Rang hai rang hai....

As far as my memory goes I have always wanted to travel alone...to be on the other side of the looking glass. In that wonderland, without any baggage without any itinerary, stopping at places I like, without getting stuck, moving without any motive, moving for the sake of moving.

After two years of office, 10 to 6 grind I knew if I did it for a day longer I will give up the ghost. Small trips were not doing me any good anymore; I needed a complete get away.

I put in my papers and pack bags to the state of vibrant colors, Rajastan.

15th Feb 2010. Jodhpur

Day 1

As a smart traveler I had already booked a hotel as I was arriving late in the evening. I had heard a lot about tourist-pickers in Jodhpur and how they have commission in anything they suggest you to stay or shop.

I step on the crowed station of Jodhpur at 8.30pm with my guardian antennas on, determined not to be fooled in my own country. I try my best not to appear touristy, but it doesn't work! Maybe it’s my out-sized tourist bag or my curious glare.

Trying to act all local I refuse the first auto that is offered to me for 50Rs (I don't know the regular price to my hotel, but I know they are overcharging), (mis)guided by my guardian antennas. I walk out of the station in hope to outwit the auto wallahas trying to outwit me! On the main road nobody is ready to take me to my guest house; it’s getting late and I am desperate for a hot shower and some food. After at least 10 unsuccessful attempts a sulky auto guy agrees. “50 rupe lagega, is too crowded in there”, he says. I utter an “ok” in relief. Drop your skepticism while traveling- lesson no.1.

The craft and speed with which the auto wallah wheels in that mad labyrinth bazaar, is incredible! Jodhpur at first sight is a crowded city, with narrow lanes and open drains. And there is that infamous smell.

“The Blue House” my guest house is located in the midst of old city, near the clock tower. It is run by a Jain joint family, that lives on the ground floor.

Fort view from Blue House

It isn't the ideal location I was hoping for. Children in the house bawl all day long and it has too much of a family atmosphere for my taste. But after a welcome masala chai and a hearty dinner of homemade moong-dal-kichdi I knew I can take it for 2 days. As most of the time I will be out sightseeing.

Day 2

I get up early. I always manage to do that while travelling. Maybe it’s the amount of oxygen present in the air or it’s my over excited blood cells. One good deed leads to another and I climb three floors to do yoga on the roof top! I tend to do that, squeeze all good things possible in one day like there is no tomorrow.

Walking will be my transport I had decided, for I need to lose 2 years of office lethargy.

Clock tower

Mehrangarh fort is 25mins hike from the blue house en route clock tower. I ask for directions like a moron “Bhaiyaa Clock Tower kidhar hai?” (hindi is my mother tongue) to my embarrassment an old guy looks stern and asks if I mean “Ghanta Ghar (hindi translation for clock tower)!” Yes! That’s what I mean! Use maximum local words you know, wherever possible- lesson no.2

Meharangarh Fort

Entry fee- Indian/foreigner Rs50/250. Camera fee- Rs100. Audio Guide-Rs150.

Colossal fort built on the rocky hill gives an impression as if it has sprouted out of the hill naturally. The balance of symmetry and asymmetry on a huge rocky hill is remarkable.

View from the fort

I had forgotten to charge my camera and it dies half way to the tour. In a way it is good because when I am clicking I forget to see or listen. I click like an obsessed novice photographer.

Audio guide is highly recommended for the fort. It’s informative, interesting and elaborate. The fort is enormous and needs good 3 hours at least to see. There is a lot of uphill walk so keep your glucose and peanuts close!

Phool Mehal

Phool Mehal is a room in the fort dedicated to the art of pleasure. It seems all the exotic beauty of India is squeezed into this room. I am also glad to see intact gold and silver carvings and museum full of precious things, one kingdom not looted by invaders for once.

Hand prints of the widows of Raja Maan Singh on the gate, before they immersed themselves in the funeral pyre. In 1843 last Sati of Jodhpur took place.

Open Palki

Palaki Khana (Palanquin Museum) Royal women travelled in covered or veiled palanquins (extension of Purdah system) while men travelled in the open ones.

This basket like cane palanquin is of the present Maharaja’s grandmother.

The story goes like...She was the first queen to go to London, and English tabloid were desperate to get her picture. But she got around the city in her cane palanquin to be transported in veiled Rolls-Royce. On the 2nd last day of her visit they got a glimpse of her feet, they rushed to print. Jodhpur party in London was outraged and bought every print before they made their way to India! We Indians are privacy-freaks! ;)

jaalis and zharokhas

The fort is full of jaalis and zharokhas. Designed in such a way for women of the fort that they can see outside but no one can see inside. Another extension of purdah system.

