Mission Rajasthan 2006 - Day 06

Bikaner to Pushkar
Pushkar to Ajmer
Ajmer to Delhi

This was not supposed to be our final day. Initial plan was to go to Ajmer and then take the night train or the night bus to Delhi. We left Bikaner after a quickie (that is breakfast, ok!) towards Ajmer. Soon, the sands were left behind, greenery taking its wings over the land and as we neared the holy city of Pushkar, the old mighty Aravali range appeared out of the oblivion. Climbing and falling roads cutting across the hills, we reached Pushkar just before lunch at 12. There was nothing much here except for a Brahma temple and a lake. Of course, we saw a glimpse of the stadium where the Huge Camel Fair is held every year. I didn’t go inside: Simple reason – I have grown sick of all the religious places over the years, especially those which are highly celebrated. When we started off ahead to Ajmer, the discussion got drifted towards whether to stay at Ajmer for the evening or to take the Shatabdi at 3.50 PM. Fortunately, everybody got ready to keep their tummys on hold till 3.30 and by the time, we would visit the famous Dargah Sharif at Ajmer and leave for Delhi that very day. We did that and I again sat outside the Dargah, taking custody of our teams’ shoes and socks. Only difference, however, was that a tout who was following us from half a kilometer away got really upset when he couldn’t get any business from us and so, he started blabbering. The part of his unfriendly speech, which I happened to hear, was “This is not a place for people like you. People like you should go to Pushkar, not come here. Pity on you that you don’t get to see the Dargah after coming to Ajmer” Probably, he felt that I was an orthodox and a strict Hindu who is not ready to visit a Muslim religious place but when I turned back and replied “I didn’t enter Pushkar temple also”, he must have been surprised because he left immediately. Now I say, People like him must understand what they are doing to their religion and their country. They are making god-fearing people like me, sick of commercialized religious places. Anyway, I was glad we were moving back towards Delhi that very evening and I would reach back home that day itself, especially when the Driver had already started showing his tantrums. Our journey almost came to an end when we boarded Shatabdi Express from Ajmer but when I came to know that few of my friends had never traveled in a Shatabdi, I knew it was another beginning. As promised to them, came the tea, then the juice followed by tea/coffee second round; and then came the much awaited Tomato Soup with the Butter and Drumsticks :) Meanwhile, we must have been glad enough because when I started playing guitar and singing in the train, everyone who passed gave us an appreciative look coupled with a smile. Those 120 minutes of music ended when my Diary of songs found its last page and the attendant was giving us stares indicating that he was waiting for us to finish the dinner he had kept for us. After all, who doesn’t want to finish his duties as soon as possible? And so, we reached Delhi. My headache forced me to take a Power Nap, only difference being that this nap was 40 minutes long. When I got back to my senses, I heard Delhi Cantonment and almost immediately, my friends and I agreed that they should get down here to reach their hostel faster. I, however, was bound for the New Delhi station so that I could go home for a rest and to spend quality time with my family after so many weeks. Only thing I could tell my Mom on reaching home was “India is Great – India is diverse – India is Huge, mom – India is truly Incredible!”

Mission Rajasthan 2006 - Day 05

Sam to Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer to Ramdeora
Ramdeora to Bikaner
Kilometers = 470

