A few days away from an internet connection so there have been no updates since we left Delhi for Agra. Things at this end have been busy though and we are now in beautiful Uidapur (Oodapur really, after the founder, the Rajput king Ooday Singh). But first I will bring things up to speed from where we last left off.
We arrived in Agra late on the 29th and headed to the world’s most famous building early the next day. The Taj Mahal, built by Mughal Emperor Shar Jahan for his favourite wife, is probably the most hyped building and tourist attraction in the world. So one would not be surprised if it failed to live up to massive expectation, but somehow as you approach the main gate of the complex that encloses it and get a glimpse of the ethereal, otherworldy, white marble jewel that is the Taj, it manages to meet and surpass all expectation in an instant. It really is a surreal and incredibly beautiful building and I recommend it to anyone (although I think I said to the group that it’s not the best place to bring a gf as it might create unmanagable expectations ;).
Shar Jahan’s rule was successful, but he accelerated the inevitable trend towards the end of the Mughal empire as increasing amounts were spent on court life and majestic buildings (about 20 percent of GDP). So looking at these glorious monuments and buildings one starts to see how the nation with the world’s biggest GDP in the 1700s completely lost its way.
After the Taj we toured the splendid Red Fort of Agra (where Shar Jahan was sequestered by his power-hungry son, who murdered his three brothers and deposed his father). If one is to be under house arrest for the rest of ones life then I think this is about the best possible place for it, the red fort is really a palace of rare beauty.
In the afternoon we headed to the Rajastani capital Jaipur, where we arrived after dark, and after a very hair-raising experience of night-time Indian traffic. I saw my life flash before my eyes far too often. The idea seems to be to make the other guy yield by heading straight for him and veering away at the last minute. Oh, and I won’t even mention the guys driving in the wrong direction on the wrong side of the median, with no headlights!
The next day we rode elephants (mine was a 30 year old female called Bul Bul) to the Amber Fort in Jaipur. Another Mughal pleasure palace, guarded by a massive military fort. It is thrilling to imagine how life must have been there in its prime in the 1500s. We then checked out the ornate city palace and had an easy afternoon of shopping and relaxation (I found an English book store where I picked up a great history of Rajastan and the history of British rule in India (known as “The Raj”).
Early the next day (already lost track of dates for the most part, a very good sign when on holiday) we drove through beautiful farmland towards the national park and tiger reserve at Ranthambore. Along the way we saw beautiful scenes of rural Indian life and were met everywhere by lovely people interested in chatting and seeing these strange travellers up close – their favourite was seeing their own pictures on the digicam screens. At times the poverty was heartwrenching and certainly puts things in perspective.
We arrived in Ranthambore (275 square miles of woodland that used to be a royal hunting ground, but is now visited by hunters of the photographic variety) and as we had an hour before the tiger tracking tour I jumped in the pool for 30 minutes and then laid out to try to get some colour into my Northern European pallor.
We did not see any tigers, but had a nice afternoon sighting owls, Indian gazelle, deer and local birds – a disappointment of course, but the tigers were not out and there was nothing to be done about that and the tour was interesting and enjoyable.
A long drive to the small town of Pushkar followed the next day. Pushkar was once a waystation and market town connected to the Great Silk Road from China through central Asia to the West. We are now moving into the Western deserts and have started to see the landscape become more arid, with palm trees and camels a more common sight.
On arrival we found what is, unfortunately, a popular destination of western alternative lifestyle adherents as well as, more auspiciously, one of the holiest places in Hindu India. We had a very nice hotel in a lakefront location (legend has it the lake was formed where Shiva dropped a lotus flower on the ground). We had a very pungent experience walking through the thronged streets of this small town that has fully succumbed to low cost tourism, but still under the surface there was the fascinating Hindu tranquility and beautiful lakefront Ghats (really steps leading to the holy lake where people pray and offer flowers to the gods). The place would have been truly majestic if it was just given a good scrubbing.
We then visited a Hindu temple, cameras not allowed, which was attractive enough with sultry Hindu goddesses painted in vivid colours and beautiful architecture. Our attention soon turned to the fact that rather than being a rare temple to Brahma, it appeared to be the happy home of thousands of thumb sized wasps. They were everywhere, particularly congregating at the plinths where offerings of flowers and sweet stones were made (yes, wasps like flowers and sugar) so it certainly was a temple visit with goosebumps, for me at least.
The next day we left putrid Pushkar behind and headed to nearby Ajmer, a stronghold of the Mughal emperors as well as the location where a representative of the British crown first met one of them (Jahangir, son of Akbar). It in turn became the only city in Rajastan directly administered by the British Raj, with all the other being princely states that swore fealty and paid tribute to the crown. In Ajmer we visited India’s holiest Islamic site, the tomb of a revered sufi mystic. The area around the temple was the most crowded we had yet encountered, but as has been my experience throughout Islamic areas the world over, the atmosphere was welcoming and comfortable, plus we were the only tourists there. The tomb itself was chaotic but strangely serene and the blessing an Islamic holy man gave me, covering my head first with an elaborate green embroidered scarf, will hopefully serve me well. I will at least wear the band he tied round my neck until it disintegrates just to be sure.
Three hours south of Ajmer we found ourselves in Chitturgarh (formerly Chitturgh, the stronghold of the proud Rajput warriors of Mewar). This I found rather fitting as the amazing, vast, mountain fortress at Chitturgh had long resisted the Mughal ambition to rule Rajastan. After a quick bite we visited the massive fort and saw its many sights. To give an idea of scale, it covers about 260 hectares of land with massive battlements and moats overlooking the steep cliffs below. The high point was the lake palace of the beautiful Pudmani, whose beauty led the Islamic warlord Allahoudin to lay siege to the city. We stood where he was allowed to stand, according to an offer of truce based on just being allowed to glimpse the beauty of the queen, and we looked into the very mirror that he did in order to see her reflection (alas, I saw no mythical beauty).
When victory agaist Allahoudin seemed impossible the Rajputs at Chitturgarh fort decided on Johur (a sort of sacrificial holy war) and their women immolated themselves by the thousands rather than face the ravages of the Afghan barbarians. The men, with nothing to live for and full of rage and fury, then donned the saffron robes of their kin and rode out the open gates to attack the enemy host and die in the process. Imagining such stories makes the process of walking around the now half-ruined fort all the more powerful.
The next day, October 5 I think (so I am now up to date mostly), we drove to Uidapur to see her beautiful lake palaces that some of you may have seen in the James Bond film Octopussy. The resplendent city is really beyond words and even our hotel is a former princely home that is just gorgeous in every way. My next post will include a lot more pictures including from a wonderful day in Uidapur, but for now I will get some sleep for the drive to the blue city of Jodhpur tomorrow, where I hope to get my India souvenir – a large statue of Ganesha.
p.s. went running this morning, so that blog-pledge has been honoured. The people in the street at 06:30 looked at me as if I was thoroughly insane for running with no particular reason to do so. Still it felt wonderful, some funky street smells aside.
World wide wanderlust 