Jaipur, India.... The Pink City.

Jaipur, India, The Pink City.

Ancient walls around the city of Jaipur, painted a terra cotta pink.

Jaipur is a beautiful city in the province of Rajasthan. It is also called the Pink City because of the pink called walls that surround the city and The City of Palaces because there are so many beautiful and ornate palaces throughout it.

It was established in 1727. When the current Moghul reign weakened the generals of the army established this separate city. At one time it was a world class city in the league of cities like Paris. When the British Crown Prince Edward visited the walls were painted pink to honour him. It is kept freshly painted and beautiful to this date, although I would call it more terra cotta than actual pink.

3 million people live in Jaipur.

The major Palace is the City Palace, still the home of the Royal Family of India, although in name only as they have no power or influence.

The yellow structure that sits above is the residence of the Royal Family.

Originally the area was home to numerous Princes or Maharajahs. It was called the Princely States.

Royal Residence.

Later these states all united to form India under the first Prime Minister, Nehru, Much of their lands were forfeited and in the beginning the Maharajahs were provided an allowance in return. Later, under Gandhi, this allowance was taken away and they had to find ways to support themselves.  Many turned some of their estate and palaces into hotels, museums and the like.

The City Palace was the home of the ruling Maharajahs, it is a seven story structure that sits above the pink walls of the complex.

In the late 1897 two of these huge silver vessels were made. They are the largest silver vessels in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. Constructed by melting 14000 silver coins they took 2 years to make and are over 5 feet high and 10 feet in circumference.  They were filled with water from the Ganges River and presented as a gift at the coronation of King Edward in London in 1902.











Many weddings for wealthy families are held at the palace. Couples pay 1 million rupees to rent the palace.






Jaipur is a good area for shopping. In addition to the normal street markets and vendors there are also government emporiums where items made in India are sold at fixed prices, with no haggling or bartering.


The streets and markets of Jaipur.

A Bollywood Theatre.

 

 
Beautiful fabrics and tunics.

 

 

 

 

 

One last stop before we depart Jaipur. On to the Amber Fort, sitting atop the hills overlooking the river. It includes a huge walled fortress and a palace which was the residence of the Royal Family before Jaipur was established.

 

The fort has two gates, The Sun Gate and the Moon Gate and consists of four levels: the lower courtyard, the courtyard for public audiences, the Maharajahs's suites and the harem apartments.

 

The fort overlooks the river, gardens and village below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We leave the beautiful fort and head back.

 

Just outside the gates of the fort sits the Anoki Museum. Here beautiful handprinted fabrics are made. Stamps are carefully carved out of teak in a variety of images These are used to stamp patterns on fine fabrics which are used for clothing, draperies, bedding, etc. 

 Back on board our bus for another bumpy, noisy five hour bus ride to Delhi and we will head our separate ways having made new friends and new experiences. We have been made very welcome in this country overrun with people. We have seen much poverty yet much happiness and contentment.

I am exhausted, my senses are buzzing from the overload of color, the constant noise level and the mass of people. I look forward to the peace and quiet of my little home in Port Moody. But I have experienced and learned so much about this wonderfully simple, yet oh so complicated country. Their history, their culture and their beliefs. I hope I am a little more tolerant, a little more understanding and a little more grateful for the beautiful country we call home.

Thank you for joining me on my journey and for Coming With Me.......

 

The Camel Fair.

 

The Pushkar Camel Fair... An experience!


Pushkar is a small town in rural India where they host an annual camel fair. Think Regina Agribtion only with 50,000 camels and horses instead of cattle. And a row of shops in little tents instead of modern exhibition halls. With streets vendors selling all manner of food and goods on dusty streets while hawkers follow you pressing their wares.

In the distance giant Ferris wheels.  This is a big deal here, the town prospers because of it.

We arrive in Pushkar late after another endless bus ride jostling over rough and broken roads with our Indy 500 driver. We are delivered to our home, The Desert Tent Village, a temporary accommodation constructed just for this event. It is impressive. Large tents form a square with grass mats laid out to create a series of walkways with pagodas and outdoor living areas in the centre.

Off to one side a giant "Dinning Hall" where we join other guests for delicious buffet meals. And outside a large social gathering area complete with firepit. The ground is packed and painted with Indian symbols and drawings.





