We began Wednesday with breakfast at our hotel, the Ajit Bhawan. India Kosher Travel had provided us with a fry pan, spatula, and a bottle of oil and had sent messages to the chefs in each of our hotels regarding the manner in which to prepare our meals. As well, they had wisely suggested to the chefs that they provide us with a relatively private area for us to “eat and pray”.
And so when we arrived for breakfast, once again the hotel had set up a very private area for us on a covered patio area. We accompanied the chef to the gas range and they prepared wonderful eggs for us to get us going for the day.
Our destination this morning was the massive Mehrangarh Fort, built in 1459 and perched high on a 150 metre hill. We think of a “fort”as something from the cowboy movies of the Wild West but here in India a Fort is what we would consider a castle or a palace.
As we made our way up the hill toward the Fort, we stopped at Jaswant Thada, which is the cremation ground for the Royal Family of Marwar who ruled Jhodpur. There is a beautiful mausoleum or cenotaph on the grounds, built out of intricately carved sheets of highly polished marble.
Our guide for the day, explained the entire cremation process and its place in the Hindu tradition. It was quite interesting. Here is the view of the fort from the mausoleum grounds.
Seated outside the Mausoleum was a traditionally dressed tribesman, who was playing a sitar like instrument called a ravanhastha. It is made of a bamboo shaft, with half a coconut shell covered with goat skin at the base and 17 metal strings and is played with a bow that has oxtail hairs. It had a beautiful sound and I even tried to teach him to play “hava nagila”.
We continued to the Mehrangarh Fort and spent a couple of hours touring this amazing place. The building of the Fort began in 1459. by Rav Jodha, founder of Jodhpur but most of the construction dates to the Marwar king Jaswant Singh who ruled from 1638 to 1678. They have recently added an elevator to the Fort so that we would not have to climb to the main halls high atop the hill. There are seven gates to the fort and one of these is named Victory Gate, built by Maharajah Ajit Singh in 1806 to mark the defeat of the Mughals.
Within the fort grounds are several beautiful palaces including the Flower Palace and the Mirror Palace, which house priceless collections of royal cradles, miniatures, costumes and elephant carriages. From the top of the fort, we had an excellent view of the city of Jodhpur, known as the “Blue City”, called by this name for a number of reasons. First, the city had a large number of Brahmins, the priestly class at the top of the caste hierarchy, and so their homes were painted to set them apart from the lower castes. Second, it was thought that the indigo dye kept termites away. And third, it was believed that the blue colour kept homes cooler in the harsh summer heat.
When we left the fort, we made our way to the centre of town and the market area that surrounds the clock tower. Again we passed by many booths making deep fried sweets, spices, milk being transported in old fashioned milk jugs and we enjoyed the hustle bustle and splash of bright colours everywhere.
We spend a couple of afternoon hours relaxing by the hotel pool and and then went on a Jeep safari to the Bishnoi Villages nearby where we were introduced to local tribesmen and local crafts.
First we visited the local potter and Fran worked with him on the wheel making clay pots. His main product was round water jugs which people would carry on their heads to transport potable water to their home. The potter had been doing this for years as had his father and grandfather before him.
He was a very personable and happy person, spoke English well, and introduced us to his daughter in law and grandchildren, who all lived together in the family compound. His daughter in law had her face covered even though she was in her home, because as Muslims, only the daughter would uncover in her own home.
We now travelled to a local Bishnoi farmer who demonstrated the art of turban tying and the tradition of opium water tasting. The turban material unravelled measured 9 x 2 metres and he effortlessly, in a matter of seconds created a beautiful turban for himself. He then dressed Fran in a Sari and we took a photo as the typical Rajasthan couple.
The opium ceremony is part of their religion and even though opium is illegal in India, possession by the Bishnoi is overlooked because it is part of their religious rites.
The farmer took us out to see his water buffaloes and we noticed piles of cow dung patties stacked up around his field. The local women collect the cow dung, flatten them into patties which are used as fuel for heat and cooking, and they are also apparently effective at keeping insects out of your home. When it is mixed with clay, it can be used for flooring which we would see on Thursday when we arrived at our next overnight location.
It looked like this was a very primitive and basic lifestyle, until we noticed his smart phone and his nearby motorcycle.
Our third stop in the village was the home of the weaver. He had a loom and was weaving tightly knit cotton rugs which would last for a long time. The art had been in the family for centuries. When we met the weaver, we did not expect that he would converse with us in English but when he opened his mouth, out came an almost accent free pronunciation of the English language. When I asked him where his English was from, he said with a very straight face, “I spent a number of years at MIT in Boston, where I studied engineering. However, I preferred the basic lifestyle do I moved back here to pursue may career as a weaver”. After I said “wow”, he started laughing and said “I have never gone to school; I was pulling your leg and have learned all my English from tourists like you”.
He gave us a quick lesson on weaving and showed us some finished products and then ended with “we accept all major credit cards and ship by courier anywhere in the world”. It seemed so incongruous given the primitive village where we were standing, but I guess, as seasoned travelers, we should be used to this by now.
We returned to the hotel, and had our dinner; this time inside the restaurant, no chuppah for us tonight. The meal was again delicious....so far Chabad Delhi and India Kosher Travel have delivered.
Tomorrow, Thursday, we travel to near the village of Nimaj, to the tent resort of Chhatra Sagar. We were told that this will be an incredible experience. We will see.
All the best
Fran and David
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