Anna's entry:
JODHPUR
Not much to say about Jodhpur. It is crowded, polluted, and noisy from the
constant traffic; and there isn't really that much charm to keep you here for more than two days. Sure, you
have the so called "old town" with a more secluded and preserved
traditional life hidden in narrow alleys and small courtyards - the
latter does have a certain appeal. And, then there is the famous
fortress, but somehow, after a charming Bundi, Jodhpur seems pale in
comparison. There is one special benefit though coming to Jodhpur - to
get good quality prescription glasses cheap. There is a street that
seems to be entirely dedicated to optometrist shops. We had a
recommendation which we had received from a knowledgeable lady we met in
Pushkar - her family referred us to their own optometrist. The trouble
was that there were at least four shops carrying the same
name. So, we started with a wrong shop (the owner "pretended" to be THE optometrist we were looking for) - the glasses were more
expensive at his shop, but still an excellent quality - around $28 each which would
be minimum $250-$350 back home), and eventually we found the "correct"
optometrist, from who we purchased another pair of glasses for about
$12. Another, quirky thing about Jodhpur was a very decent cafeteria at
a train station - served good Indian specialties very cheap (even for
Indian standards it was cheap). Apparently, the train station's
restaurant was run by the government, thus the main goal was to serve
the public instead of being pro-profit. Once we finalized the practical
things in Jodhpur, we were ready to head out towards the Great Thar
Desert to get closer to camels...
BIKANER
One of our favourite stops for this journey in India. The place and
people seemed so genuine and real. Originally, we thought to spend a
couple of days here, but we ended up spending over a week, and actually
it was somewhat sad to leave. We got quite settled there - the
hotel was comfortable, clean and good value with an excellent helpful
attitude. The food just around the corner was cheap and super tasty - I
normally don't make generalizations like this, but this was THE best
and tastiest vegetarian
dhal we have tried anywhere in India.
People got to know us, and treated us in a very caring manner. They
seemed genuinely proud that we enjoyed and spent a good amount of time
exploring their town (which is normally not on the tourist trail).
Through
our hotel management, we found out about the location and time of the
Camel Festival - one of the most anticipated events of the community.
The event was truly remarkable - the pride of the camel owners was
evident in the elaborate traditional presentations and cultural
expressions. The long processions of brightly decorated camels,
cultural ceremonies of local girls dressed in colorful traditional saris,
beauty pageants (both of men, women, and camels), the competition for
the strongest man, etc. The festival was striking and sometimes almost
overwhelming. Being foreigners, we had the best front seats, and local
people were taking turns to talk with us, share their stories, introduce
their families, and take the photos with us for the long lasting
memories. We have gotten used to the latter, and yet, it always feels
so good to experience the genuine human connection...
During one of
such exchanges, I was talking to a young local man who was explaining
to me the facts about the camels, their owners, the history of
traditions, and their life in general. Among the camel procession, the
young man proudly pointed out to me one particular camel with a proudly
sitting an older gentleman on top, who was the boy's
grandfather. The image seemed straight form the Arabian Nights novels -
the tall, strong, wide-shouldered, tanned man in bright beautiful
traditional clothes holding a large sparkling sword, sitting
like a king conqueror on the amazingly decorated camel. The unusual image was so striking, it just took my breath away. I
wanted to compliment the beautiful presentation, but instead -
apparently unexpectedly for others and myself - I said "Your
grandfather is so beautiful"... I just misspoke, happens to everyone,
right? But, it was too late, people around me (including my own
spouse), were smiling, and then Rob said "I think Anna has a crush on
your grandfather!" It was funny and embarrassing at the same time, so I
tried to explain further what I really meant, but instead made it even
worse, "Seriously, look at him - he looks like a king, doesn't he? Can
you imagine a Western man in his age being able to come even close to
present himself like that?". People began laughing further, and Rob
said again "OK, Anna, we all got it, you really have a crush". So,
eventually, I gave up on trying to explain what I meant, and just
continued enjoying the camels, their riders, and the striking images of
the Arabian Nights kings and queens...
Inspired by the camel
festival, Rob and I took a camel safari ourselves. It was just a
"sample" of what the desert feels like, and unfortunately, we felt
"babied" too much (I would rather be taught how to navigate and ride the
camel myself instead of camel being walked), but it was worth the try.