I am escorted to my tent. This is not camping tent! It is about 15x15 with fabric draped walls and rugs covering the straw mats on the floor. The bed is large, two twins pushed together piled high with warm and cozy comforters to keep out the chill, although it is complete with a small heater (which I didn't notice until morning). It is complete with electricity, power bar to charge devices, tea kettle and water.




I notice a zippered compartment at the back and discover an attached bathroom. On three wooden pellets inside another tent are a shower, sink and flush toilet. Now this is camping !!!












I sleep like a baby, snuggled in my cozy tent. The air is chilly and I am reminded of chilly Prairie evenings, with just my nose sticking out of the covers.


The next morning we set out to explore the fair in all its color and festivities.

Getting Henna tattoos at the Fair.

 

 

We spend the afternoon in the markets of Pushkar before we head back, on our bus once more.

Monkeys at Pushkar Lake.

Pushcart Lake. The local women bathe in this lake to cleanse themselves. It is a religious site and sacred.

           The markets of Pushcart with its colorful people and merchandise.

Onward we go, back into our bus and heading to our next destination, the city of Jaipur, also known as the Pink City.

 

Come With Me.......

 

 

 

 

 

Sunrise at the Castle.

 Sunrise.

I awake early. The room is dark and cool and perfectly quiet here in the countryside. I push open the small windows that encircle the alcove. The cool air tickles my skin making me shiver. Somewhere in the distance temple bells call Hindu worshippers to prayer. The tinny, metallic sound of music through a cheap speaker. It is the Gayatri Mantra, chanting, musical, floating on the air punctuated by the putt-putt of a tractor as the farmer heads out for his morning chores.

In the distance a dog barks. It is black outside. Through the open window  I look up at the sky, dotted with a million stars, bright against the dark sky, unblemished by the wayward light of civilization. Orion - distinct, familiar – it reminds me that although I am on the opposite side of the world this is the same sky, the same stars. It is oddly reassuring.

The music stops and a single voice begins to chant. Pure, rich, floating in the absolute quiet. The voice comes from a place deep within the soul and it touches mine.

Bells, heavier now, almost a wooden sound. Only the bells.

The air is pungent, smoky despite the clearness of the sky. I imagine it is from the burning of the debris in the fields in this rural area of India.  Or perhaps the fires of home as the country people begin their morning rituals, ready for the day.

Clear now and closer. It sounds like it is right beneath my window, but sound travels in the quiet. A single bell now, small, dull. Then only quiet.

 

The sky is beginning to lighten, a halo along the distant horizon. First the horizon then slowly, carefully the light pushes upward, the halo becoming a glow, painting the sky upward in splashes of pink, yellow, purple like the meticulous brushstrokes of the classic painters. The sunrise pushes off the cloak of darkness splashing light across the sky, chasing the stars and constellations away to other distant horizons.

The first early risers walk by the magnificent arched gate and day begins in this rural area of India.

After a long day of travel we had stopped for the night at a 200 year old castle in the tiny village of Talabgoen, India, far away from the crowds and relentless noise of Delhi.

 The castle and grounds....



A photo in the parlour of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip visiting the castle when they were much younger.

The swimming pool.

 

 

 

 

 

We take a walk through the village before we leave, heading toward Pushcart and the Camel Fair.

Talabgoen is very tiny village where time stands still. As we walk we are celebrities, the children gather round touching us, wanting photos taken. The adults smile shyly and welcome our attention.

Camels lumber by pulling wagons and carts piled high with their loads.

There are makeshift vehicles made with the chassis of a Jeep, a motor mounted openly and always a speaker. These jeeps do not qualify as real vehicle so do not require a license for either the vehicle or the driver. They are only in the little villages.

 

 

 

The locals are busy with their daily chores. This old man makes mattresses pressing wool into a form and covering it with fabric.

 

 

At a bangle shop they make bangles out of resin from trees, decorated with shiny stones and rhinestones. The more being the better.

 

 

Cows and goats freely wander the street. Children leave their rubber flipflops on the stoop outside simple one room schoolhouses where they sit, cross-legged on an earthen floor.

 

It is a simple life, but everyone seems happy and content with their life.

 

Come With Me..... to the Pushkar Camel Fair,.