I have always been bad with directions. Walking down to the blue house for lunch I ask for directions at almost every corner finally mapping it out in my mind. But the map is in mind is like a map on the sea shore, fading with every wave.....

The Blue House has a beautiful roof top restaurant and a pleasant staff. Bad hygiene could be a reason to complain though.

While waiting for my roti and palak paneer, I make friends with the 13 years old cook-boy from Nepal. He gets talking to me and tells me how much he misses his family back home. He is wearing a torn, mucky t-shirt and looks at me for help. I feel guilty for not giving him money. Best I can do is not complain about the soil-y palak panner he made. I gulped my lunch quietly without chewing.

Jodhpur is a city with character. You don’t need to have you guardian antennas on all the time warning you from friendly smiles. Autos don’t quote you ten times more than the regular, side shops don’t abduct you to sell their things, boys don’t eve-tease and there are no beggars. :-D

I go to Jaswant Thada in the evening. 10mins walk from the Maeharangarh fort; ideally you should cover both at once. I take an auto from the clock tower (Rs50) as I didn’t want to miss sunlight for some good clicks.

Jaswant Thada

Entry tickets Indian/foreigner Rs15/30. Camera Rs25.

I click the first snap and it blinks ‘memory-full’. Shit! Not again. I had forgotten the memory card at hotel room. Lo kar lo baat!

My camera has an internal memory exactly enough to click 6 picturs. I am so upset with myself, that I almost cry to the lamentable Rajastani tune played by a local artist the courtyard of Thada.

There are Rajastani folk music artists sitting at strategical places in the monuments to echo the whole place with sad, heartrending tunes. I love Rajastani folk music, but at this time my camera situation makes me teary.

Jaswant Tahada was built in memory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh. It has beautiful milky white marble cenotaphs overlooking the whole city. It is also known as the Taj Mehal of Rajastan.

Walking down back to the city I meet Vicky the Omelet-Shop guy, very chirpy and a little too friendly. He is happy and surprised to know that I am not a foreigner. Still he does’t stop talking in English for he needs practice for his guide-test! I have a good chat, 2 boiled eggs, 1 masala omelet, 3 toasts and 2 chai for Rs40.

His menu card says, “Not recommended by Lonely Planet, but recommended by everyone else!” He is so furious with Lonely Planet which passed him as an imitator to the original Omelet Shop, that he collects testimonials from all tourists vouching for his omelets and other egg preparations!

There are many ATMs near the Clock Tower, I withdraw some cash and head back to the hotel.

Like a good traveler I wash my clothes and prepare myself for one more day in Jodhpur.

Incidentally I call up Jaisalmer hotels to book in advance and they tell me there is Desert-festival going on due to which all hotels are full. I surf the internet about the festival dates and it is to end on the 18^th, the day I was planning to go.

I decide to prepone my visit to Jaisalmer by a day. And request the owner of the blue house to help me find a room in Jaisalmer and book bus tickets. He makes a few calls and in the next 5mins I have a room, a bus ticket and pick-up in Jaisalmer. Hobo-kettle happy me!

The only concern remaining is my drying clothes.

I decide to come back to Jodhpur after Jaisalmer.

Driving through history in a little green car...

As a kid I loved all festivals but Diwali was my favorite. Not because I cared for Ram home-coming after 14 years of banishment, but because I loved going to my dadi’s where all my cousins would also come. It was the best time of the year, warm enough to sleep on the roof and wintery enough to huddle up and make mehndi with colorful candle wax.

Diwali still holds a special place in my heart. Maybe more so because it’s a 4 day touring opportunity! I tend to classify all festivals into opportunities for short or long travels. And Diwali falls in the best traveling season of the year, it continues to remain my favorite.

Five long years I have been in Pune and the World Heritage sites just 4 hours away hadn’t happened yet. It was Ellora and Ajanta caves calling.

Pune-Aurangabad State Highway 27. (220km), 4 lane good road. Though many village bazaars on the highway caused irksome jams.

While Akhil was driving I was catching the scenery outside and browsing through the pages of lonely planet. For hotels in our budget, things to-do and places we could explore in and around Aurangabad.

Foodie as I am, I am always on a look out for special food served in the city. I usually count my stay not by number of nights we spend in a city but by the number of meals we can have during our stay! After my research, “Hotel Panchvati to stay and Tandoor Restaurant to eat” I announced!

We reached Aurangabad around 7pm. Checked in Hotel Panchvati located near the bus stand, not very difficult to find. We checked in room a double room (650Rs) and walked out for dinner.

