Rajasthan- A heritage walk!

Part 1- Jaipur

    All the images that I’d seen on the internet, faded from my memory, as vibrant, breath-taking, real ones captured my fancy. Truly, love at first sight! Rajasthan, literally translated into the land of the ‘Rajas’, royalty; undiluted, pure and ethereal, embraced us warmly, right since we stepped off the train, in the afternoon, at Jaipur Junction.
      On the first platform itself, we spied on the RTDC office and walked in, tired and exhausted. We were attended to immediately, by the official on duty, who asked us to book the next day’s local sight- seeing tour of Jaipur, conducted by RTDC. He even gently dissuaded us from opting for that evening’s half-day’s sight-seeing tour, by saying that we’d be covering many more places in our day trip. We gladly accepted his advice and were relieved to note that he had been right, after the sight-seeing the next day.
     At about 9.30 am, all of us (tourists) were escorted to a very comfortable deluxe bus by our young and enthusiastic tourist guide, Mr. Bhawani Singh. He was slender, agile, attentive and informative. He gave us all the information about Jaipur as we saw one spot after the other. He even paid special attention to two Japanese tourists who weren’t very proficient in English, by individually repeating the information slowly to them. 

Awesome Hawa Mahal

    We were disappointed that the bus couldn’t halt at the famed Hawa Mahal, as it is situated bang on the side of a narrow and bustling street, where buses aren’t allowed to halt!
   As the guide rattled off details about the monument, the intrepid tourists, including me, started clicking snaps feverishly, as the bus passed by the palace slowly, “for the tourists’ benefit,” as the guide cheekily proclaimed.

The Pristine Birla Mandir

Then we went to the Birla Mandir, a beautiful temple, intricately carved in white marble. Peaceful and beautiful, it has life-sized, statues of the divine consorts, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi; stained glass paintings of various other gods and goddesses and a high-vaulted and carved ceiling. The temple is surrounded by a lush-green garden and has a majestic fort, high on a hill, as an imposing and interesting back-drop.
    

The Majestic City Palace

City Palace was the next halt in our itinerary. Its imposing structure and meticulous symmetry literally took our breath away. Once home to Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of Jaipur, it now stands as a proud reminder of its royal heritage. It houses a museum and a small book-shop.
When we went to Jantar Mantar, the world-famous open-air observatory, founded in the early eighteenth century by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, we couldn’t help being awed by his devotion to science and technology and the perfection with which all the astronomical instruments, till date, show the latitudes, longitudes, time, eclipses and the sun signs of people. Of course, the guide was at his lucid best, when he painstakingly demonstrated how time can be exactly ascertained on the sundial there.

Sundial at Jantar Mantar- Jaipur

    When he asked us to check our watches, we were speechless. The exact time was reflected on the sundial. The shadow created by the sun helps in reading the time on the sundial. It was 10.15 a.m. then. Another large sundial stands proudly nearby. It is the world’s largest one. Eerily, I felt as if I had been transported back, to that venerable ruler’s era, in a time machine. I had goose-bumps!We were to halt at Nahargarh fort for lunch. The serpentine road, winding uphill, through dense trees and beautiful scenery all around, lulled our senses, till we almost started dozing. After a short and steep climb, we reached the restaurant that has been set up in a part of that fort, obviously to give a slice of history along with a delicious “thali” (Ready lunch-plate) for lunch, to the by-now famished tourists! The restaurant is furnished in wood and wrought iron furniture and sofa sets embellished with delicate Rajasthani paintings with matching huge tables to place the plates on!

Nahargarh Fort

The view of the city from that height was impressive and panoramic. The fort has exquisite Rajasthani paintings of warriors mounted on elephants and bouquets of dainty flowers. I was almost expecting some warrior or damsel from the ancient ages to come face-to-face with us and surprise us! A cannon at its entrance invited all of us to click ourselves beside it. Had it been in its true form, spitting balls of fire, we’d have run miles from it, I thought, amused!
Near the fort is a deep well-like structure with an amphitheatre like ambience. Our guide informed us that this was where the famous song, “You Santro….” from the hit film, ‘Rang De Basanti’ had been shot, with Aamir Khan, dangling perilously from the edge.
       After trekking back to our bus, I joked with the guide and told him that he had made us hungry by asking us to trudge uphill to the restaurant and then helped us in digesting our lunch by the return trek! The driver of the bus and the guide shared a hearty laugh.

