By the way, if you look at the picture above, you will note that the white trousers worn by Pehap, wide at the thighs, are called Johdpurs ( the name of the city we were visiting ), and commonly associated with polo, which was a very popular sport among the wealthy in India.
That seemed like a very strange question to us as we had already seen our fill of cows on this trip. They are literally everywhere, just casually roaming the streets, the highways, in the centre of the cities...it almost seems that the only places where there are no cows is in the field!
So we asked, “what cows”? He said that the hotel had its own herd of cows that are kept in a corral (now, that is a novel idea) and are used to provide all the milk in the hotel. They are milked daily, guaranteeing fresh milk for the guests, and the milk is then boiled to pasteurize the milk, which reduces the possibility of bacteria growth in the milk.
He led us 50 feet past where we had just finished breakfast to a bamboo fence and just beyond the fence were ten or twelve cows in a corral.
This was amazing. All the milk in a 5 star hotel is milked fresh from the hotel’s own herd of cows.
Kosher dietary laws require that all milk that we consume come from kosher animals and therefore we can drink milk from cows, goats, sheep and even buffalo. Camel’s milk would be forbidden. And therefore the rabbis instituted a concept of “chalav yisrael”, milk production under Jewish supervision to ensure that no milk from non kosher animals is in the mixture. In places with a large Orthodox Jewish population, chalav yisrael is regularly available. However, in many areas of the world, there is no chalav yisrael.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, of blessed memory, was one of the greatest interpreters of Jewish law in the 20th century. He ruled that in countries where there is a specific law mandating that the source of the milk in the carton be rigidly enforced, one can rely on the company’s assertion that the milk is cow’s milk, just as if there was a Jewish supervisor present. However, he said that this only applied where you had strict reliable government control. Such as the dairy board control in Canada and the USA. In many places in the world, government controls cannot be trusted (read one of our future posts on the enforcement of traffic offences in India!). In those countries, kashrut observing Jews would not be permitted to drink the local milk.
Just yesterday, we visited the early morning milk market in the heart of the city of Jaipur. It is an amazing sight to behold. Farmers from all over the region arrive in the market area with their jugs of fresh unpasteurized milk. Consumers as well as restaurant owners and grocery owners arrive with their empty milk jugs to purchase milk for the day. They pour milk into a small Dixie cup or into the palm of your hand so that you can taste the milk and determine if it is to your liking. Whatever milk is not sold in the morning is made into cheese, so theoretically every day’s batch of milk is fresh.
We asked our guide whether this is all cow’s milk? He said “not necessarily” and “it could be a mixture and could include camel’s milk”. But then he added “if you want to only drink cow’s milk, just ask the farmer “. So much for government control! I guess Rav Moshe Feinstein was correct, in a place like India, a kashrut observant person would not be permitted to drink the local milk.
We came to India having done our research on the milk situation and therefore we brought with a number of small cartons of UHT Long Life shelf stable milk from Canada so that we could have milk with our coffee. It appears to be the only option and our visit to the cow shed with Pehap and our visit to the milk market has confirmed this for us.
We left on our drive, travelling north toward the small town of Nimaj. On the way, we came to a sectioned off area on the side of the road with many cows. Vikram explained to us that this was a sanctuary for cows and regularly drivers on the highway pull over and feed the cows. On the soft shoulder sat a woman who was selling bunches of freshly cut feed. We bought a couple of bunches for about $1 and fed the cows.
About 2 hours up the road we turned off to a dirt road and saw a sign indicating our destination: Chhatra Sagar Nimaj 4 kms. We were literally in the middle of nowhere. There were fields all around growing various crops (we would learn soon that most of the crops were spices, as India is the spice capital of the world) and the occasional house and then drove past a traditional village that seemed to be functioning as it has done for centuries.
A kilometre further ahead and we approached a clearing and there were a number of people waiting for us. After greetings of Namaste and the traditional greeting of palms joined together with the thumbs touching the heart and a slight bowing of the head, they unloaded our van and we climbed the steps to the resort of Chhatra Sagar.
In front of us were two huge tent like areas, one the lounge and one the dining room. Beyond to one side were 11 large white tents. The ground appeared paved from what seemed to be a clay mixture and the borders of the walkway and surrounding each tree or post was what looked like a hand painted border print. Everything looked neat, organized, pristine and yet rustic and natural.
In front of the row of tents was a large man made lake which was built in the 1890s to capture the monsoon rains and use them to irrigate the entire farm area. A couple of years ago during a particularly difficult drought period, the lake totally dried up.
The hotel/camp is only open for six months a year. The family who own the camp live in the house next door separated by a bamboo fence. They are actively involved in the operation of the camp, serving as the administration, the chefs, waiters, concierge and nature guides. The land has been owned by them for hundreds of years and 17 years ago they decided to open the resort.
It takes them a month or so to erect the tents each year and one week to dismantle them. During the very hot and wet monsoon season, living in such a tent would not be comfortable and so they are open only from October till March, the best time to visit Rajasthan. When I asked them what they do the rest of the year, one of the family said, “we work practically 24 hours a day for the six months that we are open, so the rest of the year we rest”.
Harsh, one of the owners, also pointed out to us that the floor of the entire camp was a combination of dried cow dung and limestone and had to be relaid every year.
