India 5 - Chandelao Garh, Ranakpur, Udaipur - Rajasthan

Chandelao Garh, Rajasthan, India - 26^th Oct 2011

Bishnoi Pit Loom

We said our goodbyes to Chandra and Bhavana and set off on our trek around southern Rajasthan, beginning with a village safari south of Jodpur to see the Bishnoi people who are weavers and potters. Watched them producing their hand thrown pots and using their traditional pit looms to produce either cotton or coconut fibre dhurries (rugs) using local vegetable dyes and patterns. 

Tea & Turbans

Our last stop was in a tiny settlement of two or three houses way off the beaten track to be shown how the locals make and drink their opium tea. The black opium resin is ground in a small wooden vessel with some water and then poured through a cotton sieve and then a finer second sieve and put back in the wooden vessel and given to you to have a sip – rather bitter taste. The growing of opium for sale is strictly controlled by the government, however, villagers grow a little for their own consumption.

Cranes from Siberia

This area is renowned for its wildlife and our driver, Vinod, knew the area and where and what to look for so we had our our little safari. We saw small, shy antelope grazing in the knee high grass and large black buck antelope with very long spiral horns. We saw many birds – herons, egrets, various kingfishers, mynahs, drongos, kites, eagles, and best of all, thousands of cranes that had migrated from Siberia and were flying down from high altitude in straggly lines and 'V's, noisily calling to each other, to roost and feed on the numerous lakes across the area.

Chandeloa Garth

Stopped overnight at Chandelao Garh. It is an 18^th century fortified manor house with a wall all around and a huge arched entranceway leading to a large courtyard with the old house sitting in the centre of it. Richly carved pillars and decorated floors give the whole place a romantic feel. The accommodation is in the old stables that surround the courtyard and have been beautifully converted – high beds and huge bathrooms.

The owner was a kind host. This is his ancestral home and his mother also lives here. He was in the tea business in Assam until ten years ago and returned because the house was falling apart and as he said 'I had to do something from the heart'. So he converted it to this beautiful truly rural retreat. We took a wander round the village late afternoon and went to the step well – that had a big turtle living in it, then on to the lake and saw lots of birds, including an owl sitting in a hole in a big tree.

Detail of the Day: As we stood looking at the beautiful scene and the sunset, a young boy came hurrying round the edge of the lake carrying a small parcel. Taking no notice of us or anyone else, he approached a small stone platform underneath the tree with the owl. On the platform was a crudely carved upright stone with a snake on it, two smaller stones each side had no carving but all showed traces of previous offerings of rice, flowers, honey, ghee and incense. The boy solemnly placed his offering of some rice in front of the snake and placed his hands together and said a short prayer. Then just as quickly as he arrived, he was gone.

Chandelao Garth Interior

We had dinner on the rooftop terrace overlooking the village and enjoyed the bangs and flashes from miles around as everyone celebrated Diwali with fireworks, plus all the temple bells and chanting. Every house was picked out with little flickering lights of candles and oil lights which had been placed along roofs and parapets to welcome Ram back from his 14 year exile. It was a magical scene enhanced by the sound of peacocks calling to each other across the hot dark plain surrounding us. Talking with the son of the owner, who is studying law in Mumbai, and who was just visiting for Diwali, I wondered how he reconciled this quiet rural life of local landowning gentry with the sophistication of the city and whether he will choose to do as his father has done and find ways to maintain the old ancestral home and help to improve the prosperity of the village and it's people.

Gathering for Tea & Opium

Just how much the people of this area value tradition was clear the next morning, when we watched all the heads of the households (all men) from the village pay a Diwali visit to the house. They were welcomed in and all sat together on a raised platform within the courtyard that is part of the entranceway to the house. The owner and his son then sat down in the most senior space and quiet conversations commenced. Everyone was dressed in the white baggy trousers and shirts, curly toed shoes and large, colourful, wobbly turbans. All the men round here have one or both ears pierced with gold rings and of course they all sport magnificent moustaches. It really is quite a sight. Then there was a flurry of activity as the staff brought them all tea and then the ceremony of preparing and dispensing opium tea for everyone commenced.

Talking to the owner about it all afterwards he was very matter of fact about what seemed to us an amazing and unusual spectacle. He explained that tea and opium was traditionally hosted by him at Diwali and Holi, two of the great festivals of India. He said that his family is not aristocratic but of the nobility, so landowners with responsibilities that are as important today as they ever were.

Sunderrang NGO

We also visited the NGO co-operative project, that is supported partly by the hotel: and the Basecamp Foundation. They have a website: www.sunderrang.com and you can see the work they produce. It is situated next door and is run by a young Indian woman who set it up two years ago. It's aims are to give women in the village a way to earn some money and to teach and maintain the traditional crafts of the area. It has extra benefits in that it puts women of different castes together and everyone is expected to help with sweeping the work room and washing up the tea cups. This may seem a small thing but it is significant and has taken a long time to encourage this behaviour – sometimes with small monetary incentives to ensure that everyone takes their turn. The men of the village now accept that the women go the centre for a few hours each day and rather like the extra money it brings to the household and have also realised that the fabric of their society and way of life has not been altered in a detrimental way. It would have been good to stay longer but the itinerary called!

