Camels and Palaces in Bikaner

On the way to Bikaner, Raj Kumar, our driver made a slight detour to show us the Khurja Bird Sanctuary.  This small body of water lies along the path of cranes migrating from Russia so the state of Rajasthan has set it aside as a sanctuary.

Once in Bikaner, our first stop was a tour of Junagarh Fort.  While all of the forts we have seen bear a definite stamp of Rajasthani style, each one is different from all the others.  Some are better preserved than others and many are being repaired and restored.  In a country where space is at a premium, I'm happy to see that there is still value in preserving the ancient sites.

After lunch, we went out to the Camel Research Center for a look around.  Our guide told us quite a lot about camels, most of which I have sadly forgotten.  Two things stand out, though.  There are four different kinds of Dromedary (one-humped) camels, and the males masturbate by swishing their tails over their testicles.

A mother and baby.  All of the camels in this pen are either breeding females or their offspring.  Sadly for us, it was feeding time so we had a great view of lots of camel behinds and not very many camel faces.

The same baby, nursing from its mom.

This area is reserved for the adult males currently being used for breeding.

And for the brave tourist, camel rides were available.  However, riding up and down in a corral could hardly compare with our ride out into the desert to watch the sunset so we passed on this.

Camels have a really elegant way of carrying themselves and moving.  I don't think I'd ever get tired of just watching them amble through the busy streets, aloof to all the clutter and clang of traffic going on in a world that is so obviously beneath their dignity.

Next stops:  Mandawa and Navalgar via the Kurani Mata Rat Temple.

Puja in Kalyan

The 60th birthday is a big milestone in Maharashtra, and perhaps in other parts of India, as well.  On the 27th there will be a big party to celebrate my brother-in-law's 60th birthday and it will be packed with over 100 family members and old friends.  Usually, we travel all over India to get to see everyone, but this time they will all be coming here to Kalyan.

Today, though, there was a more private ceremony -- or puja.  In the morning, we all fasted, which in India means only eating certain foods and not going without food entirely.  So breakfast was tapioca.  With the husband of my brother-in-law's wife's sister officiating, brother-in-law Chhottu went through an old ritual of chants and responses that lasted about two hours.  Afterward, we all gathered for the final part of the puja, clapping and chanting the ancient words.

Although it's a fairly private affair, pictures were allowed.

 

I would add captions, but honestly don't know what to write.  So you will have to enjoy the images in complete ignorance, which is the way I enjoyed the ceremony.

The Golden City -- Jaisalmer

The Golden Jaisalmer Fort stretches along the crest of a hill above the city.  This was the view from the rooftop restaurant at our hotel.

We reached Jaisalmer late in the afternoon, unpacked a few things, and then wandered up to the rooftop restaurant to have dinner. 

The entertainment at the Royale Jaisalmer Hotel.  The man on the left is playing two pairs of flat, hardwood blocks, from which he draws rhythms reminiscent of Spanish castanets.  The instrument in the center is a tabla, and on the right is a harmonium.  Each end of the table plays different tones, so it's really two drums in one and at time seems to actually sing, the tone is so rich and deep.  The harmonium is played by squeezing a bellows attached to the back while fingering the melody line on a keyboard.  The harmonium tone reminds me of an organ set to replicate an oboe sound.

Street view from the rooftop restaurant at the Royale Jaisalmer.

Before we left, I looked up the web sites for all of the places we would be staying.  Nearly all of them advertised "internet access" of one type or another, but it turns out that the term is rather loosely defined and broadly interpreted.  For example, the "internet cafe" at the Kuchaman Haveli consisted of a single computer in the lobby.  At the Jaipur Greens, we payed for 24 hours of wi-fi, only to have it quit working just as we settled down to work.  And, at the Royale Jaisalmer, "internet access" meant going to the house next door where a guy in his undershirt and lungi said that sure, he had a computer where we could buy a little time.  The only truly useful and fast internet access was at the Aura de Asia Hotel in Delhi, where we both began and ended our tour.

But, back to Jaisalmer.

Jaisalmer was falling into ruin until the early 1970's when Indira Gandhi went there for a visit.  On touring the area, she decided that the region should be developed.  She had dams and reservoirs built to provide water and brought in electricity for the entire city.  As a result, the sights of Jaisalmer are now available to the average tourist.  So, being average tourists, we wandered around Jaisalmer for several hours.

A view across the city from Jaisalmer Fort.  You can see the new windmills across the horizon.  There are hundreds of these windmills helping to provide power to the area.

The three pictures directly above:  a large Jain temple.  The Jain temples are quite different from Hindu temples, although Jainism was originally an offshoot of Hinduism.

Top:  fabrics for sale; bottom:  puppets for sale.

Above three images:  old Jaisalmer architectural details.

A staircase set into the side of a building.

Boat rides were available on one of the man-made lakes of Jaisalmer.

In the morning, the rising sun shone through the curtains of the rooftop restaurant, turning it into diaphanous stained glass.

As soon as we finished our breakfast on our second morning in Jaisalmer, we piled everything into the car for the ride to Bikaner.

Camels in the Desert

The Thar Desert stretches over most of Rajasthan, and into parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.  It's the second-largest desert in Asia; only the Sahara is larger.  Much of what we saw was scrub desert, with low shrubs and sparse grasses struggling to survive with a minimum of water.  But, if you're willing to give it a try, you can get out onto the dunes by camel.  We were willing, so one afternoon found us heading out to the camel camp.

