Jaipur, Jodhpur
and Jaisalmer - Rajasthan in a nutshell
Rajasthan has been on the international tourist's map since the days of
yore with its exotic maharajas and their palaces (many converted into hotels),
mammoth forts and vividly coloured textiles and handicrafts. Many notable
international films have been shot in Rajasthan right from Peter O'Toole's One
Night with the King and James Bond's Octopussy to Christopher Nolan's The Dark
Night Rises and Judi Dench's The Exotic Marigold Hotels. Lately, many domestic
tourists too have been making a beeline to Rajasthan thanks to the very well
crafted and aggressive marketing campaign of the Rajasthan Tourism Department.
Dating back to almost 5000 years, Rajasthan lays claim to being the home of the seers who composed the Vedas and present day cities like Jhunjhunu and Sikar are said to have existed right from
the Vedic times as part of Brahmavartha. Excavations in the Kalibanga region of
Rajasthan point to the existence of Harappans of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Much later, the region was ruled by various dynasties like the Kushans, Guptas,
Mauryas, Parihars, Parmars and Chauhans. This loose collection of
principalities was invaded by the Mughals around 1200 after which many of the
rulers accepted Mughal suzerainty, except for a few like Rana Pratap. Later
Akbar unified the various kingdoms by forging alliances, both, through
matrimony and annexations and a precarious peace prevailed among the Rajput
principalities which the British formalized. When India gained independence and
states were drawn up, a few Rajput princes refused to join the new India. It
took all of seven stages of negotiations to complete the formation of
Rajasthan. Today, Rajasthan is the largest state in India, covering 3.5 lakh
square kilometres, which makes it as large as the Republic of Congo. It shares
a border with Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh Gujarat and
Pakistan. It is home to the awesome Thar Desert, has four major National Parks
(Ranthambore, Sariska, Keoladeo and Jaisalmer Desert Park), intricately carved
temples and step wells showcasing the skill of its people and handlooms and
handicraft that are the benchmarks for aesthetics and beauty.
The circuit of
Jaipur (The Pink City), Jodhpur (The Blue City) and Jaisalmer (The Golden City)
offers a fairly accurate thumbnail sketch of Rajasthan. If Jaipur offers a
combo pack of Rajasthan, Jodhpur showcases its history faithfully and Jaisalmer
lays bare the delights of the Thar Desert. Together, they provide Rajasthan in
a nutshell in just over a week.
Jaipur
Jaipur, the
state capital, is a good place to start and close the circuit because it is
well connected to the metro cities and major towns of India by road, rail and
air and also encapsulates the entire tourist experience very neatly. There are
important forts and monuments, authentic gastronomic experiences and the
mandatory shopping delights. The story behind how Jaipur came to be called the
Pink City is interesting. In 1876 Maharaja Ram Singh, painted the whole city
pink, the colour that symbolizes hospitality, to welcome the Prince of Wales
and Queen Victoria. Prince Albert remarked
that this was the Pink City and the name stuck.
Jaipur has four
major forts - The Amer Fort, Jaigarh, The City Palace and Nahargarh
fort. Amer Fort, the most well known, thanks to the many
movies shot there, combines functionality with aesthetics. It is a testimony to
the creativity and ingenuity of the human mind, right from the rice and black
dal amalgam used to produce a marble like effect on the walls, to the
indigenous air conditioning from water flowing down a slope with vents on its
side to let in air. A secret passage, not for public use, from Amer Fort leads
to Jaigarh fort evoking vivid images of palace intrigue. The City Palace has
some very interesting artifacts like the two 3000 litre silver urns in which
the Maharaja Madho Singh II carried the waters of Ganga, when he sailed to
England for the coronation of Edward II. Jaigarh and Nahargarh provide a bird's
eye view of the city, showcasing some familiar film locations for the Bollywood
tourist. Moving on, the Albert Museum- the foundation stone of which was laid
by Prince Albert is a must-see, with its awesome architecture and fine
exhibits. Then there is the Jantar Mantar which is the scientific forethought
and labour of a very enlightened king. The Hawa Mahal, the face of Rajasthan,
lies at centre of Jaipur in the heart of the shopping district. It is a network
of jharokhas or windows from behind which the royal ladies in Purdah (veil) would sit and watch
the world pass by, safe from the sight of the commoners. There is nothing you
do not get in the roads in and around Hawa Mahal, from the vividly coloured
safas or Jaipur Turbans to dupattas in a hundred hues, bed sheets, kurtas and
sarees, with the best of block prints (Kishanpol), jewellery (Johri Bazaar),
lac jewellery (Tripolia Bazaar) to marble and other handicraft (Chandpol
Bazar), mojris (Nehru Bazaar), camel leather products (Sireh Deori Bazaar)
suparis, perfumes, spices (Bapu Bazaar) and lots more. LMB or Lakshmi Mishtan
Bhandar, established in 1757, with its extensive vegetarian menu of Rajasthani
delicacies as well as Pan Indian and international cuisines, is an excellent
pit stop to assuage those hunger pangs. For afters, there is Pandit Kulfi and
masala chai in kulhads (earthen cups), both icons of Jaipur.