It was death dark when somehow Farhan managed to see the time in his cell phone as 5.30. I must have waited for another 15-20 minutes before I jumped out of the bed, collecting my woolens, I stepped outside in the early morning chilly weather and was just in time to see one of the most beautiful sunrise of my life from the western part of my country. Orange as it seemed, I tried to call others as well but all were asleep except Farhan. The road outside seemed never ending and so it called upon me insisting that I took a picture. I did! After having that delicious tea (with ginger and cardamom) and spicy orange poha in the breakfast, we forged ahead – taking the untouched left from a village “Dahora”. Our driver was already upset at this decision of ours to visit “Tanot”, the border village about 120 km from Jaisalmer because that would make 240 km extra drive that day. Soon, to his gaiety, the road was blocked by sand and although I am not sure of the genuineness but the car’s tyres got blocked in the sand. We had to get down and push it back to rescue. The driver refused to go ahead “supposedly” because of the risk involved. We understood the situation, of course, sadly but it was okay. We had just been to the awesome sand dunes last evening. So, we got ready to go to Bikaner directly via Ramdeora – the famous temple. This temple was a kilometer’s detour from the main highway but we were all appalled. The temple’s background and the setup really perturbed me and all felt that this is a place we could have done away with. Nonetheless, we could see that this temple was quite famous and in peak season, must be throbbed by tourists from all over the world. After the break, before letting him sit in the front of the car, when I asked Hari, whether he would fall asleep; he said vehemently “No, man” with his unmistakable lateral nod. Later on, however, he did fall asleep and when he woke up with a jerk on the road, he told me – he had been sleeping only since last 5 minutes. That is what he called a “Power Nap”, which according to him, was a sleep for very short durations but made you feel fresh immediately. I couldn’t have verified his fact of 5 minutes because I, myself was taking sleep :D We broke for Brunch at Hotel Sikhar situated at the midway of Bikaner-Jaisalmer. Food was good and so was the hygiene. It was 4.30 when we reached Bikaner and on asking some locals, we got to know that the Fort closes at 5 whereas the Karani Mata Temple (the rats’ fame) is open 24 hours. Obviously, we decided to go the Fort. Reaching there at 4.40, I managed to buy the tickets just at the nick of time. Running all over through the steep ramps, entering the main porch of the palace, “Ravi Sir” talked to a Guide who was an official regular Employee-Guide of the Bikaner Fort. This one was another fort which I liked, maybe partly because of the stories and the explanation of the Guide but more because the items displayed here were more recent. This was the place where I saw a 1937 advertisement hoarding of “Lux” Soap while there was a parade of Bikaner’s King going on. Really, HLL is quite an old organization! Also, there lied the jet airplane which flew in the Indian airspace for the first time – a plane which was gifted to Bikaner by British. When we finally took the Bikaner-Ajmer road for Deshnoke to see the Temple, none realized except the driver. Everybody realized only after 30 km, just 5 km before the temple that it was senseless to go back to Bikaner and rather we should go directly to Ajmer from here. After a lot of discussion, however, it was decided (thankfully) that we would go back to Bikaner for a night stay and proceed for Ajmer the next day. When we got back to the city, it was dark. We proceeded towards the main market, where the famous Lalji restaurant is situated. Hotel-hunting and Settling took more than an hour but I feel it was worth it. On the way to Lalji for dinner, stroll through the busiest road of Bikaner did not give me a feel of that busyness as it was 10 PM and shops’ shutters were dropping down with a thud every other second. Food tasted as great as heard but the star attraction was the Kesar Lassi and the Badam-Kaju Rabri Faluda. Ummm, it was just out of the world and it rang many bells in my mind. So many bhujias, which Haldiram sells at Rs. 250 per kg were being sold there at Rs. 60 per kg but due to lack of space, I had to choose only 1 item – I chose Dankoli, which is known as Gaathiya and found in the Bhujia packets numbering 3-5 per 200 grams. Little did I know that my mom would tell me later sarcastically “You went to Bikaner and got just 1 kg of this single item!!!?”