As we stepped in the streets of Aurangabad we noticed it was surprisingly dim-lit for a night before Diwali. It was a pleasant relief from the din of Pune. And we were happy to breathe in the smoke free air. The kind which is rare to find in Pune, Diwali or no Diwali.

Fifteen minutes walk from Panchvati, on our right was located Tandoor. Highly appreciated by LP, and as we saw a couple of more foreigners inside(We knew the book sells.). Sadly it turned out to be an over-hyped and overpriced place serving over-greasy, basely ordinary food. :( There is nothing more disappointing than bad-food in a new city. Nothing!

Walking back to hotel we planned an early morning trip to Ajanta caves. Oblivious of the dreadful night to come, we bundled in our comfortable looking bed. Two in the night, tossing and turning in the bed I asked Akhil to switch-on the fan, thinking it will help fly mosquitoes away! How could I have known there were no mosquitoes but bed-mites! Distraught, we walked the stairs down to the reception and woke the sleeping staff. We got our room changed and itched back to sleep.

We checked-out of the hotel second thing in the morning after some pleasantries (pun intended) with the manager who refused to even hear us out, let alone apologize! Arrrgh. Too late for Ajanta, we stuffed our bags in the car and without wasting further time drove to Ellora.

Aurangabad-Ellora NH211, 30km, nice road. We reached Ellora caves around 11.00am.

Treasure chiseled out of solid rocks! The 34 caves of Ellora built from 500 to 750 AD belong to people of three different faiths Buddhists, Hindus and Jainism. Soaked in the silence of the caves, surrounded with lush greenery, I could feel the energy of Buddhist chants once echoed there. The caves had a calming effecting, one could simply sit there and meditation would just happen. Without trying!

                         Kailash Temple

Buddha and Buddhu

Cave No.10

Buddha

Elephants at the base: Symbol of strength

You need at least 5-6 hours to absorb the grandeur of those wondrously carved rocks. Come prepared. Get lunch (restaurant at the caves serves inedible food), and try not to visit the toilets there! Painful laxity on the part of ASI in a world heritage site, where tourists come from all over the world.

Driving back to Aurangabad we detoured 1km on our left to a quaint Muslim pilgrimage village, Khuldabad. Aurangzeb, the last of Mugal greats rests in peace here, in the quiet of this cheerful place.

His 6X4 feet white marble grave is a stark contrast to the tombs of other Mugal greats.

We still had to find a hotel for the night. I called up a local acquaintance and “may God bless him” for he suggested Windsor Castle. We booked ourselves a plush room (2500rs) for once. A cozy air-conditioned with mod-cons room is all we needed. Aaah!

Starving as we were we went food hunting again, in hope to nail it down this time. It was Diwali night and there were few shops open and few disorderly lights here and there. Surprisingly noncommercial, vendors simply chose to celebrate than sell. An ordinary Mumbai night is usually more bright and advertised than that festive night in Aurangabad. Maybe it’s Ellora’s effect!

After dinner we snuggled into the warmth of our beds without any plan set for the next day. We kept it open for either returning back to Pune or hitting Ajanta. Our direction depended on how well and hassle free we sleep that night.

Got up at 9.15 all set for the breakfast buffet. Dancing down the stairs thinking what all I am going to eat, I see no big buffet bowls and not a single soul eating! To my horror I was informed by the pitiless waiter, “Ma’am buffet is served only till 9am”. What?? Akhil came after me and guessed from my flustered expression, “Khatam ho gaya?!” We were served some left-over food just enough to satisfy our stomachs not our souls.

What next? We again planned not to plan and ended up spending some lazy hours lolling around in the hotel. Still undecided on Ajanta we went to see Daulatabad fort, 15km from Aurangabad, en route to Ellora.

Daulatabad fort

Though LP raves about the magnificence of the fort, I was not too impressed. Or maybe what could impress one who has seen Ellora? Ajanta was the answer! I can’t recollect when or who decided but we were set for 2 more days of historical fun.

Aurangabad-Ajanta 100km. 2 lane, rainswept road. Instead of going back to Aurangabad we took a right from Khuldabad to Phulambari and joined SH8 from there.

We reached Ajanta around 4.00pm. And had some sun light left to check-out a few hotels and ensure they are bed-mite-free. First we went to MTDC Ajanta Tourist Complex, a very srakari feel to the place, huge, spacious and laid back exactly the kind of place we wanted. But some places don’t entertain just-drop-ins, they need reservations!

Hotel Padamapani Park was in our destiny. Fortunate destiny, I would say. Neat rooms in the back corridor, overlooking the long stretches of farms lands.

