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Published: March 4th 2009
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the king's sign
the sign that led us to the Maharana Pratapt museum Though I didn’t exactly leave the region of Southern Rajasthan, I did take the advice of certain parties by getting out of the NGO for a day for some much needed site seeing. On this gumne (trip) Lindsay and I went with two of our Indian friends to Kumbalghar Fort…an ancient fort built by the Rajput king Maharan Kumbha in 1443 and completed in 1458 A.D. It claims to be the “most impregnable fort in the world” with the second largest wall in the world (after the Great Wall of China).
The motorcycle ride out there took about an hour and a half, and was a highlight in itself. Along the way we stopped for delicious fried chili pacora which we dipped in a side of yummy buttermilk curry. The scenery was impecable, as usual, confirming that riding on the back of a motorcycle through the dessert hills of Rajasthan is probably my favorite thing to do so far India. I find it to be conducive to my thinking. There's something about the open road that gives one clarity.
The fort itself was impressive. I attempted to nerd out for a second and try to place myself back in the time
nasta (snack) wala
the stand where we ate the delicious pacora of King Maharana Pratapt and the invading Mughals. Unfortunately I couldn't help but be distracted by my own cultural context; imagining myself in the middle of a Lord of the Rings fight between orks and elves.
On the way back, we took a different route that wound through the marble valleys of Rajasthan. As we snaked along the hilly road, mines and quarries were everywhere to be seen. Every truck we passed was loaded with massive blocks of marble heading for the stone cutters. I was shocked to hear that each day 500 truck-loads of this white rock are extracted and transported for further refinement. This made me wonder how much of the white dust around us had been produced that very day. I know this might sound strange, but I felt like I was driving through hills of cocaine.
One would think that an area of industry such as this one would be more developed than places less endowed with exploitable resources. Other than the road being wider and nicer, and the existence of an occasional roadside resort, I would say there is little truth to this assumption. For every truck there was a person alongside the busy road
collecting forest produces, or lugging water back to their home. I wondered what they think of all this industry going on around them, if they care, or just indifferent because they know they probably can't do anything about it?
From living in Udaipur, I have been well exposed to the mining industry, and its impact on the area. The many trips I have taken back and forth across the lands of factory headquarters has brought me to question whether the industry has really been a productive channel of development for the area. The argument is that every country has the right, and further, the obligation to extract their existing resources in order to address the needs of the expanding economy. This I certainly do not refute. I understand the industry has created plenty of jobs for people, boosted the economy, and made better roads possible. Nevertheless, it is hard for me to believe that these benefits justify other effects. In exploiting the resources of the Aravellis to produce chemical fertilizers, these companies have had little concern for the environment and the people who live there. The lands and livestock of the area have been destroyed by the fluoride emissions produced
by the factories, displacing entire villages. The villagers who have chosen to remain in the area, have no reliable source of drinking water due to the pollution. Seeing the skeletons of trees and coats of fluoride blanketing the area, it becomes hard for me to reconcile the idea of the mines continuing to function in the way that they do, and all in the name of fertilizer. Seeing for myself the impact that these chemical producing factories are having on the land, animals, and people of the area has certainly left its impact on me. Which confirms that sometimes it's hard to really comprehend something until it's splayed out in front of you.
Not to leave you on a gloomy subject, other exciting things that happened on the journey:
I dropped my sunglasses in the toilet at the Maharana Pratapt Museum, making that the third pair of sunglasses I’ve lost in India.
Got to taste rose water and rose mita (sweet).
We visited Salender and Armin’s friend at the hotel resort he manages. We got a tour of the place in which I had my second pool citing in India. As Lindsay and I leaned against the bordering fence,
imagining ourselves plunging into the cool water, the others discussed the mechanics of the pool’s sloping depths. “You mean to tell me that the floor slopes down?” They asked. “Of course,” their friend replied. “That way you don’t break your neck when you dive in, but you can still stand in parts of the pool without drowning.”
We visited a Police Academy and found out they didn’t have a woman’s bathroom.
Got to lay on grass for the very first time in India. I pictured myself back in America. It was a good reminder of how lucky we are to have such amazing things like public parks in America.
Drank BULLDOZER beer for the first, and last, time.
And I think that’s all I have for now.
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