Mission Rajasthan 2006 - Day 04

Jaisalmer to Sam
Kilometers = 65

Our day started with a minor hitch with the hotel guys but those people are quite humble to be argued with, especially when Bikiran appears on the conflict scene – the conflict automatically tends to get solved without any negotiations. We had our breakfast peacefully and heartily. After all, it was our first day when we didn’t have to rush at 6 in the morning. It was already 10 when we started touring the Jaisalmer town – first the Fort. Again, it was huge with its grand sandstone façade as well as structure. And as I had explained earlier to my team; it turned out to be that Jaisalmer was known as the Golden city because the sandstone appeared to be Golden-Green when the day’s first sunrays strike this wonderful stone. We hired a Guide this time and enjoyed his stories. In fact, this was the fort about which I remember the most. 4 Gates – majestic Gates, the most enjoyable one and the last one was “Hawa Prole” meaning the Air gate served as a Wind Tunnel to whoever wanted to take rest after a long journey before meeting the King. A steep ascent was here too but the most interesting part was the Main Chowk – out of which 4 different Streets swirled away in the shape of a Swastika. There on one hand was the King’s Palace and the Queens’ Palace on the other. It was said that the Queens used the gateway of the King’s Palace only 2 times in her life – Wedding or Sati; all the other times, she used to use the Queens’ Palace’ door. Quite a few Mehandi marks – known as Sati hands, were still seen around the King’s Palace’ Gate, now known as Sati Gate. Further, on the way we saw so many houses and were told that the entire official priests’ and ministers’ families still have their houses within the Fort premises only. Many of them have opened businesses and hotels within the fort and run solely on their discretion. Any lease or purchase of any property inside the fort doesn’t come under the jurisdiction of IPC or the Govt. of Rajasthan or India. When we proceeded towards the Temple, which is built inside the Fort, the Guide told us weird stories about the Bridge connecting the temple to a part of the Palace – which my inner self seemed insisted to believe, since they all made sense. Afterwards, it was time to go to the Gadisar Lake, situated in the middle of Jaisalmer. By now, I had got confused why this is called a desert when there is a huge Lake at every few kilometers :) There our team mates bought hats made of Camel-skin and after having lunch, we headed off to Sam. By now, Farhan had come up with a theory to explain Hari’s perennial hunger-strike – “Anorexia”. From the back seat, he had been explaining his new-found theory since – I don’t know how much time – since I was busy taking a quick power-nap. Sam – our dream destination of the trip. Oh My God, there were huge expanse of barren lands with no signs of life, shade, water and happiness. As soon as we reached our booked resort, we were taken into some Muddy Huts and we were taken off to the Camels waiting outside. And then followed the Trail, to be followed through the next 6 km of the desert; which the others followed; but me and Bikiran riding the running camel on the dunes of the clean and untouched sand broke the status quo which was maintained by several tourists there – both Indian and non-Indian. And when we finally reached the Sunset Point, our dreams came true when we walked barefooted on the hot sand which was cold just half a foot beneath. I tried to write my name on the sand but this was not the Beach sand and due to the Avalanche Effect, it got ruined almost immediately. Time for some Photo-Shoot! Oh Yes, we had a gala time – racing over the dunes is quite difficult, still we did it. Catching the red sun in the camera for the second time, all our regrets for missing it in Mount Abu were gone. C’mon, almost everybody sees it from Mount but how many of them catch it from such a fantastic place. I took a break and lied on the sand, taking minutes off for introspection – inadvertently covering all my clothes and hair and face with sand. So much so that even after blowing it all away, still it was there on me 2 days later. When we reached back to our huts, it was almost 7 and the local folk artists were warming up for their performance ahead. 1 hour of music and dance gave us the real feel of the desert followed by the real Rajasthani cuisine for the second day in a row – Besan Gatta, Bajre ki Roti, Kadhi (quite spicy), Dal Baati Churma – God! That churma was awesome, still makes me roll my tongue over :P And then, it was time for my Guitar to get strummed. Next 3 hours were full of music and the latter one hour filled with darkness. There was nothing except 10 human beings, sound of guitar, star-studded moonless night and quietly flowing cold breeze. Slowly and stealthily, most of us resorted to the cozy beds to have a chit chat with the frogs and black beetle bugs but some remained outside and then suddenly, all beds were full when I and Farhan moved alone in the dark night looking for a safe place to stay. Oscillating between open tents and lockable huts, I finally decided we would stay in the hut, thinking of the huge cash I was handling. I just hoped I do not become a Spiderman or a Beetle-man by the morning :)

