Rajasthan --a colourful desertland

Rajasthan- A Colourful desertland!
We explored a part of it with a few friends.Here is the detailed description of our trip.
18/2/2013
Our journey began from Mumbai airport .We landed at Jodhpur at 11.10 a.m. Driver Suresh of 'Make My Trip' received us . He was a well built ,slightly paunchy man speaking hindi. He also had with him    .He had come with a ten seater tempo traveler which was to be with us throughout our trip .The flight was good -they gave us breakfast which I and the paranjpes, sulabha and anuradha  did not have as we had already eaten the omelette sandwiches  which I had prepared at home .The airport at Jodhpur was nice with a clean area outside and few people .We checked into hotel Chandra Inn.We left for Umaid Bhavan .  This palace has the  manually chisell

model of Umaid Bhavan

ed sandstone blocks  put together in a special system of interlocking. There is no mortar binding.The palace is built by Maharaja Umaid Singh and hence named thus. Today there is the titular maharaja Gaj Singh who occupies a part of this beautiful palace. One part is converted into a hotel with the collaboration of Taj Group and the third part is a museum.Entrance fee was rs. 25 per person.The place has beautiful  carvings, lovely photographs,pottery, a hall full of clocks and watches,glassware,furniture-table,chairs, cupboards with exquisite designs carved into the wood.There was a model of the Bhavan. A hall full of antique cars.Rolls Royce, Cadillac,Buick, Morris Minor,Mercedes,Ford Convertible,Hummer and an unknown model were also there...The whole exercise overwhelmed us so we went outside where there was a stall of kulfi which we ate[kesar kulfi].We proceeded to have lunch at a place called Kissan Bhojanalaya. This being our first meal in Rajasthan I shall describe it in detail.We had --thali with one lasun sabji,gadde ki sabji,kaju-kismis sabji,soya subji, masala raita [khatta], bajre ki roti ,papad,salad, masala pulav. None of the ladies could  finish the thalis.The food was spicy, oily . We learnt a lesson. By the time it was 4 p.m. We left for the station where the Suris were to come.The train was delayed so we went to visit Mandore gardens.We were a little tired .We walked along and saw a man playing an instrument called Ravanhato which he was playing beautifully. He was surila and so we stood there and listened and then paid him .As we went ahead we saw another person also playing the same instrument.It seems that all over Rajasthan they play this instrument for the tourists and earn money.Ahead were some stone temples with lots of carvings and greenery around.This place was not well maintained. We returned to the station, received Suris and returned to the hotel and relaxed. We later met in Kishors room and had cake,chivda,biscuits,ladoo,gazak and talked and laughed a lot. Suri kept us in splits with his jokes. Pinky was quieter as her throat was still hurting from a bad throat infection that she had had earlier.Their son in law Ashish Dhankar was in Jodhpur for some demonstrations and he came to meet us later-on.We fed him all the goodies that we had and agreed to meet him for dinner the next day as he knew a place where they served very good lal maas. He left around 9 p.m. .We had dinner in the hotel restaurant .It was an improvement on the lunch.
19/2/2013
We had breakfast in the hotel at about 8a.m.-idli sambar, cornflakes,milk, toast,jam, tea coffee.By 8.45 we left to see Bishnoi -Gudi village..It was a good 30 minutes from the hotel by vehicle and a big dissapointment .The tourism department needs to update its website and not waste tourists' time thus.
 There was a  lake with a few ducks in it.That was it!The driver Suresh then took us to a shop cum workshop where they were selling Jodhpuri items like shawls, dhurries, stoles,saris and wall hangings.

