten – indeed it’s one of Rajasthan’s biggest tourist destinations, and few people come here without climbing onto a camel in the surrounding Thar Desert.

Jaisalmer was founded way back in 1156 by a leader of the Bhati Rajput clan named Jaisal. The Bhatis, who trace their lineage back to Krishna, ruled right through to Independence in 1947. The city’s early centuries were tempestuous, partly because its rulers relied on looting for want of other income, but by the 16th century Jaisalmer was prospering from its strategic position on the camel-train routes between India and Central Asia. It eventually established cordial relations with the Mughal empire. Maharawal Sabal Singh, in the mid-17th century, expanded the Jaisalmer princedom to its greatest extents by annexing areas that now fall within the administrative districts of Bikaner and Jodhpur. Under British rule the rise of sea trade (especially through Mumbai) and railways saw Jaisalmer’s importance and population decline. Partition in 1947, with the cutting of trade routes to Pakistan, seemingly sealed the city’s fate. But the 1965 and 1971 wars between India and Pakistan gave Jaisalmer new strategic importance, and since the 1960s the Indira Gandhi Canal to the north has brought revitalising water to the desert. Today tourism and the area’s many military installations are the pillars of the city’s economy.

We reached Jaisalmer at 1130 the next morning. We were received at the station by a car sent by a friend. We were in our room by 1230. We settled in, had lunch and turned in for a short nap.

The cars came to pick us up at 1600 for the ride to Sam Sand Dunes. On the way, just outside town, we went to Amar Sagar which has an old but recently renovated jain temple. The outsides gave no indication of how large the temple was. We initially thought that it was a small temple and we would be out in 5-10 minutes. However, as we wandered around the complex, we discovered new levels, alcoves and structures which we just had to take photographs with. However, as we did not want to miss the sunset at Sam, we left the place in a hurry.

A few kilometres off the highway lies Kuldhara, a deserted village. However, we could not go and see it as we were running short of time. I guess, you should always leave a few sights unseen so that you have a reason to visit again :-).

South of the Sam road, around 25km west of Jaisalmer, the ghost village of Kuldara (daily sunrise–sunset; Rs10, vehicles Rs50) was one of 84 villages abandoned simultaneously one night in 1825 by the Paliwal Brahmin community, which had settled here in the thirteenth century. Stories vary as to why the villages were deserted, but the consensus is that the onerous taxes imposed by the rapacious Prime Minister Salim Singh (see p.305), and his brutal methods of collecting them, forced the Paliwals to complain to the maharawal. When he ignored them, they upped and left in protest, en masse. Close-knit and industrious, the Paliwals had prospered. Their sense of order is attested by their homes, each with its living quarters, guest room, kitchen and stables, plus a parking space for the camel, and you can take an atmospheric stroll through them to the temple at the heart of the village. A story that they buried their wealth before leaving – which probably stems from the fact that each house had an underground safe – led a group of foreigners in 1997 to scour the place with metal detectors in search of the alleged treasure. Following this, the village was made a protected area and some of its houses have been restored, along with its temple. It has also featured as a backdrop in a number of Hindi movies such as Milan Luthria’s 1999 Kachhe Dhaage, with Ajay Devgan and Manisha Koirala, and John Matthan’s Sarfarosh, released the same year, with Aamir Khan and Sonali Bendre.

We arrived at Sam just before sunset. The camel owners here are really aggressive. We bargained and finalised a deal for two camels for 30 min ride at Rs.200. A third camel was considered, but we decided not to take him as the others were not interested. That guy followed us throughout the ride, talking about trust, loyalty, honesty, betrayal, etc to put us on a guilt trip and convince us to pay him. However, he did not realise that he was dealing with hardened travellers. A weaker heart would have given in.

On returning to the road, we were still considering what to do when our escorts came into action. They took the jeeps a little into the desert, found a nice little sand dune, and set up a table and a few foldable chairs for us to sit. We were then provided with soft drinks and snacks as we sat under the magical full moon. The kids had a great time playing in the sand. We missed the supposedly magnificent view of the starlit sky as the moon was very bright and washed out the stars. After dark, our escort advised the children to refrain from playing in the sand as the scorpions would soon be coming out. After some time of solitude, we decided to return to base.

The huge, rolling sand dunes 40km west of Jaisalmer are known as SAM, though strictly this is the name of a small village further west. The dunes are a prime attraction for tourists, who come here in droves to watch the sunset. But though this event can be breathtaking, the drink-sellers, musicians, piles of plastic rubbish and numerous camel trains and bus parties somewhat dilute the romance.

On the way back, as on the way towards Sam, we noticed various resorts under construction. Some of them were really huge and regal. Wonder, how they would be profitable with a tourist season of just 4-5 months.

On return, we freshened up, sat on the lawns and had a peaceful drink followed by simple, but tasty, dinner.

Continue reading Part 2..... And Part 3 ......And Part 4

Read More