Mission Rajasthan 2006 - Day 03

Mount Abu to Jodhpur
Jodhpur to Pokhran
Pokhran to Jaisalmer
Kilometers = 690

The sleep was good. Alarm went on at 5. Although it took me 15 minutes to get off from the bed. And then it took another 10 minutes for me to wake up next person (apart from Farhan). Farhan was obviously easy to wake up because of his troublesome GI tract. Meanwhile, I completed my chores and checked if we could get another bathroom – which we got. It was 6 AM when I found that only 2 people were left to be ready. Again, it was 6.45 (45 minutes late) when we finally started treading the path downhill. I am sure; all of us were feeling gratitude towards destiny that we happened to visit Abu just before the 3-day strike in Mount Abu. On the way back, Ravi exclaimed with humor indicating that all the cars climbing the Mount were bound to be doomed. By the time, we joined back the Udaipur-Jodhpur National Highway, it was already 8 and the estimated time to reach Jodhpur was 12. But Alas, I had forgotten to include the time for the break. Our driver knew the place quite well – he stopped at a very good place – the A-1 Plaza, a food joint by Reliance. We relished the food – given our hunger and then we had an opportunity to talk to one of the managers of the Plaza about worthy Tourist places in Rajasthan which might fall in our way. There we came to know about Sam – a place 35 km ahead of Jaisalmer, where there are Folk Dances, Night Stay available and with these are available, what we craved to see – Camel Safari in the actual “neat” Sand Dunes. Our minds got to work and within 10 minutes, it was decided that we would leave for Jaisalmer today itself. That meant that we would be cutting off the duration of Jodhpur visit. Thankfully, everybody agreed! When we reached Jodhpur, my eyes were only searching for Mirchibade and Raj Kachori. But I decided to meet one of the “neutral” personnel at RTDC Office. I was soon made to realize that here, nobody is neutral. He gave me a contact in Jaisalmer who would arrange everything for me – which, of course, I never even bothered to use. Our next target was twofold – Transfer the pics from Camera to the Pen-Drive and catch up on food. Many had not had enough at A-1 and so, it was time for them. Stocking up Mirchibade, Raj “Meethi” kachori, Fruits and water, we headed off to the Jodhpur “Mehrangarh” Fort. Acoustics were just amazing, I realized, when we were entering the Gate and I heard beautiful sounds of Sarangi and Mridang coming from distance. It was a steep ascent, to which I smirked – “Don’t worry, it was not for humans. It was for elephants!” I had been told this at a prior visit to Jaipur Amber Fort with my family. After walking through half a kilometer up, I found those musicians sitting at the final gate; all dressed up in full traditional beautifully-colored clothes. What do I tell you about the fort? I don’t remember the history. The facts are all over the Internet and Journals – Check them out yourself. All I remember is that it was huge – it was strong – it was beautiful and it was STEEP! Some cannons jotted the balcony of the Fort but what seemed amazing was the stark Blue Color of the Jodhpur City. Of course, it is the Old Part of the City which is blue and now, my teammates titled me as the “Knowledgeable”. I had explained them earlier how and why Jodhpur is known as the Blue City which they had not agreed to. Now, they did! When we came back to the gate, our camera’s batteries were low and I went to buy an extra pair. Our driver stopped suddenly in front of the Rani Mahal. Now, I imagine – Those Kings of the medieval period only had 3 things to do in life – Smell Roses, Hunt Animals and third one, you don’t wanna know :) I mean, seriously, each and every painting portrayed them doing one of these 3 deeds. But anyway, we proceeded inside the Rani Mahal and when we did, suddenly I stopped and decided not to go. Bikiran stayed with me. Other 5 fellows went inside and came back after a long haul of 25 minutes. Yes – 25 minutes in a palace was “long” according to our standards till now. Meanwhile, on discussing with the driver, I had decided not to visit the Umaid Bhawan Palace in the core of the city where the current generation of the Marwar rulers stays. And when they came out, I explained all of it to them and finally, soon, we were heading towards Jaisalmer. Finally, I was traveling on the road – I had dreamt so much about, during the last few days. Dotted by the military trucks – more than occasionally, we somehow got the vibes and the feel that we were nearing the Border – Indo-Pak Border. Later on, we did find out that Jaisalmer got its due importance and the highway only after Pakistan attacked the nearby region in 1965. The road was awesome – as I had expected. Around 50 kilometers before Pokhran (nuclear test fame), we spotted fairly neat sand dunes with fewer weeds and cacti; and given the beautiful sunset, we stopped for a stretch-break. There was a “Dhani” (a small village which consists of less than 20 houses) some 200 meters off the road from where we saw some children playing with a camel. They must have felt curious to know about these t-shirt and jeans with sun-glasses wearing creatures that they ran towards us. I asked one of ‘em – What do you do – Do you go to school? Where do you get water from? From his innocuous replies, I got to know that there was a school in that Dhani with some basic facilities but he had to walk 5 km daily to get Drinking Water. They must have been advised not to go near the Highway, because when we called them to give some fruits, they declined and asked us to rather drop those on the sand. We drove further – stopping only once at Pokhran, 1 km milestone for a photo-shoot and reaching Jaisalmer at 7 PM. It was not a city, just a small basic round-about crossing joining 4 different roads that crawled away in different directions trying hard to expand the span of this small town. We settled on a small hotel – quite decent and cheap but returned to the main town to have dinner. It was high time I called home and when I did – I exclaimed to my mother in the typical “Border” movie way – “Subah ka naashta Abu mein, Dopahar ka khana Jodhpur mein aur Raat ka Jaisalmer mein” :D It had been a long day with around 700 kilometers of travel. I had spotted a deer along the way but again, nobody agreed to my words. Anyhow I knew I did and I was glad I did!

