Jodhpur day 1
Had breakfast on the
rooftop terrace, porridge with fruit, toast and black coffee since I have given
up on getting white coffee that isn’t almost pure hot milk. Climbed up to the
fort behind the guest house and bought my ticket and camera permit which includes
the audio tour which I thought was pretty good. The fort and the palace within
it are run by a trust which seems in turn to be run by the Maharajah, just like
Jaipur. It's all in brilliant condition and obviously well looked after. As with
Jaipur, the beauty and workmanship are stunning.
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| The Fort |
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| The Fort |
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| The Fort |
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| Palace inside the Fort |
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| Typical Window Style |
There was a small display of a
hookah and opium paraphernalia. According to the audio guide the opium wasn't
smoked, as we are all taught, but drunk as a tea.
The Rajput kings, such as the
Maharajah, were a warrior class who believed in death before dishonour and
built up their courage before battle by taking opium. But according to one
article I read, going into battle half-stoned wasn't a winning strategy and for
all their valour the outcomes against non-Rajputs weren't impressive.
Most of the Rajput kings submitted to the Mughuls and alliances
were sealed by the Mughuls taking Rajput wives. Presumably the women concerned
had no say in the arrangement. The
Rajputs made great claim on their racial purity by never taking Mughul wives.
As in Jaipur, the Maharajahs supported the arts and there was an exhibition of
lovely paintings. Another room was devoted to beautifully crafted swords
daggers and guns. It always seems sad that throughout history, not just in
India, so much energy, skill and ingenuity went into warfare. For the Rajput
kings being warriors pretty much defined them.
Other beautiful rooms
in the palace were dedicated to more peaceful and pleasurable activities music,
poetry, eating and drinking. The women of the court were kept in
"purdah" and the only man allowed in their presence was the maharajah
himself. This continued up to the 20th
century. There is an interesting story attached to one of the palanquins in the
palace:
"When the present maharaja’s grandmother visited London in 1925, she travelled in a palanquin, a box-like enclosure on poles that was carried by four men. There was to be a strict observance of purdah during the Rajput queen’s first visit to England. Clearly, this caused a wave of curiosity among the London press, and the paparazzi were ready to strike. When the maharani stepped out of the car into her palanquin, the press only managed to get a photo of her ankle. The Jodhpur royal party was outraged and bought up every newspaper before Londoners could get a glimpse of the royal body part."
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| Inside the Palace: Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace) |
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| Inside the Palace: Phool Mahal (Flower Palace) |
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Inside the Palace:
Just one of the paintings on the Ceiling |
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| Inside the Palace: Takhat Vilas |
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| Beautiful but Potentially, maybe Actually, Lethal Sword |
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| Music and Dancing |
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| A Life of Privilege |
Fortunately another
practice, sati, by which the king's wives and concubines followed him to
their deaths on his funeral pyre ceased in the 1800's. According to https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/sati-handprints
In 1731, following the
death of Maharaja Ajit Singh, six wives and fifty-eight concubines went to
their deaths with him.
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| Symbolic Hand prints of Wives and Consorts who followed the Maharajah to his death. Probably 1843 |
From the palace, walked
along the wall to what I think was the Chamunda Mataji Temple, not 100% sure
since there were no signs in English. Great views of the "Blue City", not quite as blue as I was expecting. Think the local tourist board ought to supply some free blue paint!
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| "Blue" City |
Was hoping to be able to walk further
along the walls but, as with Agra Fort, a large part isn't open to the public.
So walked down through the lovely
Chokelao Gardens to the maze of narrow streets and alleys of the town.
Unlike Jaipur no sign of urban planning here. But further down the hill there
is a market square a clock tower and a straight road leading away from it which
create a small island of regularity in the tangle.
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Rose-ringed
parakeet
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| Man with Moustache |
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| Guns on the Ramparts |
For dinner I had a
local speciality “Jodhpuri Gatta”, which according to one recipe “would
definitely leave you craving for it “. It comprises steamed dumplings made out of
chick pea flour in a yoghurt based vegetarian gravy. Interesting and filling
but didn’t leave me with any cravings for more.
Jodhpur day 2
Banana pancake coffee
and buttered toast for breakfast.