Meherangarh fort from outside

I bought a stole [400rs],Pinky bought a stole and a bed cover,Anuradha bought a stole.The workshop had some people stitching things on the machines .Before going to Meherangarh fort, we ate lunch at an eatery . We ordered 2 thalis and the rest of us ordered roti,dal, chaval, mixed subji and salad. We were thus able to finish whatever we had ordered. Meherangarh fort is everything that is described on websites and more.There is a lift to go up 12 floors and from there starts the grandeur and splendour of the royalty.The fort is the property of Gaj Singh of Jodhpur who lives at Umaid Bhavan .He has maintained it from the proceeds obtained from tourists visiting the fort.The fort is marvelous. It makes one wonder how the people of those times imagined the structure ,then executed every detail manually taking years to complete it.From there we went to Jaswant Thada [Cenotaph].It has a garden with a small lake and ducks in it. There were trees outside which had sun birds in them.

sun bird 

The place is made of yellow sandstone with wonderful carvings in them.We then returned to the hotel from where Suris and Kishor left for Umaid Bhavan which they hadn't seen. They returned at 5.30 p.m. After resting a bit we left for Karni Bhavan which is a fine dining place where Ashish had arranged dinner.Unfortunately he wasn't able to come as he was duty bound.We sat in the lawn where there was a fire for our warmth.The men had drinks and all the women had fresh lime juice. Next was some soup-corn soup -freshly prepared and piping hot.It was followed by dinner. Our tempo driver had dropped us and gone . We walked back to the hotel which was only a few hundred feet away. All of us were tired and fell asleep .
20/2/2013
 We had  breakfast in the hotel at about 8.a.m.Bread-butter, aloo parathas,dahi, pohe, tea/coffee/orange/pineapple juice.Left for Jaisalmer at 8.45 a.m.Driver Suresh stopped at Haveli restaurant which caters to foreigners . The ambiance was very good with a lawn and very good washrooms. The catch was in the prices.One cup of tea cost Rs 100. Suri drank one cup ,we relaxed and left We went ahead and visited Pokhran fort which had a museum with palkhis, weapons and clothes-very,very so-so.People had thrown visiting cards,photos,and money through slits in the wooden windows.It had all these things belonging to a local saint Baba Ramdev[not the yoga guru]Hence people have faith that if they worship there it will bring them good omen.From there we went further and found a new restaurant which had not yet been thrown open to the public . It was to open the next day. It was ideal for us as they allowed us to eat our own food and provided water, tea ,a nice table and chairs.It was to be named Hotel Chirag. We had Methi theplas,chutney,butter [got by Anuradha] gazak[got by Sushama],Mazaa.tea and biscuits .After this lovely lunch we proceeded to a shop selling silverware. I got some earrings for Meghana. That shop was an  exciting place for me,as i love silver jewellery. Next began our journey to Sam in Jaisalmer. The road in the initial stages was bad and time consuming.It is a straight road with green fields of spring onions and garlic on either side of the road in patches. The rest of the area is dry and arid.Sam is 40 kms. from Jaisalmer again a straight road with no vegetation,only sand, though we spotted animals like neel gai,deer, cattle ,sheep,goats, and peacocks.We reached Sam at 5.45 p.m.

                                                                                                                                                   

Hemant ,Kishor,driver Sureshwithback to camera and

Tent at Sam.                                          

setting sun at Sam.

We were pleasantly surprised to see a camel with colourful finery at the door and a mini band to welcome us. After the girls dressed in Rajasthani clothes applied sindoor, they expected bakshish and so we obliged. This is a gift of foreigners who are probably nudged into doing this.The tents are door-less but there are strings to tie.There is no question of locking ,so no keys to be carried around. Each tent had two beds ,a table fan,stool, chairs. Bathroom had a mirror,stool, bucket and tumbler.Arrangements were good seeing that we were in the middle of a desert.We went to watch the sun set nearby just outside our tents. Once it was 7.30 p.m. They served us snow white wafers [kurdaya] and pakode along with tea.Weather was good -not tooooo cold.Whilst we were having tea we were entertained by a group singing rajasthani songs and the two girls dancing .After all the gana-bajana drinks and dinner were served. Dinner was dal-bati-churma,ghee,gur, kejri ki sabji[desert beans]mixed vegetable and roti and rice.                                                                                                                                          

gana-bajana

inside a tent

After dinner we went to sit at the entrance where it was covered and less cold. We had a nice chat session and retired at about 11.30 p.m.
 21/2/2013