Much to my embarassment (having spent a number of years riding some very tall horses), I discovered that camel riding falls into the same category for me as river rafting -- so happy to have done it once, but I have no desire to do it again.

The first stage of bringing the camel down to "human level".

The most difficult parts of the camel ride come at the beginning and the end.  The camel walla pulls the camel downward by pulling on a rein attached to a bone that goes through the nasal septum of the camel.  Naturally, the camel is a little annoyed by this process, so he bellows and roars a bit, but eventually falls first to his knees and then brings his rump down into the sand with a thump.  At that point, it's pretty easy to climb on.  Once you feel secure in the saddle, you are instructed to hang on and lean way, way back.  The camel then reverses the getting down process with a series of two jarring jerks upward, first bringing up his rump (which makes you want to fall forward) and then straightening his front legs (which throws you backward).  It's a bit nerve wracking.  Then, just as you feel quite secure in the saddle, you look down to discover that you are suddenly sitting about eight feet up off the ground.

Vish, getting instructions on how to survive the rest of the mounting process.

We both made it up to the standing position without mishap and started off into the desert.  The motion of an ambling camel (they really don't just "walk") is actually a lot like being on a horse -- kind of a rocking chair motion that is really kind of pleasant -- if only you weren't so high up and wishing you had stirrups.

About fifteen minutes into the ride, I could see that my camel was going to brush too close to a small tree.  Not wanting tree branches in my face, I reached up to push it aside, only to discover that it was a thorn tree -- a thorn tree that didn't want to let go of my hand.  Finally, though, it did and we continued on our way as I added my blood to the designs of the saddle cloth.

Eventually, we reached a lovely crest of dunes where the camel wallas tied our beasts to a tree where they could graze on some berries.  We also grazed on the succulent little red berries, spitting the pits into the surrounding sand, and waited for the sun to creep down toward the horizon.

One of the camel wallas with his camel, silhouetted by the setting sun.

 With the sky darkening, draining the color from an already pale landscape, we remounted and headed back to the camel camp.  As other camels drifted back to the camp, the plaza there was gradually ringed by about 20 or 25 fellow riders.  At one end, several musicians played and sang.  Dinner was served and we were treated to a show of Rajasthani music, dancing, and fire.

The musician on the left is playing a Jew's harp to the accompaniment of the tabla.

This very talented dancer is stroking his arms with burning torches.  He also ate and breathed fire.  It was pretty spectacular!

Well fed and well entertained, we opted to return to our hotel in Jaisalmer, although we could have stayed in the little cabins at the camp.  But we knew we had a very long drive ahead on the next day and there would be a generous breakfast available at the hotel to see us on our way.

Exploring Jodhpur

In an earlier post, I gave you a glimpse of Jodhpur, along with various other places.  But, like all of India, Jodhpur is a many-faceted place.  We were blessed during the trip with both wonderful guides and an amazingly skillful and fun driver.  The combination enabled us to see a wide variety of sites.  So now -- come explore Jodhpur. . . .

Earlier, I posted a shot of the interior of the Kuchaman Haveli where we stayed.  This part of India is famous for the havelis, which are sometimes called "breeze houses" because they are always designed to take full advantage of any passing breeze to help the occupants stay cool in the very hot Rajasthan summers.  The havelis were not originally hotels, but rather were private homes.  The Kuchaman Haveli was abandoned for many years until the current owner took it over, spent about eight years restoring it, and finally opened it as a four-star hotel a few years ago.

 

Street view from the rooftop restaurant of the Kuchaman Haveli.

This street vendor was happy to strike a pose for the foreign lady (me).

Bags of grains and pastas at a roadside stall.

The clock tower in Jodhpur.

Another view of the Jaswanth Thada temple -- there are a couple of images of this graceful Hindu temple in an earlier post.

Mehrangarh Fort is situated on a hilltop, high above Jodhpur.  It's visible from most of the city -- provided you can get rooftop access.

Mehrangar Fort.

Marble, gold, stained glass in Mehrangarh Fort.

A flute player at Mehrangarh Fort.

Oh! The joy of NOT being in motion!

At long last we have a few days without being in constant motion!  For two weeks we have either been in an airplane or bouncing and winding our way along the often crowded Indian roads.  I’d get out of the car and feel as though I was still in motion.  But now we are in Kalyan where we will stay for most of the next ten days, with only one side trip up to Nashik to visit with family there.  While husband Vish catches up with all of the family news, I hope to be able to spend a bit of time uploading more images and telling a few more stories.

Stay tuned. . . . .

There's More to Agra than the Taj Mahal

It's early morning in Agra and a cycle rickshaw enjoys a temporary break in the non-stop traffic.

A very small portion of the fairly immense Agra Fort.

Agra Fort.

And another part of Agra Fort.

Marble archways at Agra Fort.

Water is a valuable commodity in India.  The moghuls who designed Agra Fort built in many ways to collect rain water, as did the maharajas who built palaces in this desert land.  Water flowed down from the rooftops, was guided by channels like this one to collecting pools.  This pool was probably also scented with jasmine to perfume the plaza when the breezes blew.

View of the Taj Mahal and the Jamuna (or Yamuna) River from Agra Fort.