Went past the entrance
to the fort to Jaswant Thada, a royal mausoleum for the Rajput kings of
Marwar/Jodhpur. It's another extravaganza in white marble and inside has
portraits of all the rulers from 1250 to 1918. In place of a portrait of the
last ruler of an independent state of Jodhpur is a eulogy on his death in 1952
telling how much he was loved by all his subjects and how his life was
dedicated to their well being. I thought
this was a bit rich for the last of a line who lived in total luxury while most
of his subjects were living in squalor. As a "famine relief" project
he decided to pump some money into the economy with massive building works.
Nothing wrong with that, public works were part of Roosevelt's new deal in the
US and the Great Ocean Road in Australia was created for the same reason. But
did he build roads or public housing or schools or hospitals? No, he built an
enormous palace for himself and his family to add to the ones he already had. I
never cease to wonder at the sense of entitlement that aristocrats all over the
world had right up to the modern age. And probably still have. I can understand
how in an earlier age they really did believe that they were chosen by some
divine being or they were descended from the sun and this was their rightful
heritage but surely not in the 20th century! Rant over.
Found out later, isn't the internet wonderful, that the white marble for this and most of the the other white marble palaces and monuments such as the Taj Mahal, and the Victoria Monument in Kolkata, comes from mines in Makrana, about 250 km away. It is 98% pure calcium carbonate in the form of calcite. It still produces 19 million tons of the stuff every year.
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| Jaswant Thada: Royal Mausoleum |
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| Inside the Mausoleum. More White Marble |
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| Royal Cenotaphs; Even More White Marble |
The mausoleum is at the
side of a small lake which is home to many resident and migratory birds
according to an information board. Unfortunately, they are massively
outnumbered by pigeons which seem to be a curse in India, as they are in many
parts of the world. Someone really ought to develop a selective poison for
them. Later realised that part of the reason for the pigeon pestilence is that
people feed the vermin!
Got a tuk tuk to the
step well in the centre of town, a magnificent construction dating from the
1740's and commissioned by one of the Maharajah's consorts. Apparently
supporting public works was a tradition for Maharajah’s consorts. Relaxed with
a coffee at the lovely Stepwell cafe overlooking it. This is an unusually
pleasant area of the town with up-market shops selling expensive souvenirs and
a hotel around the fairly recently restored well. Saw many fish in the water,
wonder how they got there? Away from the step well, in what appeared to be poor streets I was surprised at how many beautiful buildings there were. Obviously people had money when they built them and must have money now to maintain them.
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| The Step Well |
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| Up-Market area near the Step Well |
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| Pretty Building in the Old Part of Jodhpur |
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| Pretty Building in the Old Part of Jodhpur |
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| Pretty Building in the Old Part of Jodhpur |
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| Pretty Building in the Old Part of Jodhpur |
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| Pretty Building in the Old Part of Jodhpur |
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| With a bit more effort they could have made the street totally impassable |
Had a walk round the
market and the straight street that leads from it. Bought a small bottle of
whisky from the "English Wine and Bear Shop". Don't mind drinking
warm whisky but don't like warm Bear. Also bought what I thought was a
bracelet but turns out to be an anklet. The
woman selling it to me claims it to be silver which I think is unlikely at 150 rupees
but I didn't have the heart to walk away and not buy anything. Found an ATM in
a litter bin that happily gave me 10 000 Rupees.
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| Is it so difficult to put the slips in the bin? |
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| English Wine and Bear Shop |
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| Market and Clock Tower |
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| Bangles Galore |
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| Horse Power |
Most of the market and shops were selling
useful clothes, bedding utensils etc rather than anything interesting to
tourists. Noticed that some of the women in their sarees and head coverings are
decked out in lots of expensive looking gold jewellery. Just up from the market
I saw women labouring to put earth and rubble from a building site onto donkeys;
it looks like a scene from the middle ages. There seem to be lots of women doing very menial
jobs such as sweeping the streets and mending the roads but other wise I don't
see many in the work force. Few serving
in restaurants or working on the railways.
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| Women and Donkey Power |
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| Bhavyam Heritage Guest House with Cow |
In the evening went out
for dinner at Indique at the Pal Havelli hotel. Definitely more upmarket than
anywhere since the Oberoi. It's a rooftop bar looking over the market and clock
Tower in one direction and with a view of the fort in the other. Had a tasty
mutton curry with naan bread and a sweet lassi
The Pal Haveli Hotel
looks lovely and gets a "Fabulous" rating on Booking.com. Think it
was fully booked for the nights I have been here. The rates aren't too bad at US$87
a night, about the same as a Premier Inn in England.
Back to the hotel,
loaded up some photos to the blog and had some of the cheap whisky, which isn’t
going to win any awards.
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