The massive cannon at Jaigarh Fort

      At our next halt, Jaigarh Fort, we saw the largest cannon in the world, proudly standing on a hillock. It weighs 80 tonnes and has been constructed in-situ, that is, just where it stands. It was capable of firing a huge round of ammunition at one go. Phew! Just thinking about its capability made us perspire. An elderly man from our group gave us an interesting insight, just then. He hastened to us and told us to click a snap of a pigeon that had just entered into the mouth of the cannon. He told us that that bird was a symbol of peace in that symbol of war! It wanted peace, not war! Just like us, I mused. But the bird gave us a slip, as it flew away, just as I was poised to take a shot. I ruefully looked at that gentleman and wondered why he hadn’t taken that shot instead of telling us about it. I thought that maybe that elusive bird had spoilt his shot too!

Aesthetic Marvel - Amer Fort

    Amer fort, a massive yellow-stoned edifice, majestically soaring into the skies, was our next invite. The massive, strong wooden doors with bronze knobs welcomed us into a very vast and spacious area where we saw the “Diwan-e-Aam” and the “Diwan-e- Khaas”, the halls which were used for public meetings and private consultations, respectively. The beautifully carved stone pillars and arches, with their perfect symmetry, were very pleasing to the eye. So were the “Zanana Mahals” which were 11 in number, and comprised of a set of halls, bedrooms, bathing spaces, etc. for each of the 11 wives of the King, Maharaja Amer.
     The garden was perfectly maintained and had an inbuilt system of small channels which instantly watered the whole garden from the central duct. We marveled at the ancient architects and wondered why we couldn’t take lessons from them! Such huge edifices had been meticulously crafted when there had been no modern equipments or even the now-ubiquitous and essential cement! Truly, all these fine structures were a labor of love and hard work. Passion coupled with pride had transformed sturdy rocks into memorials that had withstood centuries of time. Neither war not the ravages of weather had succeeded in diminishing their majesty!
   

Lord Krishna's temple at Kanaka Vrindavan- Jaipur

We rounded off our sight-seeing with a visit to the Lord Krishna’s beautiful temple in Kanaka Vrindavan. (Recently, I saw the movie Lamhe, in which actress Sridevi was dancing to the divine melody of “Mohe chedo na nand ke lala….” (Please don’t tease me, my beloved Lord Krishna…) in this temple.) Near-by was located a small shop selling footwear, jackets, and handbags made from camel-skin and lac bangles. The prices were reasonable and the salesmen assured us of the sturdiness and comfort of the footwear that we bought there, a pair of slip-ons for my hubby and a pair of “medicinal” chappals for myself; which would ostensibly, give great relief to any ‘foot problems’(as per the salesman)! Interestingly, the shop had been founded by the oldest man in India, as certified by the Guinness Book of Records, who died when he was 114! Till date, the shop is ably managed by his progeny. A laminated poster, right at the shop’s entrance, proudly displays a photo of that venerable man with his Guinness Certificate and his children and relatives.
Enroute to our drop-off point, the guide pointed out the reason for Jaipur earning the sobriquet of “the pink city”. We were driving through the old Jaipur area, where a broad thoroughfare was flanked by elegant buildings of pink stone, on both the sides. He even said that Jaipur was supposed to be the second well-planned city in the world, in those ancient times, after Paris!
        ‘Jal Mahal’, beautifully lit and sitting like a lantern amidst a huge lake and the ‘Hawa Mahal’, in its fully illuminated glory. It was dusk. Jaipur was enchanting with its street-lights and regal aura.