Mission Rajasthan 2006 - Day 01

Delhi to UdaipurKilometers = 740

Oh…Glad that I kept my jacket, woolen cap and THE Blanket along; otherwise I would have been frozen by now. Surely, the night was chilling but what do I see here – Already Cactus???
Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen! This is 2963, Mewar Express, aptly named, as I am being taken to Udaipur – the City of Lakes in Southern Rajasthan (Mewar Region) in a Sleeper Class coach where the morning mist through the window is sending shivers through my spinal cord. But on observing closely, I realize that the Cactus has been grown strategically in straight lines on the boundaries of, what seem to be, personal farms; to keep unwanted animals away. Now that’s called Indian “Jugaad-Technology”.

We just crossed Chittaurgarh, as I overheard some locals’ conversation in the local dialect “Mewari” and according to them, it would take 2 more hours to reach Udaipur which means we would be an hour late from the scheduled time of 7 AM. But gladly, I believe the seminar we are supposed to present at the Chetak Theatre would not be affected as it starts at 9.30 AM. Fine – I take a look around and gradually the sun rises to shine waking up all my friends who had underestimated the winters of Rajasthan, especially the nights.

What follows is overwhelming – the Welcome, the Seminar, the Response and the Queries but no, those are not to be mentioned on a travelogue. Are they? As we move on to have one of the best lunches at Ravi’s house, I catch glimpses of the city. Lunch could never have been better – simple yet charming, and needless to mention, very sumptuous – Dry Phreni, Mango Sweet Chutney, Jaggery, Bikaneri Bhujia and a delicious Rabri! It becomes difficult to walk but soon I find all of us on the main road trying to catch an auto-rickshaw for our first destination – The City Fort and Palace Museum. It takes us 2 Autos to reach the Palace via Sunder Pole and when we enter, we see that the Manek Chowk – the Entrance to the Palace is quite big in size and the chains, which were used to park Elephants, can still be seen. A reasonably big façade covering all the paintings, articles, and the history of the Mewar rulers within, seems impressive. Of course, I do not know what lies ahead in this trip.