Jaisalmer fort

A visit to Jaisalmer fort was on the cards. 5000 people are staying in the fort as of today.The rest is open to the public. This fort has rooms for the raja,the rani, palanquins for different occassions weapons, clothes raj darbar all places filled with carvings and a ceiling with 80 kgs of gold wonderfully carved.All this opulence is quite overwhelming ..From the fort we descended and went to Khadi Gram udyog where they were basically selling woolen shawls. We did not buy anything and went to eat at the 'Desert Bite'.The food was very good-sev tomato subji ,mixed vegetable, dal fry roti, dal and chaas. A very satisfying meal.We returned to Royal Camps In the evening was the time to go to the sand dunes.We went in camel carts for which we had to wait. So we had a cup of tea at a chai stall.The sand dunes are a wonderful sight.there are dunes around and colourfully decorated camels moving about. There are performing artists trying to make some money and the setting sun in the background keeps changing the colours of the  foreground. Oh !It was amazing and I shall never forget that beautiful scene!We experienced winds as we were coming back and it was cold.Again we were received at the gate and given the same tea, pakodas and snow white wafers. It was disappointing . Again the same form of entertainment . Usually people stay for one night only and therefore these eatables and entertainment is okay, but as we stayed for three 3 nights it soon became boring and this time the singer was besura and betala. The sounds were ear piercing and un bearable.The dinner also was the same menu so we retired to sleep.

16th century Jain TEmple

gadhisar lake

22/3/13
 The day began with the same breakfast. We went to Luderwa where there is a 16th century old Jain  temple.There was an  idol of Mahavira in the central temple and 4 small temples with different murtis around. It was all in stone and wonderfully hand carved with jaalis in the stone.No photography  was allowed inside the temple.The next stop was Gadhisar lake.It was an important source of drinking water in the past.The lake is flanked by shrines.We saw some people feeding bread to the catfish which are in plenty in this lake. Our local boatman told us that in spite of protesting against this bread feeding , people do not listen and as a result 10-12 fish die every few days. Bread is not their ideal food but people want to see the fish and so for their own pleasure indulge in this act.We spotted a few birds in this lake. Next was Kuldhara  which is an abandoned village of the Paliwals. Kuldhara village is 18 km to the west of Jaisalmer. This is among the 84 villages inhabited by the prosperous, hardworking Paliwals.and  was once a prosperous village with 600 houses.Kuldhara is a calm place and the ruins found around are examples of advanced sculpture and architecture. Most of the houses are double storied and are not affected by thunder or heat. Paliwals deserted these houses owing to several reasons. Their one time richness can be seen in the wells and water tanks.From there we went to Kabha-full of broken houses and one house had a well in it.We then had lunch at Trio which served good food though it took very long for the food to be served.On the way to hotel Pithla we bought fruits. At this hotel we had ice-cream [Owner is Mr. Sawaal Singh]We sat in the lawns outside and had a photo session using timer. Everyone had to try hard as they were all attempting this for the first time.Amidst a lot of mistakes, laughter and fumbling,the photo was taken.

self timer photo

We sat in one room of the hotel and watched D.D. National where they were showing the demonstrations of the fighter pilots show called 'Iron Fist'. Suri's son in law Ashish Dhankar was a part of these demonstrations.It was a wonderful show and it gave us an idea of the hard work and hours of practice this must have taken.Hats off to these brave people!When we reached Royal Camps-hotel it was

