Super-Size

From the very moment we entered Rajasthan, I had the immediate impression that we were somewhere different. Everything's more colorful; the people are taller, many have light eyes, and they wear turbans and skirts in vivid colors + lots of gold jewelry; the cows + goats are huge, and camels are the main animal-powered transport. It's an exotic land in the style of 1001 Arabian Nights. While much of the rest of India feels like it's on the path of modernization, however slowly, Rajasthan oozes history. (Photo: Co-travelers on our bus ride into the state. They thought it quite funny that we were so excited about all the camels.)


Day 5 in Jodhpur, the Blue City. It's a loud + dusty place to walk around and I constantly fear being run over by reckless rickshaws + motos (a fear that's not unfounded with several near misses). But the winding, pedestrian backlanes that climb up the sandstone slopes are a treasure trove of discovery. These lanes are lined with sandstone block homes - most painted Brahmin blue - with elegant tracery windows + colorful detailing. The people that live in the old neighborhoods are friendly and I've received several offerings by women in to their homes for tea during my solo wanderings. Most guesthouses in Jodhpur are in old (200-500 year) family-owned havelis whose interiors hold hand-painted murals. What's even better is that most have converted their rooftop to a restaurant, and the views from above looking down over the cubist, blue mass of buildings is amazing. The room where we're now staying is the nicest (and one of the cheapest) we've had in all of India. Rising up on a steep escarpment in the center of it all is the impressive Mehrangarh Fort. Towering over the city which it once served to protect. (Photo: Turbaned men carry Goddess during Festival)


The Fort is fascinating, especially after having read repeatedly about so many of these powerful Maharajas. To see their swords + gifts to one another (including Shah Jahan , the builder of the Taj Mahal) and walk through their private quarters makes the place feel so alive. And all before America was even discovered! This Maharaja - Jodha - was one of the good ones and his people produced some of the height of art + design of the period. They lived with pride + passion, and by a strict code of honor. In battle, they shunned the use of gunpowder, because they felt killing at a distance was without valor. It was only after being slaughtered in a subsequent war that they revised their position. In the event that they were obviously + completely overwhelmed in battle, Rajput men would don saffron robes and fight to the death, while the women + children would commit jauhar (mass suicide) to keep from getting captured + violated. Even the Rajput rulers fought in battle to protect their people... can you imagine ours doing the same?! How proud would/should you feel coming from tough stock like this?! (Photo: Jodhpur Fort + Blue City)


Check the "link" for more photos from Jodhpur