It helped me to understand better why life in desert may have been so
appealing to nomads for centuries - the perfect silence and being
surrounded by sands seemed so surreal, it gave a complete sense of peace
and tranquility. We have experienced a similar thing before -
submerged in the ocean, but the desert seemed even another notch above
it. It was like another reality, with a sense of eternity if you
will.. The sands rolling all the way to the horizon made you feel
insignificant - in a good sense; in a sense that it is the nature that
rules the course, and we are just a tiny part of this world...
Romantics at heart could relate to it, I think... Yes, Bikaner was a
good stop, glad we spent some time there.
Thank you, Rob, for providing and processing the photographs!
DESHNOK
About an hour away by train from Bikaner, the town of Deshnok has a very
unusual place of worship - Temple of Rats. Yes, the rats are worshiped here, asked for forgiveness, good luck, fortune, etc.
Thousands of pilgrims flock here to have an opportunity to encounter the
sacred rodents, who run the place from the bottom up. There are
hundreds of them everywhere - all over the floor, the alter, the steps,
the roof, and if you encounter a white rat - you are almost guaranteed
some good luck, if you believe it, of course. This is the paradise for
rats who run and dominate the entire temple premises. They're fed
constantly - several buckets of fresh milk were brought out hourly when
we were there, and it actually was quite cute watching the rats making a
circle over the plate with milk, and enjoying it with their eyes
closed. Sometimes, one rat would stumble, and end up swimming in the
milk making splashes in all directions. Once the rats get indulged in
milk, they would proceed to the religious representatives to enjoy the
sweets and rice donated by the pilgrims. And, just in time for siesta,
some rats would stretch themselves all over the bright flowers carpets
left by pilgrims, others would prefer to cuddle on warm temple steps,
and a few would try to jump in the temple guard lap only to have a nap
under his shirt. It was very unusual, and very cute I must admit. The
floor though regularly swept was very stinky, and seeing pilgrims
kneeling down with their heads and faces right down on the filthy
surface demonstrated some genuine dedication. Yes, people truly
believed that the rats were sacred, and that their wish may be fulfilled
if they worshiped the rats. Why did this tradition come from? As
always, based on a legend. In this case, we've heard of two. The first
portrays rats as the re-incarnated ancestors, the other mentions
something about the ancient religious story tellers transformed into
rates for eternity. I am sure there are other legends as well, whatever
one wants to believe... In either case, it is considered a good omen
if rats would run over your feet (happens quite often). As a matter of
fact, some rats insisted of jumping on our heads, camera bags,
backpacks, etc. Every step, one had to be careful not to stop on them.
For new visitors not accustomed to the temple inhabitants, to see an
overwhelming presence of rats was quite shocking, and once in a while
there would be a scream at the entrance to the temple.
We enjoyed
the unusual temple of rats, and in search of other similar peculiar
things, we also proceeded to a temple of exorcism (how can you not love
India?) in a town of Belaji. Getting there on the over-crowded bus and
being picked up on the highway in the middle of nowhere was not an
issue. However, the temple got "tamed' in the recent past, and the
shocking scenes (previously broadcast on the screens in front of the
temple) have become inaccessible to the "general" public. Other that,
or the temple has run out of people needed to be exorcised. In either
case, the temple in Belaji was nothing extraordinary.
JAIPUR
We did not expect that we would enjoy Jaipur so much. Normally, a
touristy town is just not our cup of tea, but Jaipur turned out to be an
exception. It is actually quite pleasant, with good value
accommodation and food, and it is quite possible to get away from the
crowds and explore the narrow streets and old courtyards in a relaxing
manner. Though the traffic is crazy (as in majority of Indian
municipalities), it was actually quite walkable and well laid out. The
architecture of the old palaces and squares was gorgeous, and pretty
sunsets would bring up beautiful colours of the walled city.
In the
evening we stumbled upon a tiny restaurants run by three young men who
would cook up out-of-this-world tandoori chicken served up with freshly
baked
naan bread, coriander
raita, and fresh lemons. The
place was wildly popular among locals, and deservedly so. We ate all
our suppers there, sitting on simple plastic chairs along the busy
street. We normally saved up the bones left over from the meal, and
then would feed them to stray dogs. A couple of locals noticed us doing
it, and came out to thank us and shake our hands. After a few nights,
several
riksha drivers would wave to us - apparently, the reputation spread out quickly.
