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Asia » India » Rajasthan » Shekhawati
December 29th 2005
Published: February 27th 2006
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Rani Sati templeRani Sati templeRani Sati temple

This huge temple has rooms for many pilgrims, and is surrounded by food stands. It was the first temple we visited in India, and quite impressive.
We begin the day in the capital city of Delhi, make our way through the endless mustard fields of Haryana, and finally arrive in the dusty towns of northwest Rajasthan.

December 29th, 2005
We met our new driver, Hukam, and tied our suitcases to the rack on top of the car. We would tie and untie those suitcases many times over the next few weeks. I was really worried that the suitcases wouldn't stay on top of the car. I also had an irrational worry that a passing elephant would poo on the suitcases. That turned out to be an ill-founded concern as there were very few elephants about. My last concern, that the bags would be stolen from atop the car was also unfounded. Perhaps the tiny locks helped, but I think it's just that people are more honest than I tend to expect.

I began the day believing Shekhawati was a three hour drive from Delhi. We drove for eight hours. It bega at 9am in Delhi rush hour. From the industrial and commercial outskirts of Delhi, we passed into the mustard fields of Haryana, yellow as far the eye can see. The roadside is filled with villages and road-side stalls. We were caught in rural traffic jams, through tiny cement block towns where the walls closed in either side of the car. Many people make their way on foot, with a few cows here and there. This day, I saw my first camel, taller than I could have imagined, pulling a camel cart. As we enter Rajasthan, we saw many more camels, more camels than cars. The camels are pulling very heavy loads.

At the border, we stop at a toll station in Rajasthan. Our driver went to pay the toll and a little boy came up to our car and asked for a pen. Luckily, we had one of Scott’s light-up pens and we gave him one. One pen not being enough, he then requested a rupee, and a chocolate. We didn’t have any. Then he pointed to a bottle in the back of the car and said “shampoo?” I explained that it belonged to our driver and that he would be very angry if I gave it away. Then we introduced ourselves and began labeling things in Hindi and English, each using the other’s languages to our maximum capacity. Once that was exhausted, we simply stared at eachother for another ten minutes. When our driver returned, he began to tell us about people we shouldn’t trust and why we shouldn’t get out of the car. I shared some of my Hindi with him, and it made him laugh hysterically. He taught me a few new words and seemed pretty happy at my attempts.

we stopped mid-day at a bad restaurant/motel where the food was terribly untasty. However, it was served in a lovely garden with English-speaking waiters and had clean bathrooms. Such roadside places are built on all the major roads in India and the only time we didn't stop at one was when we took a route usually unused by tourists.

It was nice to take a break from the driving. After eating, we went behind the motel and took a walk with Hukam up to a giant statue of Hanuman, the monkey god who saved Sita from the demon-king Ravana. I'm told that he represents strength and loyalty, and is a very popular deity. Some people believe that all the gods in Hinduism represent one god-head, as with saints and angels in Catholicism. I would tend to agree, but for the purposes of my journal, I will use such terms of "god" and "deity" to talk about things we saw in Hindu temples for simplicity. The giant statue was being repainted and was covered in scaffolding. Our driver gave himself a forehead dot with the paste that was left there. Earlier in the day we had seen a giant Shiva statue near Delhi. At any rate, these were the last two giant statues we saw, as they didn't seem to be in mode in Rajasthan.

As the sun dipped lower in the sky, we reached the town of Jhunjhunum. We haven't seen any of the painted havelis yet, perhaps a few from theoutside. We did see the Rani Sati temple, a huge Hindu temple to honor women who self-immolate on their husbands' funeral pyres. Sati is a controversial topic here. Our driver is against it, and yet he brings us to the temple. However, he does not go in as he does with every other Hindu temple, so perhaps that showed his distaste for the practice of sati. It has happened here as recently as 1989.

Later we asked to go to a well, Bitri Chand. It took us a while to find it, even though it turned out to be right next to the Rani Sati temple. It was a beautiful deserted stepwell on the edge of town, with minarets and towers. The sun set over the desert as we watched. In olden times, people would come here and play games, talk about the day, and get their daily water.

Strange things have happened with our hotels and itineraries changing. We are supposed to have one less day in Jodhpur, and they want to change our hotel in Bikaner. I'm uneasy but feel powerless to change it from here. Overall, I'm having a good time despite the uncertainties.

At dinner, we met a nice German fellow who traveled the opposite route from us, starting in Agra. He told us all about the things we'd see up ahead. He couldn't believe we were planning on giving Jaisalmer a miss. He didn't recommend Pushkar, and heard that Bundi was spectacular, but didn't see it. He has eaten vegetarian Indian food the entire time, and not fallen ill. We've resolved to do the same already. Like us, he has travelled all over Southeast Asia, but he hasn't yet been to Latin America and asked us if it was safe.

At dinner, an old couple came in to play some music for us. The old man in a turban played a strange stringed instrument, which sometimes made bell sounds but also had strings. It was long and narrow, and he could play it as he sang. His woman, veiled such that we could not see her face, sang beautifully along side him. From the few words I could make out, they were singing the ballad of Dhola and Maru, a Romeo-and-Juliet like couple from Rajasthan. Naturally, they make their elopement on camelback. Unfortunately, Dhola was bitten by a snake and was near to death, but Shiva & Gauri came along and saved Dhola, bringing him back to life. It was a beautiful song, so I gave them 100 rupees, the equivalent of 2$.

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