Jaipur, Udaipur and Jamnagar
Jaipur is called the pink city because many of its buildings are painted pink. I got a tour there to see the city in one day. Among the tourists in my group there were two nice girls from Australia, one of Indian descend - she was visiting her uncle who lives in Jaipur and was also part of the group - very nice people. We went to see the famous astronomical observatory built by some Maharana, the city palace, and the Amber Palace located on a hill. A huge structure. Must have been beautiful in its time of glory but now it looks very neglected. The whole city looks neglected. It has some nice parks and wide streets so one day, if it is renovated, it will be beautiful again. The best part of my stay in Jaipur was a meeting with an elephant and with monkeys (different species than the one I saw before). The elephant was waiting for passangers to carry them up the hill to the Amber Palace. He was dozing. I stood next to him, he opened his eyes, lifted his trunk and sniffed my hand, delicately touching with its soft ending. And then he looked at me and, of course, there was a whole universe in that gaze. He looked at me with curiosity, love, compassion, and playfullness. I patted his tusk... I wanted to tell him: lets leave all this tourist business and go somewhere where there's nature, away from this busy city. I felt so sorry for him, to be away from where he belonged. Of all the Hindu gods the one I like the most is Ganesh - the god with the elephant head. When you look into the eye of an elephant he is, indeed, divine. Everybody is, but he is divine effortlessly... The Ganesh I saw at the foot of the Amber Palace hill was the biggest elephant I have seen. I had no idea they could be this big. The monkeys were in the garden of the Amber Palace and it was their natural habitat - they just came from all over around to be entertained by tourists. I had some biscuits in my bag (my only food these days as my stomach is not tolerating the "freshly" prepared food...) and I gave them to a nice doggy and then to the monkeys and they came to get it one by one, without any rush and very politely and delicately. We exchanged smiles and head scratches.
Udaipur is considered a very romantic city and it truly is. There's a beautiful City Palace and many smaller palaces on the lake. Some of them are turned into hotels. I toured the main palace and the smaller ones, and the narrow streets of the old town. The outside architecture of the palace is beatiful but the inside is somewhat kitchy to my taste: a lot of filigree, minature paintings, lots of mirror tiles on walls, lots of garish colors... Eveybody has his or her preference. Mine is the art of the Chimu and Moche or Maya and Aztec cultures: rough form, one color, simplicity. The "Maharana" style is very elaborate... too elaborate for my taste. Also clothing and jewelry sold in stores and markets is very colorful, very rich in gold and precious stones. There's nothing I would want to take home from the state of Rajastan, no matter how aggressively the sellers would try to sell it to me...
With a short stop in Ahmadabad I arrived to Jamnigar today early morning. One thing which I really like in India is the institution of the "retiring rooms" at train stations. They have cheap (and quite clean) rooms and dormitories at each railway station so if one arrives in the middle of the night (due to train being delayed, for example) one can crush there instead of looking for a hotel at that impossible hour. They are so cheap that when the train is late 5 hours or late "indefinitely" it's worth taking it. I slept a few hours at the retiring room and went to see Dr. Baghel at the University of Ayurveda with whom I corresponded earlier regarding courses on Ayurveda. He greeted me warmly and introduced me to some of the professors. The state university is the only university in India which offers full 5,5 year program on Ayurveda to foreigners (in English). They also have an introductory 3-month course. The semester starts in July so I have time to think if I would like to stay here for the next 5,5 years. The city is close to water but it is nonetheless a desert city. It is winter now but it's still hot: about 30 degrees Celsius. In the summer it is above 40 degrees. The beasts of burder are camels here. The city is dusty and hot. There are some suculent shrubs and palm trees around but otherwise the vegetation is scarce. People seem to be very nice. I would say they also look happier than in the cities I visited before.
Udaipur is considered a very romantic city and it truly is. There's a beautiful City Palace and many smaller palaces on the lake. Some of them are turned into hotels. I toured the main palace and the smaller ones, and the narrow streets of the old town. The outside architecture of the palace is beatiful but the inside is somewhat kitchy to my taste: a lot of filigree, minature paintings, lots of mirror tiles on walls, lots of garish colors... Eveybody has his or her preference. Mine is the art of the Chimu and Moche or Maya and Aztec cultures: rough form, one color, simplicity. The "Maharana" style is very elaborate... too elaborate for my taste. Also clothing and jewelry sold in stores and markets is very colorful, very rich in gold and precious stones. There's nothing I would want to take home from the state of Rajastan, no matter how aggressively the sellers would try to sell it to me...
With a short stop in Ahmadabad I arrived to Jamnigar today early morning. One thing which I really like in India is the institution of the "retiring rooms" at train stations. They have cheap (and quite clean) rooms and dormitories at each railway station so if one arrives in the middle of the night (due to train being delayed, for example) one can crush there instead of looking for a hotel at that impossible hour. They are so cheap that when the train is late 5 hours or late "indefinitely" it's worth taking it. I slept a few hours at the retiring room and went to see Dr. Baghel at the University of Ayurveda with whom I corresponded earlier regarding courses on Ayurveda. He greeted me warmly and introduced me to some of the professors. The state university is the only university in India which offers full 5,5 year program on Ayurveda to foreigners (in English). They also have an introductory 3-month course. The semester starts in July so I have time to think if I would like to stay here for the next 5,5 years. The city is close to water but it is nonetheless a desert city. It is winter now but it's still hot: about 30 degrees Celsius. In the summer it is above 40 degrees. The beasts of burder are camels here. The city is dusty and hot. There are some suculent shrubs and palm trees around but otherwise the vegetation is scarce. People seem to be very nice. I would say they also look happier than in the cities I visited before.
posted by Asia Kabat at 1:11 AM
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