If you've ever seen pictures of India, or heard tales of its weirdness and wonders, the images that come to mind are of grand marble palaces scorching under the blaze of a fiery sun, or majestic elephants painted in all colours of the rainbow, bearded snake charmers luring deadly cobras out of a basket, and holy cows roaming freely through the streets... In the two days we've spent thus far in Jaipur, cultural capital of the state of Rajasthan we have seen these sights, and many more. Intrigued? Excited? So are we :)
Elephant at the wedding party
Amer Fort and the Moata Lake water supply
Sunset over Jaipur
We left the overwhelming streets of Mumbai a few days ago and had the pleasure of enjoying our first overnight Indian train journey. A fairly painless ordeal, considering that personal space and passenger comfort make way for more economical use of cabin space (think 8 people sleeping in a compartment with a surface area as large as your dining room table). No matter, we arrived safe and sound, with a smile on our face, a spring in our step, ready to embrace Jaipur.
Perhaps it was our obvious joie de vivre that attracted Mr. Shakir Khan's attention; or maybe the stars above had aligned and we were crossing paths with destiny - regardless of which you choose to believe, the tuk-tuk driver immediately approached the 3 compadres upon our exit from the train, guiding us to his ricksha and dropping us off at our pre-booked (yes sometimes we do plan ahead) hostel. Mr. Khan left us with a promise to return in the evening and bring us to the Monkey Temple that offers stunning sunset views of Jaipur.
After sunset, Shakir whisked us away to visit his friend and partner in crime, a man only known to us as Mr. India. Mr. India, a man of business, owns a small but impressive textile factory. But this ain't your every day, run of the mill shop. No sir; Mr. India employs women from the surrounding country side who, due to cultural and religious barriers, are not allowed to work from outside of their homes. He offers these women an opportunity to earn money for their families by practising traditional methods of cloth weaving and block printing. This magical man soon had us enraptured in his demonstrations (no doubt helped along by some locally brewed Kingfisher Strong Beer) and before we even knew what was happening, all three of us were being fitted for suits - yes, suits. Suits of the finest quality, tailored to perfection, hand made, and complete with MOTHER EFFIN PAISLEY SILK LINING. Has there ever been a more handsome trio?
As if this wasn't already the most amazing, ridiculous, and somewhat deranged evening, we were rewarded with our purchase of these suits by being escorted by messieurs Khan and India to the final day of celebrations for one of Shakir's cousins wedding. Shakir is a Muslim, and Indian, and the celebrations were as rambunctious as you would expect - that is, for a wedding where the men and women are separated by a wooden barrier. We were served delicious food, had garlands of flowers thrown around our necks, and witnessed the entrance of the happy couple as they arrived on the backs of superbly decorated horses (who were surprisingly calm given the million people dancing around them and the full brass orchestra blaring out their bumpin tunes).
So day 1 was pretty cool. What would day 2 bring? Nothing other than a visit to Amber Fort, a 500 year old fortress built by the Maharajas. This architectural wonder is built mostly out of creamy white marble, elaborately carved in every complicated pattern you could imagine. The palace had maybe 3 barriers to entry. We explored the hallways, rooms, guard towers, latrines, and water supply system (infested with hundreds of bats. By the way, bats are gross and creepy and smelly and I think we have all gained an appreciation for Batman's fear of these hideous demons) for well over 3 hours, only to be summoned back to Shakir and his tuk-tuk by the blazing heat of midday.
To wrap up the day, we returned to Mr. India's shop for a home made meal amongst men. Spicy potato and onions, eaten with our hands using chapatti as we all sit on the floor and shoot the shit as only dudes know how to do.
The visit to Jaipur will continue for at least another day. Next on our menu is a visit to Shakir's ancestral home in the countryside to experience "the heart of Rajasthan". If its anything close to what we've seen so far, it is sure to be an adventure.
P.Fij signing out - keep it classy, Planet Earth
thanks pf
ReplyDeleteMr Shakir Khan deserves to be in a novel
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