Once
upon a time we were in India, and that was before we moved to Berlin
and even before we had some short vacations of our vacations in
Thailand...
Rajasthan
state
in
western
India
As
I
was
telling
a
long time ago I
found
an
“outside-of-the-Lonelyplanet-guide”
train
combination
to
get
to Shekhawati
region
from
Delhi.
We
took
seats
(in
fact
beds)
in
an
AC-3
car,
as
we
always
do,
on
the
morning
four-hour
train
to
Loharu.
We
arrived
there,
and
it
felt
we
were
the
first
non-Indian
people
to
ever
step
on
the
station.
We
were
stared
and
inspected
and
then
stared
some
more.
We
bought
some
super
spiced
and
super
fried
snacks
outside
the
station
where
we
received
even
more
looks.
Then
we
sat
in
the
wooden
seats
of
a
small
local
train
to
Nawalgarh,
one
of
the
towns
that
belong
to
the
Shekhwati
region
in
north
Rajasthan,
and
we
gathered
a
small
crowd
that
sat
around
us
just
to
see
the
strange
foreigners.
We
enjoyed
a
nice
train
ride
through
the
desert,
feeling
the
warm
wind
from
the
open
windows
while we heard
a young guy playing and singing Rajasthani
music.
As
I told
before,
after more
than one
month
traveling
in India,
Rajasthan
was like
our first
taste of
the real India…
Nawalgarh
and
around,
Shekhawati
region,
Rajasthan
Shekhawati
region is
famous for
its
havelis,
and that's
the reason
we traveled
there. Even
though
havelis are
actually
the name
of the
style of
building
developed
by the
Mughals in
the 16th
century
-many small
windows,
many rooms
and
distinctive
arches-, in
fact,
people call
havelis to
both
Mughals and
British
mansions
that are
filled with
frescoes on
every
centimeter.
The
frescoes
depict
traditional
themes such
as images
of gods
or sacred
animals
together
with modern
inventions
and scenes
from the
British
colonization.
Many of
them are
in a
sad state
of
disrepair
on
buildings
falling
apart, but
still they
are worth
a look.
Dr.
Ramanath
A.
Podar
Haveli
Museum
in
Nawalgarh
is
a
mansion
with
one
of
the
few
examples
of
very
well
conserved
frescoes.
On
the
inner
walls
of
the
patio,
over
images
of
Rama
and
Krishna
a
long
train
depicted
together
with
the
traditional
themes
of
Hindu
mythology
caught
our
attention as
soon
as
the
curator
of
the
museum
(I
think
he
was
the
curator)
pointed
at
it.
The
very
well-educated
Brahmin –he
kept
remarking
that he
was a
Brahmin,
the highest
caste in
the “inexistent”
caste
system of
India-
explained
us that
the
frescoes
were like
a TV
for the
house
residents.
By the
time the
frescoes
were
painted,
people from
Shekhawati
hadn’t
seen a
train, so
the house
owner sent
the artist
to Bombay
to see
this new
invention
and asked
to have
it depicted
on the
walls of
his patio.
We
were the
only
foreigner
faces in
Nawalgarh
and we
gained a
bit too
much
attention
from the
locals.
Luckily, we
found a
small gem
a bit
outside the
busy center
of the
town, the
quiet and
cozy D.S.
Bungalow.
It was
supposed to
be a
guest-house,
but it
was more
of a
home-stay.
They made
us enter
from a
small field
behind the
house,
because the
entrance
was still
closed –I
suppose we
were the
first
tourists
from the
season- and
they did
their best
to make
us feel
comfortable.
We stayed
there two
nights; and
the couple
that runs
the place,
Pinky and
her husband Bunty,
were great
hosts. They
talked with
us without
a secret
agenda of
selling
tours,
camels,
bikes or
anything.
We arrived
at the
first night
of
Navarathri
holidays
and Pinky
even took
us with
her and
her
children to
the place
of the
prayers.
Navaratri
is a
nine day
festivity
which
celebrates
the Mother
Goddess
Durga.
People more
or less
fast during
the nine
days but
they take
candies
after the prayers and
they invite
dinner nine
girls from
the family
which
represent
the
different
incarnations
of the
goddess.
We
were led
by Pinky
to an
open space
but men
were
separated
from women
and
children by
a fence.
So I
ended up
alone and
I just
stayed as
far from
the crowd
as
possible. I
didn’t
stay alone
much time,
suddenly 20
young men
and boys
were
staring at
me and
asking me
questions
non-stop.
Surrounded! |
The
staying at
Pinky and
Bunty's
place was
surprisingly
relaxing.
Pinky made
us
incredible
good food
and she
even
prepared
mutton even
though most
people fast
or eat
only
vegetarian
during
these
holidays.
And on our
second
evening we
hanged out
with them
and their
kids until very late:
Iohi taught
Pinky how
to make
jam and
they
prepared it
with pineapple
and guava
and later
their elder
girl made
a henna
tattoo for
Iohi (for
free).
While she
was getting
her henna
tattoo
done, Bunty
whispered
in secrecy
if I
wanted
whiskey and
filled me
two glasses
(without
taking a
cent for
it).
From
Nawalgarh
we took
local buses
and visited
two nearby
towns
Mandawa and
Dundlod.
Little
polyglot
touts drove
us crazy
in Mandawa
trying to
sell us
stuff or
led us
to their
shops.
Running
away from
these
little
touts led
us to
small
alleys with
lots of
havelis
with
beautiful
-but
deteriorated-
frescoes.
From
Mandawa, we
traveled to
the much
smaller
Dundlod. We
saw a
few more
frescoes
and we
rested at
the café
of a
bizarre
fort hotel.