The City Fort & Palace Museum of Udaipur

Cruising on the Fateh Sagar Lake

The First Sunset...

Watching the Sun Go Down!

Fading Shadows - One by One

Next, as we cruise in the motor boat through the Fateh Sagar Lake – the largest in the City, towards a scenic island called Nehru Park in the middle; my thoughts are pinned on, whether we should visit the Sukhwadia Circle – the happening place in the city. As it stands, we did visit the place, had a fairly delectable Kulfi Faluda and moved ahead to be treated at the famous Fields Club – supposed to be the club of all the Elite Residents of Udaipur City. The drinks were good as was the food but the best was the Guitar-session in the Garden outside, which of course attracted some complimentary stares, but the goodness was in the sheer enjoyment and relaxation it provided, at the outset of such a wonderful trip. The night dawned and the boys slept. The beds were cozy as were the blankets. And soon, it was 5.30 AM – time to get ready and follow the trail. What trail? We shall see…


Day 02
Udaipur to Mount Abu
Kilometres = 240


The Tavera, we had booked, arrived in time – Driver seemed cordial. I checked the papers and verified the deal as the team prepared for the day ahead. We were already 90 minutes late when we started after filling the Fuel Tank. The road was quite boring and due to lack of sleep over the last 10 days of Exams, everybody felt sleepy. Only respite on the way was a Lake – quite serene – and similar to the Periyar River. Immediately after we took a Pin-Bend from the National Highway - towards Abu Road, our first Road-Break came at “Hotel Padharo Sa” where we had a filling Brunch just before starting our ascend towards the Arbuda Parbat (commonly known as Mount Abu).

Quite a lot of Toll Booths make you contract your nose – Obviously they annoy you but you feel relaxed as you reach the Town and you feel the cool breeze basked in the comfortable warmth of the Bright Sun overhead. Rules are strict here about the Parking – There is a particular parking lot, which charges Rs. 10/- and as the team got busy stretching themselves, me and Ravi got onto our feet for Hotel-Hunting. It was quite apparent that many people do not have traveling experience as they kept on encouraging the hotel-touts on the streets. It took us an hour to settle on a hotel room – it was a suite quite cheap with Parking space. Lunch was provided for us by the dry-fruits and the munching items I had got. So, it was time for us to go directly for sightseeing.

Delwara Temples built of Marble with the capital of Rs. 18.53 Crores (this is the actual value around 700 years ago – not the current value), followed by Guru Shikhar – the top of the hill-range. This was the place where we actually made quite a few Business plans. Because of the uncomfortable staircase, Bikiran said he would make a rope-way from Mount Abu to Guru Shikhar while Kannan added that he would make one from Udaipur to Guru Shikhar. At this point, our dear Swamy “Baya” articulated his formidable business-plan which has been his dream since eternity – a Ropeway from Kanyakumari to Srinagar, which got extended recently to Leh, after knowing about Ladakh from me.

And then there was this rush to Sunset Point. But soon the ecstasy of visiting the Mount Abu faded into the regret of missing the famous Sunset. We had been late by just 10 minutes :(Although we were made to believe that we had been able to catch a glimpse of the sinking star, soon we realized it was an exhaust stream of a jet but that was so far away that I imagined it to be flying over Karachi :) You see, nobody on this planet can match my weird imaginations. Well, all this done – I had a boiled corn on the way back – tasted awesome with the first stroll of the trip in that chilly weather.

Back in the hotel room, it was decided that since Farhan is not feeling well, I would be leaving early for dinner with him to get his medicines and then, the other 4 will leave after we get back. Needless to mention, the seventh one – Hari, my dear roommate seemed to be on eternal hunger-strike and embraced sleep, almost immediately.
We went, we ate… okay, we conquered, as well – and then we came back and we slept. I was so fast asleep when those 3 noble monkeys and “Photo Waale Baya” returned that I did not hear even a word of the “points” raised about the hotel room and the Mount Abu stay.