you guessed it---- the same welcome, the same pakodas and snow white wafers and the same entertainment except that nature decided to show us its own dance.It was very cold , with wind blowing and in the middle of the night there was a storm with lightening, thunder and rain. This was a new experience as the tents threw shadows and flashes of lightning and the sounds on the tent roof were annoying. We were worried that there may be water leaking but nothing of the sort happened and we were safe. That was the time that there was an earthquake at Jaipur.
23/3/2013
 We got up to a cold, chilling windy day,no sun .After the usual tea, breakfast we left for Bikaner. The road was straight with patches of lush green vegetation.At 11.30 a.m. we stopped at Chirag our old visit still fresh in our minds.We had tea, biscuits as a gesture towards the new opening of the restaurant. Later we drove on and at 1p.m. Mr Suresh was hungry and wanted to have lunch. We had had chivda,fruits,sweets and so were not hungry.At 2.30 we stoppped at a dhaba and had lunch . We drove on and reached Bikaner -Hotel Sagar at 6p.m. We rested a bit and left for shopping. Suresh dropped us and off we went to the market at the station . Anuradha, Pinky,Sulabha bought bandhani dress materials. Sushama bought bed covers. . Shopping done we all headed for the hotel . During dinner there was a sarangi player accompanied by tabla -they were melodious and soothing.
24/3/2013

Rodents, the prasad and the kheer

FOG OUTSIDE HOTEL SAGAR

We had planned to go to Gajner wildlife sanctuary. It was cold and there was tremendous fog and visibility was very poor..Our plan had to be changed . at 10 a.m. we then drove to Karni Mata temple instead of going to Gajner.The temple has fascinating huge silver gates and marble carvings. There are rodents who scamper freely within the premises and if one touches your feet its considered auspicious. They are regarded sacred and devotees buy prasad to offer to them.We found the place to be smelly , sticky and very crowded. Our next halt was at Junagarh fort. We spent 2 hrs in the fort and an hour in the museum . I have so many photographs of the place- as it is beyond me to describe the richness  and variety of the work done by the artists of that time-.paintings, clothes, masonry ,the weapons, the dresses, the gold work, marble, silver it is endless . One needs to visit this place to observe first hand the greatness of these devoted workmen!We returned to hotel Sagar for lunch..Rested , exchanged photographs,had dinner and slept off

anup mahal

                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                          



                                                                                           



25/2/2013
Left for Jaipur after a hearty breakfast. Road was good for most part with some bad patches.We reached hotel C.M.Banipark at about 4p.m. We left our luggage and left for shopping.The market here is full of clothes, bags,dhurries, razaais,silver ,lac bangles .All the women were ecstatic!Rickshamen are a terror on the roads. They do not look to see if there are potholes or humans around and vice-versa for humans. It is a maddening way of walking or driving.Wewent tthe famous 'Rawat Kachoriwala'.where we ate pyaaz kachori, mava kachori,dahi wada,kulfi&/ice-cream .The quality of the food has gone down and it was disappointing.Suri kept givivng us gyaan and telling us jokes and generally being entertaining.It was fun!

At Jantar Mantar

26/3/2013 We left for Amber Fort. The original palace was built by Raja maan singh The beautiful palace complex is approached through ganesh pol. The palace has natural colours,using vegetable dyes,.There was a sheesh mahal,diwan-e aam, jal mandir ranis mahal The rani mahal was air conditioned because of water circulation and storage.While going to jaigad we saw jal mahal in the centre of maan sagar lake.It was used by the ranis as a summer resort.From there we went to Jantar-Mantar.It was built by King Sawai jaisingh and one of the five observatories built by him..There are instruments which can tell the local time,the signs of the zodiac and the position of the sun .It is quite complicated and very difficult to remember ..The next stop was City Palace.. It has large silver urns,weapons,wonderful wooden furniture . Here a lot of foreigners were seen taking an elephant ride and clicking pictures with the decorated elephants.That was the end of our sight seeing . We then went for lunch to MacDonald and the lunch was hosted by Hemant-Madhavi as it was their daughters wedding anniversary..The trip was coming to an end. Suris returned by train and we all left the next morning .
The most wonderful thing was that there were a lot of school children brought to these places to see and learn  the history of these places.
The Rajasthan that we saw and understood made us very proud to be a part of this great nation 'India'