On
the third
day, we
just took
local buses
the whole
day: from
Nawalgarh
to Sikar,
from Sikar
to Ajmer
and from
Ajmer,
finally to
Pushkar.
Pushkar,
Rajasthan
We
arrived
in
Pushkar
at
late
afternoon,
just
in
time
to
see
a
magnificent
sunset
from
the
roof
of
our
hotel:
a
violet
sky,
all
the
buildings
turning
different
shades
of
gold
and
the
tiny
lake
surrounded
by
ghats
becoming
a
silver
plate.
Pushkar
is an
important
Hindu
pilgrimage
town and
religious
people have
to visit
the town
once in
their life.
The town
is filled
with Hindus
visiting
temples,
doing pujas
(Hindu
prayers)
and bathing
at the
ghats.
Since it’s
a holy city
and
Hinduism
professes
non
aggression,
which
includes
animal
aggression,
the town
is strict
vegetarian.
In the
Hindu
sense, this
means meat
and eggs
aren’t
allowed but
milk is.
Alcohol is
kind of
a taboo
among
Indians and
drinking
alcohol is
definitely
a
sacrilegious
thing to
do, so
alcohol is
also not
sold there.
Together
with
the
religious
side
of
the
town
coexists
a
busy
tourist
scene:
lots
of
guest-houses,
souvenir/hippie
clothes
shops
and
the
same
crappy
tourist
food
as
we
found
in
many
other
touristy
places,
i.e.
Manali,
Daramkot,
Bagsu,
etc.
On
the
other
hand,
the
town
is
more
relaxed
than
many
of
those
places:
vendors
are
somehow
quieter,
and
there
aren’t
autorickshaws!
We
weren’t
still
in
the
high
season
and
many
restaurants
and
guest-houses
were
quiet
empty,
so
we
might
have
got
the
impression
of
a
quieter
place
than
it
really
is…
On
our second
day we
caught our
second
incredible
sunset on
the top
of a
hill at
the gates
of the
Savitri
temple. In
Pushkar, I
also
finished
the
development
of a
nose
infection
that made
my nose
beat and
hurt each
step I
went up,
on top
of that
half of
my nose
was even
bigger than
the other
half!
And
on our
last day,
we waited
for the
sunset at
a café
in front
of the
lake while
hearing the
sound of
drums. On
the same
night we
took a
night bus
to Udaipur.
We quite
enjoyed the
city, but
I guess
not as
much as
people we
met there who
get all
mystical
and stay
there for
weeks... (and keep returning there every
year or so).
Our
night bus
was plainly
weird. We
were asked
before if
we wanted
a sleeper
or seats,
we bought
sleeper
tickets and
I supposed
that there
were two
buses…
But there
was one bus with around
ten
aquarium-like
acrylic
cells over
two rows
of seats
with people
hardly
fitting
without
crouching.
So we
spent the
night
moving and
jumping
inside our
little
aquarium so
much that
we felt
like fish
fried wok
style.
Udaipur,
Rajasthan
The
bus went
so fast
that we
even got
there one
hour
earlier. So
at 5am
we woke
up the
owner of
Nukkad
hotel. It
was a
big and
interesting
haveli
style
building
where also
the owner’s
family
lived and
helped with
the hotel
chores.
The
city
was
pretty
much
like
Pushkar
with
tourist
cafés
and
souvenir
shops,
but
maybe
not
so
packed
with
them
in
every
place,
and
besides
the
city
is
bigger
and
fancier
(and
also
less
hippie
and
mystic).
It
even
has
a
lake
in
the
middle
(but
bigger
than
Pushkar’s
lake).
There
are
two
hotel-islands
on
the
lake,
one of them we
visited
with
a
boat
excursion
and
the
other
one
is
only
accessible
for
guests
and
it
was
where
some
parts
of
James
Bond’s
movie
Octopussy
from
the
80’s
were
filmed.
To
take
the
most
of
it,
many
restaurants
project
the
movie
daily
(I
supposed
that
for
the
last
30
years).
Looking at the Octopussy's hotel from the other hotel island |
We
had some nice surprises in the city. We
went
without
high
expectations
to see
folk dances
at the
Bagore-ki
Haveli
Museum and
it ended
to be
an amazing
show with
incredible
performances.
Sometimes
it seemed
more like
acrobatics
in
traditional
clothes
than dance
with the
highlight
of the
performance
being a
woman in
her late
60s
holding
nine huge
ceramic
vases on
top of
her head.
We
started
our last
day at
the
colorful
and local
fruit and
vegetable
market
outside of
the tourist
area and
we ate
a thali
at Nukkad
hotel's
owner
favorite
place. A
thali is
a big
plate with
many small
dishes,
rice, some
of the
Indian
breads,
sometimes
pickles. At
traditional
places, the
modality is
as much
as you
can eat,
the waiters
serve and
serve until
either you
drop or
you leave
the place.
It's of
no use
to tell
them that
you don't
want any
more food.
And
traditional
thalis are
extremely
spicy. Here
some of
the small
dishes were
spicier
than
others, but
everything
was very
spicy, so
much that
my tongue
went numb.
I ate
a whole
portion of
really
spicy green
chilies
without
realizing
that they
were
chilies or
even spicy!
Then my
portion was
immediately
refilled
and I
ate another
bunch.
Only then
when I
was about
to pass
out I
realized
how spicy
it was.
At the market |
The deadly thali |
We
spend our last day walking
around the
city and
we caught
our last
grandiose
sunset on
Hanuman
ghat, at
the other
side of
the lake,
which was
pretty much
like our
side.
On
that same night we took a train to Gujarat state and after being kind
of stuck in Baroda for a day we took another night train to Bhuj, the
capital of Kutch district, but that's the next post...
And all the truly amazing pictures that Iohi took are here
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