Jodhpur
Jodhpur is 360 kilometres away from
Jaipur - a journey of six hours by road and rail. Jodhpur is called the Blue
City because of the houses and settlements around the fort, being painted blue.
One belief is that blue copper sulphate is added to the paint for its insect
repellent properties, another belief is that blue reflects heat and thus keep
the houses cool and yet others opine that the houses of Brahmins were painted
blue for identification. Whatever the reason, houses in old Jodhpur around
Meherangarh Fort continue to be painted blue, if only to validate the
nomenclature.
The Meherangarh fort is clearly the
piece de resistance of Jodhpur. Rudyard Kipling, awed by the fort called it
"the palace that might have been built by the titans and coloured by the
morning sun.” Chiselled out of sheer mountain and volcanic rock, at 410 feet
above sea level and accessed by a state
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| The beauty and aesthetics of the Meherangarh Fort |
of art escalator, thee fort was built by King Rao Jodha from whom the city
has got its name. Meherangarh houses an exhaustive museum that gives an up
close view of the Rajput Royalty. What is also eye catching but often missed
out, are the nests made by the swift birds. High on the ceilings of the fort
are clusters of nests that look like bunches of flowers or clumps of fungi
(depending upon the personality of the beholder), made by the birds by sticking
together twigs, leaves etc with their gum-like saliva. Bird's nest soup, an
oriental delicacy, is made from these nests. There is an interesting local lore
regarding how the current Maharaja financed the restoration of this mammoth
edifice. Since the government was unable to support his efforts, Maharaja Gaj
Singh periodically collected all the bat droppings from the fort and sold them
as manure to the chilli farmers around Jodhpur and raised funds. Over a period
of time, his efforts gained publicity and financial assistance began flowing
and today the fort has been named one of the best preserved forts in the world
and also named Best Fortress by Time.
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| The beautiful murals in Jodhpur Railway Station |
If Meherangarh spells size then the
other fort of Jodhpur, Umaid Bhavan Palace spells grandeur. Built by Maharaj
Umaid Singh to provide employment to his subjects during a crippling famine, it
is the only palace to have been built in the 20th century. One portion of the
fort has been converted into a luxury hotel and the other, housing the
residence of the current Maharaja, is said to be one of the largest private
residences in the world. This palace too has a very fine museum. Ghanta Ghar and Sadar Bazar are the major
shopping areas of Jodhpur. Authentic condiments and spices, leather footwear
(Mochi Bazar) and Leheriya, Bandhni and block print textiles (Kapra Bazar)and
handicraft (Sarafa Bazaar) are good things to pick up from Jodhpur. Chaturbhuj Gulab Jamun from Chaturbhuj’s shop
in the serpentine and reed like lanes of Ghanta Ghar and Gypsy
Restaurant at Sardarpura,
touted to be one of the best eateries of North India, are not to be missed.
Jodhpur Railway Station is quite a revelation! Spanking clean and embellished
with colourful Rajasthani wall murals, it does not seem like one at all.
Jodhpur has an olde worldly and almost somnolent charm about it that sets the
tone for Jaisalmer which lies at the heart of the Thar Desert.
Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer, 300 kilometres from
Jodhpur, is called the Golden City, because of the golden hue imparted to it by
the yellow sand and the yellow sandstone used in most of its buildings. It is
home to the awesome Jaisalmer fort, a
UNESCO World Heritage site, inside which are ensconced the palace, intricately
sculpted Jain temples, shops and markets. Impacted by the harsh desert heat and
a sparse population of 80,000, Jaisalmer gives the impression of being in
another world, in another time. But Jaisalmer is extremely significant, both as
the gateway to the Thar and as the border of India and Pakistan with a
significant army presence. The sharp sunlight, the dry heat and the silence all
around one as one enters Jaisalmer makes it immediately apparent that this is desert land. And the USP of Jaisalmer is, undoubtedly, the desert
experience.