View from the back corridor room of Padmapani

If Ellora was a treasure chiseled out of solid rocks, its twin sister Ajanta was poetry painted in the caves. Ajanta caves contain paintings and sculpture dating from the second century BC, considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art and universal pictorial art.

Flash photography is banned inside the caves due to its adverse effect on natural dye used in the paintings. Video-camera is permitted for Rs25. Get your torch to see minute details. Authorised guides are available for Rs600(app. 2 hrs).

Secluded caves of Ajanta

A closer look

Padmapani

White elephant

Sleeping Buddha

I decided, if I have a girl child(IF), I am going to name her Ajanta!! :D

My tribute to the greatest artists of their time.

Stately 2011 Celebrations!

New Years Eve is always such a problem to deal with! Same loud parties, gobs of booze, earsplitting fire-crackers, speeding automobiles, cops everywhere and all other forms of bizarre nuisance! And if all that was not enough, a splitting hangover to welcome the New Year!

I wanted to skip all that for once and welcome the New Year in a more peaceful way. I always dreamt a new year start in my most comfortable pajamas, with my closest friends, at a place where our words aren't drowned in booming Bollywood numbers, and wish them a very happy New Year!

I decided to just do that.

My friend Meenu is an honest-to-goodness blue blooded princess. So we decided to give her big forts a little call.

Meenu’s nana UDAYSINHRAO NARSOJIRAO SHINDE was the ruler of Torgal Jagir in Karnataka (http://uqconnect.net/~zzhsoszy/ips/t/torgal.html) and left some magnificent forts, farms and temples for us to celebrate a Stately New Year!

We four friends started from Pune on 31^st December morning at 6.30am.

Pune-Kolhapur NH4 (6.30am), 4 lane divided highway.

There are many good breakfast places on the highway, but don’t fall for their promise of authentic kolahpuri meals! Hold your hunger till you reach Kolhapur, tambda rassa and sukha mutton at Opel will satisfy your petu-chuhas like never before!

Google map for your direction

Kolhapur-Nipani-Gokak-Torgal NH4, SH134 – NH4 till Sankeshwar, turned left on SH134, towards Gokak. Gokak -Yergatti-Katkol-Torgal (bad ruffled road).

We reached Toral at 2.30pm.

There were Meenu's people (praja) gathered to welcome us with docile smiles, they touched Meenu’s feet as a gesture of respect and Meenu blessed them for a happy life :-) It was our turn to bless them now! Meenu’s had already warned us about the ritual and suggested us not to panic at the standpat ritual. When they touched my feet I tried to touch their's back to everyone's embarrassment. However Akhil and Samir had fun acting all royal!

To my pleasant surprise the farm wasn’t a bric-a-brac-y-palace with jail-like-concrete-walls and a massive barred iron gate, instead it was a cozy little dwelling parked on the banks of a small brook.

Farm

We planned a barbeque-night and masquerading all royal asked our helping friends to arrange for it!

Here you go ma'am!

Barbecuing chicken

Perfect 01.01.11 morning

Picnic-y afetrnoon

Fishing

Monkey on an Imli tree

Next day after having a lovely breakfast of upma prepared by Diwanbi and we went to see the Torgal Fort.

A run-down, parched fortress which was once surrounded by a moat and dense green forest, stood overlooking a stream of water.

Family temple behind the fort 'Bhoothnath' was built by Meenu's forefathers (she wasn't sure of the exact year). Restoration work by the State Govt. was on when we visited.

Bhootnath temple

Architecture and some sculptures of Bhoothnath temple were strikingly similar to Khajuraho temples.

A girl helping another girl to remove the thorn stuck in her foot. Same statue in Khajuraho too!

Next we went to a Veerbhadreshwar's(god to the local lingayat) temple, a live temple build much later by Meenu's family.

Godachi Temple

A special pooja is done for the royal family members every time they visit the temple. We too were graced by the special pooja and chants were read out to bless us And what more? We were garlanded!

Devotees come all round the year to the temple, but last week of December is when the yearly ‘jatra’ is celebrated, people flock in thousands to pay their respect to lord-Veerbhadreshwar. Lac diyas around the temple are lit every day during the Jatra.

Prasad time

Meenu's nana

We were offered prasad(lunch) at the temple but we politely refused though our stomachs were growling from hunger...how could we miss Diwanbi's Chicken Pulav and Caramel Custard for temple's sambhar-rice :P

Diwanbi with he daughter

A lovely start to 2011. Cheers to new-places, new-people, new-cuisines! Cheers to new-life!