India Six: More Grand Tour of Rajasthan

We have been traveling through Rajasthan now for seven days through what is known as royal territory. On the seven stops we have visited "The Pink City" of Jaipur, the city of Rajput chivalry of Cittogarh, the city of lakes Udaipur, Jaisalmer the "Jewel of the Desert" and the majestic fort-city of Jodhpur.In each place we have been overwhelmed by the splendor of the architecture, the refinement of the art and what the CNN advertisements call "Incredible India" In each place we start the day by meeting with a specialized guide who lives there and is very well qualified to give us the history and background. All organized by the "palace on Wheels" A wonderful way to travel. Not for everybody this, but we love it.

We have seen the diffrences between the Hindu architecture with its separation of the royal ladies behind carved sandstone 'latticework' where they could observe the activities outside, but themselves never be observed. And then the Muslim style of building which is more monumental, but has the same separation of the genders. Only Royal privilege could override the strict rules and enter the harem. Women were captured as booty in wars and if they once entered the harem, they never left until they died.

Some of the big forts and palaces work purely as 'museums' and are not properly occupied. Others are mini city-states with thousands of people living and working there. Each city-state has a maharaja whose life is one of great luxury and style. Indira Ghandi stopped the payment of the hundreds of maharajas and their royal families. So now they have to do what titled estates in many European countries have to do. The have visitors who pay and patronize the 'palace shops' Everywhere the traffic is crazy. Inside the great walls in the small roadways and alleys tuk-tuks operate at break-neck speed alongside pedal-rickshaws and motor-bikes. Nobody moves slowly. They all work their way through throngs of pedestrians, pushing and shoving, blowing their hooters and scattering people. And then there is the crazy business of cows, just moseying along wherever they like, totally undisturbed and leaving their big piles of droppings wherever the mood takes them The cows, we are told, have owners and so are generally looked after. A bigger problem is the dogs. They are not owned by anyone and so have to live off the scrapps tossed to them by people who have very little to sustain themselves. So the dogs lie, listlessly in the sun, suffering from too little protein to have the energy for much action. Very sad.

It would not be a tourist and travelers paradise if there was not shopping. Most of the time we can push our way past the determined sellers who can be very persistent. And we pay no attention to the obvious tourist traps. But we are also taken to some places where we are told prices are good and quality is of the best. We visited one such place, located in a Haveli, a house built to have open airy spaces and courtyards. The very professional
star-salesman seats the twenty-or so visitors around the courtyard and then proceeds to have his many helpers to throw open one one sild/cashmere/pashmina bedspread/scarf/throw after the other. People gasp with the beauty of it. The women go into low-key hysteria. We all agree that the prices are indeed very reasonable. The salesman says if there is any difficulty with luggage he has an arrangement with a courier company, and anything bought can be delivered to your house "in ten days time" I see steam coming off the credit cards Most couples and families leave with several "presents"

Tomorrow we go to the Taj Mahal