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| The Desert Camps of Jaisalmer |
Desert camping with the desert
safari thrown in, is a booming industry in Rajasthan. Although Osian or Khuri nearer Jaisalmer have
desert areas, it is Sam, 45 kilometres away that has a wider expanse of desert
and better infrastructure to provide a safe and enjoyable
desert experience. Accessed by an hour’s drive from Jaisalmer, on roads that
cut through swathes of sand, with hardly any vegetation in sight, there aree more than 60 desert camps around
Sam. Each camp consists of neatly laid out clean Swiss Tents, furnished to
varying levels of comfort and luxury, with chairs, cots, well appointed,
en suite bathrooms with running water and air coolers. The more luxurious ones
even promise an AC.
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| Glamping in the Thar |
Tightly cartellized, all camps offer a similar package of
camel safari into the desert for sunrise or sunset (which are truly glorious
sights), sand bashing in four wheel drives for the young and the hot blooded, and
stargazing in the unpolluted desert darkness and typical Rajasthani cuisine.
The duration of the desert camp ranges from an overnight stay to a week long
sojourn. The desert camp experience is highly recommended. The camel ride into
the desert is, literally and figuratively, the high point, designed to test the
bravest. If one has survived the first forward lurch, the much sharper second
backward thrust into the air and made peace with the height from the ground and
the uneven gait of this inexplicable creature, the ride is very, very
enjoyable! Everything else in Jaisalmer can wait.
Another interesting spot on the way
back to Jaisalmer is the Ghost Village of Kuldhara. Established by Paliwal
Brahmins in the 13th century, this once prosperous village is presented to the
tourist today as the haunted village. Legend has it that Salim Singh, the
debauched Minister of Jaisalmer coveted the beautiful daughter of the chieftain
and threatened to destroy every villager and the village if she was not sent to
him. Fearing her fate, it is believed that the villagers fled the village
overnight. No one saw them leave and no one knows where they relocated. The
village gates are shut every evening by the people of the neighbouring village,
who don't believe the village to be haunted, but happily spin tales of voices
and spirit sightings after dark, in order to attract tourists. Kuldhara is an
experience that could be interesting or scary but it is, nevertheless, an
experience!
One would expect to be bored at the repetitiveness
of Rajasthan's forts, palaces, textiles and cuisine, but that does not happen.
Every fort has a tale to tell. If Amer fort is one of the biggest, the
Kumbalgarh Fort has the second longest wall in Asia. If textiles rule roost in
Jaipur, leather dominates in the bazaars of Jodhpur and every bazaar has
something different to offer. From the
mighty Aravallis to the endless Thar, from the grandeur of its royalty to the
depth of its wildlife reserves, Rajasthan gives you the maximum value for money
in terms of experiences. If Kerala is God's own country, Rajasthan is testimony
to man's creativity and persistence in surviving nature's harshness. In fact, the Rajasthan Tourism logo is quite interesting. It has two birds flying above two camels sitting back to back, evoking the imagery of the Thar Desert. But a closer look reveals the face of a typical Rajasthani man with the huge Rajasthani moustache and smiling eyes. This is so typical of Rajasthan - where you actually get more than what you see!
Fact File
Best time to visit
The best time to
visit Rajasthan is between September and Mid December when temperatures
normally run between 30 C to 10 C.
December to
March is good if you can bear the cold since temperatures could come down to
single digits.
Summer, from
March to June, is highly avoidable because temperatures touch 50 degrees.
Getting there
Jaipur is
connected by rail and air to the major metro cities of India and to all its
neighbouring states by state-of-art National highways.
Jodhpur and
Jaisalmer are connected to Jaipur, Delhi and Udaipur by road, rail and air.
Flights from Bangalore, Bombay and Chennai reach Jodhpur and Jaisalmer via
Delhi and Jaipur.
Tickets range
from 2000 depending upon the city of origin to 15,000 during the peak season,
so booking early helps.
Covering Jodhpur
and Jaisalmer by road, at the rate of, @ of 9.00 per km, is also interesting.
Pokhran, the site of India’s first successful nuclear testing, falls on the
road from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer.
Accommodation
Options
The tourist is
truly spoilt for choice in this respect, in all the three destinations. At one
end of the spectrum lie hotels with a tariff starting at Rs 1200, while at the
other end lie the Palace Hotels with a tariff of Rs.50, 000 to Rs.70, 000. The
good news is that there are also reputed hospitality groups and the Haveli
hotels in the mid range from Rs.4000 upwards that offer classy deluxe
accommodation.
Forts involve a
good bit of walking, much of it on gradient paths. Wheelchairs are available on
request.
Hire only
government approved guides thorough official channels. Do not believe touts who
take you to textiles, handlooms and handicrafts shops around the forts. The
prices are inflated keeping in mind the foreign tourist. You can get the same
things in the city at a fraction of the price quoted around the forts. Finally,
Bargain, bargain, and bargain till you drop dead!