Enchanting Jal Mahal

Later he pointed out the exquisite
The sight-seeing ended with all of us in a trance. We had been so enveloped by the glorious past that we found it a tad difficult to come back to the present-day chaos.
The next day, we went to Ajmer by bus. It took us around two and a half hours. We took a rickshaw to the dargah (mausoleum) of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, also known as Khwaja Garib Nawaz, which is world-renowned. We offered the chadar (shawl) and other customary offerings there and prayed fervently. The attendant there tied a sacred thread around my hubby’s neck and my neck.
One has to tie a sacred thread at a gate there and ask for any blessing. It is believed that one’s mannat or wish is fulfilled, by the grace and benevolence of the seer, Khwaja Garib Nawaz. Devotees of all faiths thronged the dargah. The place bestows a serene sense of fulfillment to the devotees. We sat and meditated for a while and then made our way out. We could see old and impoverished people rubbing their foreheads on the floor there and also rubbing their foreheads on the gates there, obviously asking for redemption from their misery.

Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti's Dargah at Ajmer

After a quick, delicious lunch of ‘aloo paranthas’ (chapattis stuffed with potato curry) and curds at a restaurant, we made our way through the crowded, narrow lane, with shops and stalls selling an array of products from offerings for the dargah, clothes, accessories, attar (concentrated perfumes), etc.; to the place from where we would get a bus to go to Pushkar. After waiting for what seemed an interminable time, we boarded an auto to the Ajmer bus stand. We boarded a crowded bus going to Pushkar. It took us a little more than an hour to reach the holy pilgrimage place, Pushkar which boasts of the only temple devoted to Lord Brahma, the Creator of this universe, (as per Hindu mythology); in the whole world.
Legend has it that Lord Brahma had been cursed by his first wife Savitri that nobody would worship him and hence no temple would be built for him. This legend was narrated by a precocious young brat, a self-proclaimed over-talkative, guide who waylaid us as soon as we set foot in Pushkar. As we walked through a narrow, winding lane flanked by stalls selling stone idols, bead necklaces, garments and other potpourri; to the famed Pushkar lake, he walked determinedly along us, reluctant to leave us alone. The lake was vast, serene and beautiful.

Pushkar Lake

Many devotees were bathing and the others were religiously following the instructions of ‘pandits’ (priests) who lined the ghats, praying for the well-being of their beloved families. We were caught unawares, as that little ‘guide’ suddenly asked us to sit on a mat spread on the steps to the lake. A ‘pandit’ miraculously materialized and before we knew it, we were willy-nilly parroting the mantras (religious chants) recited by him for the well-being of our beloved family!
When he proceeded to ask for a hefty ‘dakshina’ (fees for performing rituals), warning bells rang aloud in our ears and we firmly informed him that we would give him only Rs.101/-. Though a little crestfallen, he accepted the same humbly. Our ‘guide’ clamored for his fee of Rs.11/- When I asked him whether he attended school regularly, he proudly stated that he was a ‘guide’ after school-hours! I had a sneaking suspicion that he was either that pandit’s son or relative. I fumed inwardly at the thought of this form of child labor. Only, here the child was too willing to work and was enjoying himself thoroughly!
We drank tea from little clay cups. It was flavored with cardamom, sweet and delicious. The vessel in which it was being brewed was a huge container of brass, gleaming in the sunshine. I clicked a snap of that vendor and his make-shift tea-stall, with my hubby. I bought a sari from a shop at a throwaway price. Then we joined the queue to the Brahma temple, which was yet to open. Our camera, cell-phone and bags were deposited in a locker at the footsteps of the temple.
The temple is a small shrine, peaceful and calm. The idol of Brahma looks benign and urges you to contemplate on your raison d’etre in this world. It’s as if the Lord wants you to be grateful to be alive and do something constructive with this precious gift that he has bestowed on you! After some quiet contemplation and meditation, we reluctantly started our return journey to Jaipur. Undoubtedly we had changed and become more spiritual, thanks to that sublime experience.
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The copyright of this travelogue and photographs is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

The travelogue on Jaipur titled 'Enchanting Jaipur' has been published in the Spice Edition of Sakaal Times on 5th October, 2014.

The travelogue on Ajmer and Pushkar titled 'A Divine Journey' has been published in the Spice Edition of Sakaal Times on 30th November, 2014.