The Indian State of Rajasthan was the land of Kings. Being the largest state in India, it is the king of Lands at present. It was also a part of the Indus Civilization, and most of the state is now desert. As a kid, I read Tamil monthlies which had many short stories of bravery and romance from Rajasthan. Emperor Akbar's wife Jodha was from Jaipur of Rajasthan. Among the kings was my namesake – Maha Rana
Pratap, whose name is everywhere in Udaipur. He kept the Moguls at bay, and finally ended
with agreements with them to cohabit. The
state is full of yellowish sandstone forts, distinctively different to the Red
Stone forts built by the Moguls across India. Princess Gayatri Devi, when she got elected to Parliament in the 1970s, she was so elated, she is said to have showered gold coins from a tower in Jaipur. Rajasthan is also home to Jaipur, widely known as the Pink City with castles all around. Together,
Rajasthan evoked thoughts of bravery, romance in desert kingdoms to me.
The City Palace, Udaipur
The Lake Palace, Udaipur
Between 2012 and 2014, I went to Rajasthan many times,
as a part of a project. It was led by a
Rajasthani Australian, and he ensured that the project team experienced
Rajasthan’s best. We stayed in Havelis
by lakes, did our touristic duties, and enjoyed Rajasthani hospitality.
Night view from a Haveli - Can you spot the full moon?
Witnessing sun rise from a Haveli
Once we went to an unusual hill-top restaurant. This is in the outskirts of Udaipur; a hill top
has been flattened to build a traditional Rajasthani Restaurant. As we
walked there was a mud-veranda, where an old man was doing magic tricks.
Not bad, and I was glad that he did not choke on the metal balls he was spewing
out. Then there was a kid on a balancing rope, with pots stacked on his
head, and plates as shoes on a rope about 5 m above ground. He marched up
and down, and came down to collect money. Then there was a puppet show which was
fun to watch. Finally, two girls danced for Rajasthani songs, not that
great but were OK. Then the food, where
in a long hall, we scot and ate a very high cholesterol diet, ghee, butter,
sugar, cottage cheese and so on. Rajasthan is well known for its dairy products. The best part was that one of the waiters
insisted on feeding me! Don’t get funny
ideas – he was a middle aged man.
Rajasthani Dancing
Once
I hired an auto-rickshaw in Udaipur. The
driver was so skinny; I could easily see his jaw-bones. From his appearances, I felt that he must be
really poor. I asked him to take me to a
liquor shop and bring me back. He said
it will cost me 40 INR, and I said fine.
After a few minutes, he said he could take me to another one closer to
my hotel, and it would cost me 35 INR.
Again I said fine. When he
brought me back I gave him 40 INR, and he was puzzled. He returned 5 INR, but I insisted that he
kept it. He was a bit reluctant, but
took the money with appreciation. Other
big Indian cities would have been different.
Once in Madras an Auto-driver took be a distance of about 5 km, and
wanted 1000 INR. It should not have been
more than 50 INR those days. He started
swearing and shouting, and finally settled for 500 INR. I should have negotiated the fare before I
went with him. I am glad that these
petty thieves live only in big cities.
A Rajasthani Farmer
On another occasion, I hired a taxi driver to take me
around Udaipur. He was really dark in color,
wore a number of necklaces, some with big pendants, and ear studs with big
stones in both ears. He had an unusual hairstyle including a short
pony-tail. It was so short, you could see only if you pay
close attention. Instead of ribbons or scrunchies as my daughters would
wear to hold their hair together, he had a rubber-band holding his hair together
at the end of the tail - not at the beginning. I thought he must have
jumped out a cartoon-book. However, he
was very polite, held his arms and hands crossed and head bowed in a
subservient manner whenever I spoke, a sight I have seen in old Tamil
movies. There was nothing wrong with his behavior, only my attitude about
dress codes and appearances was warped.
I have traveled widely in India, and each state has its own attraction. But some or other Rajasthan stands out in my mind, may be because it is very different to Tamil Nadu, I am most familiar with. Udaipur, the city I spent most time in Rajasthan is undoubtedly picturesque and cleaner than most cities in India.