Ranakpur, Rajasthan, India - 27^th Oct 2011

A long journey today – you really get the feel for how big Rajasthan is. This area has a large wildlife reserve and is partly in the Aravalli Hills, breathtakingly beautiful and quite remote.

Kumbhalgarh Fort

28^th Oct - Didn't see many other western tourists but a fair few Indian tourists. Except, of course, we ran into Dominic and Siobhan at Kumbhalgarh Fort, honeymooners we first met in Jodhpur,. This place took a long time to get to and is really off the beaten track. It is immense with 36 kilometres of walls – all still standing – wide enough to take six horses riding abreast on them. Built in the 1400s, there are seven gates on the approach and the fortified position meant that this fort was only ever taken once in it's history. It takes 30 minutes to walk from the main gate to the top and the effort is worth it for the views out in every direction. The old palace at the top is a mix of ancient right up to the mid 19^th century Durbar Hall, decorated with elephants. 

Traditional Irrigation

The tranquil surface of agricultural life that you see here belies how very hard farming is. Fields are tilled with a pair of oxen and ploughshare or dug using hand tools of a design that has not changed for a thousand years. Ancient irrigation wheels are also driven by oxen to draw water up and into the fields through a system of sluice gates. The buckets on the wheel are made of old tin cans. It is harvest time for the hay and it is being cut by hand right up the very steep hillsides and women walk down carrying loads on their heads that almost completely obscure them. Men are cutting cane with big machetes. Sesame seeds are being threshed out as well as wheat. Rice is also grown on the valley floors and many fruits are cultivated. Tasks and types of work are done by specific people and caste is dominant everywhere in this very traditional society.

Delwara Temple

Went to the 14^th century Delwara Jain temples on the way back that were thronging with Indian tourists because it is a most important pilgrimage site. There are exquisite carvings throughout this fascinating temple. On the way back our driver Vinod took us to Nakki Lake where we saw a crocodile (Mugger) – it was really exciting.


Detail of the Day: Look out for the “priest” who will put a red tika mark on your head and then demand money from you – everyone has to make a living.

Delwara Temple

Our hotel was rather indifferent – however there was a very posh resort just up the road, so we walked up there for a sundowner and enjoyed their garden and views. On the way back we saw a dead dog in the road that the goat herder was having trouble persuading his flock to pass by. He eventually managed it but it was getting dark quickly and a pack of local dogs were getting interested in the goats so he was having to throw stones at them to keep them away whilst getting his flock moving on home round this dog. By the following morning a dead jackal has joined the late dog and various kites and crows were gathering as we left.

Udaipur, Rajasthan, India - 29^th Oct 2011

Lake Palace, Udaipur

Fantastic drive to Udaipur – driving along a really good road for a change – we passed a family of nomadic camel herders on the move. Apart from the whole family, some riding on the camels, some walking, they also had their donkeys carrying their household goods and tents whilst the camels carried the bulk of the burden. The women dressed in very bright colours with large solid silver ankle bracelets.

And so we arrived in Udaipur the city of lakes where lots of people like to hold weddings. Once again we were at a home stay called Balunda House. Our hosts, Mr and Mrs Singh, have a beautiful house which is decorated with traditional painted flowers on the coving of the verandah and living and dining areas. Mrs Singh has been learning English at college – encouraged by her husband – and speaks it really well. You can tell she really relishes English conversation. A highly intelligent woman, she explained that her parents were very traditional and when she was 10 she had to give up school as her parents did not allow her to be away from home after that age. She runs an extremely good homestay and loved spoiling John with special desserts once she discovered he likes pudding!

Lunch, Lake, Udaipur

Our trip to the palace and fort the next day was thwarted by the King of Bhutan and his new bride who, as part of an extensive honeymoon tour, were visiting the Maharajah who has one of the most expensive hotels in the world. Therefore, because of security, all the main attractions were shut as they were visiting them. So we went shopping to an Indian mini supermarket and then went out of town to the Monsoon Palace up above the city. It's in a great location but is very run down as it is run by the state – so no one seems to care about it. We had lunch in a restaurant on the edge of a lake, sitting under an awning on the lawn – perfect. 

Traditional Homes, Shilpgram

We went to Shilpgram (www.shilpgram.org) an arts and crafts museum park that has full size genuine replicas of all the different styles of traditional houses in Rajasthan and also has displays of music and dancing from the different regions of state. This was really interesting – particularly the display of masks and musical instruments in the Gol building. We then went to visit some ruined temples at the side of a lake in the hills that was gorgeous. We had them all to ourselves. 

Posh Drinks

On the way back we stopped at a 5 star hotel for a drink on a magnificent terrace looking out over a lake in the hills. They were in the middle of preparing for a wedding for a German group that had taken over the whole hotel and it all looked lovely. We could see the temples we had just visited on the other side of the lake – all looks like a film set. Quite dreamy and unreal. Udaipur has a definite romance about it.

Gol Masks, Shilpgram