We were shown our tent and were totally amazed. In the centre of the large room was a double bed, beautifully adorned with a luxurious indigo blue and white bedcover. There was electricity in the tent and the entire front of the tent had roll up flaps in front of screened tent material so you could enjoy the natural lake setting from the inside of your tent. Behind the bedroom was a fully equipped bathroom area with a marble sink, modern toilet and slate walled shower enclosure.
In front of each tent, there is a large patio area right on the edge of the lake with comfortable outdoor lounge furniture. It is serene, quiet, relaxing and the only sounds you hear are the sounds of the many birds flying by.
The main lounge is the only area where there is functioning wifi and like everything else in this resort, it is included in the price. The nature hikes, explained below, the food (the regular non kosher fare), the drinks, service, room service, snacks etc, are all included and there is a policy of no tipping. The kitchen crew including the two cousins, Harsh and Nandi, who run the place were very eager to understand the mechanics of kosher as they really try to get things right for the customer.
Our lunches and dinners had arrived by courier from Chabad. We ate lunch and then were told that at 4:30 we were invited to join a number of other guests on a bird watching nature hike. During lunch there was a table nearby with 6 other travelers and toward the end of the meal, one of the women at the table got up and walked over to our table and in a recognizable South African accent said “well, I hope you do not consider me rude, but how did you manage to get kosher food in this far away place”. We explained how we had worked with Chabad and India Kosher Travel and she was so eager to get the information as one of her children was observant and she said, “I really have to pass this info on to my kids”!
We went back to our patio in front of the tent and read and relaxed until the time for our hike.
There were about 10 other guests who joined on this hike together with Harsh. Each of us was given high powered binoculars and Harsh had a tripod and scope with him. Every couple of minutes, Harsh would say “look at that” and would point out some tiny colourful bird high up in a tree totally invisible to the naked eye. But Harsh would see it and would proceed, with the assistance of his assistant, set up the scope to show us what to look for. How he saw or heard all these species was totally amazing. The assistant would then open up the bird encyclopedia that he was carrying to show us the close up and the technical name of the bird.
Never thought I would enjoy bird watching but this was a wonderful experience. Along the 2 to 3 kilometre hike, we also saw many antelope, peacocks and wild boars. At the end of the hike, at just about the time of sunset, we reached the other side of the lake and waiting for us were cold drinks and cocktails and two jeeps, so that we would not have to walk all the way back.
We returned to eat our dinner and then headed back in the almost total silence of the sounds of nature to a wonderfully pleasant night’s sleep. When we arrived in our tent, we noted with pleasure in the coolness of the night, that the staff had turned on the heaters so we would be comfortable.
After more than a week in loud, raucous and busy India, Chhatra Sagar was the perfect respite from the noise and chaos that surrounded us since our arrival.
We awoke Friday morning to the most magnificent sunrise right across the lake in front of our tent. When you experience something like this, you can say Modeh Ani (the prayer upon arising after sleep) with the greatest concentration and appreciation of God’s great universe.
After we had packed and eaten breakfast with eggs prepared together with the staff in our travelling fry pan, we were ready to be on our way, when Nandi asked us whether we would want to join the morning tour to the local farming area and to the village to see how people farm and live in the same manner as they had for hundreds of years.
We decided to stay the morning after figuring out that leaving by about 1 PM would allow us to arrive in Pushkar with a couple of hours to spare before the beginning of Shabbat.
The farming tour was wonderful as Nandi explained that most of these farms belonged to his family for many generations and were now owned and operated by a number of other local families. The main crops that they grow are spices and we saw fields of cumin, fennel, fenugreek and wheat. Nandi was the perfect guide blending humour and knowledge in his easy manner of delivery. You could actually smell the cumin growing in the picture below.
We then hopped into the waiting jeeps and drove into the village where we visited a local shepherd, a school, a clothes washing area, a carpenter and a silversmith. They all welcomed us into their homes and shops and it was a real education. What set Nandi apart from all the other guides we had up to this point, was that at no time did he herd us into a “local craft shop” where the craftsman suddenly became a salesman for his wares at inflated prices.
This extremely short 24 hour visit and stay in Chaatra Sagar was such a treat. As we left, we both felt that had we known, we would have scheduled a longer stay. But as they say “hindsight is 20 - 20!”.
It seems difficult in India to get away from it all, but perhaps Chhatra Sagar is the nearest one can get. Relaxing in front of your tent overlooking the lake with just the sound of the birds, watching the animals and bird life on on the other shore was truly delightful.
Before leaving, I went into the kitchen with Nandi to collect our remaining refrigerated items and we passed by a beautiful newly constructed covered outdoor patio. Nandi pointed out that they had built this patio for their family, but it had never been used as dangerous bees had constructed a huge nest in the ceiling and according to Hindu tradition, one cannot kill any of God’s creations, even bees who prevent you from using parts of your own home. Amazing!
We hopped in the SUV and began our 2 hour drive to our stop for Shabbat in Pushkar, the location of the only Chabad House in Rajasthan.
Our next post will cover this Indian Holy City of Pushkar where Chabad has created a spiritual and material oasis for the Jewish traveler.
All the best
Fran and David
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