Rajasthan, India

Rajasthan has been very interesting. I have hired a car and driver ( named Raj appropriately enough ) and we have been doing a loop through the land of kings. It's desert here and the place is filled with former medieval kingdoms of the Rajputs, known for their fighting valor and elephant warfare.

The week has been, in a way, one long drive dodging potholes, pigs, huge cows, water buffalo, dogs, donkeys, camels pulling carts, elephants, monkeys, people, sheep, goats, kamikaze buses ( with people on top of the bus! ), and big trucks-good carriers ( very colorful with good luck charms dangling from the bumpers ), and tours of these medieval forts and palaces. My driver is very good. I notice that he gives the cows the widest berth and I have not decided if that is because he is afraid that hitting one will damage his car or his karma. The view from the car has also been filled with women in beautiful bright sarees and moustachioed men with bright colored turbans, both unique to Rajasthan. My driver has two tapes that are damaged and play on too fast a speed. The sound from the car has been like Alvin and the Chipmunks 10 Greatest Hindu Hits over and over and over and . . .

The cities on our loop have been Mandawa, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodphur, Pushkar, and Jaipur. I have now seen more forts and palaces than one person should see in a lifetime, let alone in one week. The forts have all been very impressive. They are big sandstone structures with multi leveled courtyards and extremely intricate carvings on the walls. The exhibits of armor and weapons are also amazing. The quality and ornateness of the metal work on the knives and rifles are like nothing I have ever seen. The time period is roughly from 1200 to 1700 and the quality from the artisans is better than that of Europe for the same period. This is extreme desert. It is amazing that people could live here and build these extravagant palaces. I think most of their wealth came from war and being on trade routes. I found it interesting that many of the Raj's were pushed out from other regions, one from Afghanistan. They were all also at one time under Mughal rule, but they kept their religion intact ( Hindu ) and never mixed blood.

The highlights have been the Golden City of Jaisalmer, a rat temple, a camel safari, and a blue city. The Golden City of Jaisalmer is a walled city, completely enclosed with a beautiful Jain Temple from 10000 AD, and is only 100 kms east of Pakistan. The temple has 6,666 polished marble and sandstone statues of the Jain God. Each statue has these bug eyes ( wide open ) made of enamel inlay and gold metal trim. There is actually a Temple of the Rat. My guide drove me to what he called "Mickey Mouse Temple". You have to take your shoes off to walk around in this place and it is not a tribute to Mickey Mouse, but rather to the rat . . and the thousands of rats that have the free run of the place. It is considered good luck if one runs across your feet or if you see a white one. Thankfully, I did not get any good luck that day. From Jaisalmer, I took an overnight camel safari through the dunes and slept under the stars. It was one of the quietest places I've been, except for the sound of munching camels. Camels are everywhere here. Jodphur has a really great fort and you look out over a city of blue houses. They are painted with indigo and were the houses of the holy men or Bramins.

I'm wiped out after seeing four temples today. I rode an elephant up to one. Tomorrow I head south to the jungle in hopes of seeing a tiger. Then it's off to the Taj Mahal ( the Mother of all Temples ), and finally Varanasi. I've included a short story below if you care to read further.

Craig

Puskhar - Holy Lake

I'm in Pushkar and it has this holy lake. That is all I know, and that I am supposed to walk down this narrow side street that leads to the town I am supposed to walk around for a few hours. My driver explained this and other details, half of which I did not understand, because he does not speak English well. Most of the time he ends sentences with, " . . it's like this and like that." I'm always wondering, WHAT is like this and like that?! He dropped me off at this place where I will come back to watch the sunset over the lake. As I left, there were two guys who acted as if they were his friends and he acted as if they were his friends too. One put flower petals in my hand. I said NO, but he persisted and my driver didn't object.

As I walked to town, he walked with me. This happens quite a lot in India. It usually means you are about to part with your money in some way or another, but I let it go because my driver seemed to approve of him. As we walked he launched into the standard, what I call "much too personal questions". After forcing you to shake hands, these guys ask the following, "Where from? How old are you?, What is your job? Are you married? Paper or plastic? ( no, not really )" All of which feel way too personal for the 5 seconds you have been with them.

I made it to the narrow side street and a 100 yards down one side it opened to some marble steps leading to the lake. This guy took off his shoes and signaled I should too. I am tired of taking off my shoes. This happens a lot here too. You are always having to take your shoes off to go someplace where you would really, really want shoes. I wasn't sure if this was "taking off shoes worthy" and was about to leave. Just then this guy comes up to me saying this is not tourist thing, people come here to pray for their family in the lake, he is a holy man and he is here on his own accord, and that I am most welcome, no money, no pressure. He shoves flower petals in my hand. "No, I already have some." "No, take, more the better." I figure, what the heck, I'm here to experience, and I take off the shoes.

I walk to the lake and the holy man has a little carpet at the water's edge and asks me to sit down. OK, here for the experience, right? He explains about the ritual and we start to go through it. I'm repeating after him and praying for my Mother, Father, Sister, "Do you have job?", "No", for a Good Job, "Are you married?", "No", and for a Good Wife. I am throwing flower petals into the lake, I touch my forehead, eyes, ears, he puts the red paint on my forehead, I am throwing water into the lake, he's tying a string bracelet around my wrist, and I'm repeating a lot of stuff after him. I'm racking up big time karma and good fortune for myself and family. I think Beyonce is still single, right?

Then comes the request for money. Something about charitable contribution, mouths to feed, and Americans typically give X amount. What happend to no money, no pressure? I fully expected this when I sat down and I'm in a generous mood. I sold to an Indian guy back home who was a Bramin and he usually had the red paint and bracelet. I'm thinking, hey, I've learned something here, it's fun. Plus, I'm getting lots of karma ( according to the holy man ). I give 500 Rupees, just over $10 USD. Another guy comes to take my money. I give it to him and he asks, "Are you happy?" Strange I think. "Yes, I am happy."

The holy man then continues. He moves on to my grandparents. After a few minutes, he asks me for money . . . for him. The last contribution didn't go to him, it went to charity. "I am holy man, a Bramin, look at the string around my neck, this means I am holy man. I do not work, I pray so you get good karma, good wife, your family gets good fortune. I have a wife and 6 kids. They need to eat." "No, I gave you money. You can get some of that." He tries to continue with the prayers getting me to repeat stuff about the 3 gods because each God has blessed me and I should pay for each one. "No, I gave what I can." I'm angry, but I think, I'll give him something, I'm going to leave, it would be better to leave on a good note. Yes, it's the principle, but it's not a lot of money. I reach into my pocket and hand him 100 Rupees. He says, "Are you happy?" That was the straw that broke the camel's back. "NO".

He give me the 100 back. Fine with me. At least he has some dignity. I get my shoes. The guy who led me there says, "My friend, come sit here." Don't even, don't even start. "No, I put on my shoes here." As I'm walking away, someone I have not seen yet grabs my arm. "Give me the 100 Rupees. He wants it." "What, he gave it back." "No, he wants it . . he told me to get it for him." This guy is trying to get the 100 Rupees!!! "No, I gave it to him, he gave it back. I'm leaving." "I walk with you until you give me money." "Don't touch me, I'm walking away alone, DO NOT follow me!"

Well, there go my chances with Beyonce. Family: I hope you still get at least some good karma out of this, although I wouldn't hold out much hope. Come to think of it, I think my driver did say something about "flowers" and, "it's like this and like that."

Posted by Craig at April 04, 2004 07:49 AM