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Showing my True Colours
The final product of Holi Leaving Agra and Taj Mahal behind us, we made our way into Rajasthan, a desert state in Northwest India, bordering Pakistan. Rajasthan is one of India's main tourist draws, and so once again we found ourselves immersed in a backpacker culture, with all the good and bad that comes along with that scene. One very nice thing was the availability of western food...don't get me wrong, I love Indian food, but try it for three meals a day for three weeks and you'll definitely be ready for a change. We were also excited about the upcoming Festival of Colours, Holi, which is particularly popular in Rajasthan.
Our first stop in Rajasthan was Jaipur, the 'Pink City', so named for the pinkish sandstone used to build the fort and palace in the old city. We both thought the title was a bit of a stretch...'Pinkish City' might have been more appropriate. We were impressed with the beautiful architecture and numerous bazaars, but what we found most incredible was their local movie theatre. We decided to see a new blockbuster, 'Black or White', for the full Bollywood experience. Unfortunately for us, the movie was a serious drama about a Muslim terrorist threat
with very few dance numbers. Despite the crap movie, the experience was fantastic. The theatre itself is an impressive sight both inside and out, seating 1100 people in three different classes, Diamond, Emerald and Ruby. Once in this extremely grand theatre, we realized that everyone had assigned seats...and even more surprising...everyone sat in their assigned seats. We just couldn't believe that people were following the rules. This was funny because it meant that everyone in the theatre was packed into the very back corner of each seat class, leaving the rest of the theatre essentially empty. So, although the prime seats were left available, we sat the in last two seats of the second last row of the main floor to watch the movie. Throughout the show phones rang continuously (if we haven't mentioned it before, Indians love all kinds of varied ring tones), people chatted amongst themselves (at full volume) and a chorus of farts and snores accompanied the booming soundtrack. We laughed ourselves silly and left at the first intermission.
After a couple of nights in Jaipur, we decided to move on to the greener (pinker, bluer, and purpler) pastures of Pushkar. We had been on the
move a lot, so we were definitely ready to chill out in one place for a few days. Another reason we decided to settle in Pushkar was that during Holi, the Indian Festival of Colours was fast approaching. This festival essentially shuts the country down for several days, stopping all bus traffic. We couldn't have asked for a better place to slow down our trip than Pushkar. This little town, on a small lake, is another sacred pilgrimage site for Hindus. The lake is surrounded by beautiful ghats, ancient temples, and greedy priests waiting to offer a Puja (prayer) for the karmic well-being of your friends and family....for a pretty penny. Becky had a Puja performed in a nice little ceremony...and even got a discount rate. This means that all of you reading this have been washed clean of your bad karma; Lucky You! The people of Pushkar were laid back and friendly ... including the shop keepers, which was a really nice change (such a nice change that we bought an enormous amount of Indian crap...I mean crafts). It is also a bit of a pilgrimage point for all kinds of travelers, from the spiritual wanders who dress as
Indian as possible to flashpackers and tour groups. It made for a pretty fun mix of people. We met a number of great people in Pushkar including, Marika and Jasper, a really nice Dutch couple staying in our hotel.
While in Pushkar, we decided to take an Indian cooking course. Both of us love Indian food, so we were eager to improve our skills in the kitchen. The owner of our hotel helped us out by calling one of his friends, a local power company worker, who occasionally teaches people to cook. He assured us, that this guy was one of the best cooks in town. The classes would be taught at the cook's house in his family kitchen, so we were both excited to see inside an average Indian home. That afternoon we made our way through the narrow alleys of Pushkar to the house, a little apprehensive about what we would find. On our arrival we were sat down in the small living room to haggle with the cook's wife over the price of our lessons. Once the price was agreed, our teacher entered the scene, wearing an unnaturally off-white undershirt, and introduced himself in less than
stellar English. Their 14 year old son, Lucky, hovered nearby, playing the necessary role of the translator. Our classroom kitchen was 'modest' to say the least, but it did the trick. We ended up spending two days in this family's home, learning several local masala dishes and taking part in the neighborhood rituals leading up to Holi. The whole experience was incredible!
Holi is a big deal in Pushkar and people look forward to it all year. Basically Holi is split into two elements: On the first day of Holi massive bon fires are set across the city, and rituals and dances are performed around the fires. On the second day, the country explodes into a wild homoerotic mosh pit of flying colours. Men and boys dressed up in white run and dance through the streets throwing coloured dust and paint on everyone and everything (cows and stray dogs were not excluded). Indian women are smart enough to stay inside as the men tend to get a little gropey (as usual)...but some western women did venture out into the streets. Bex, who has always been a very bright girl, decided to hole up in the hotel for the day
and I, not being the sharpest tool in the shed, ventured out into the streets with my new Dutch friend, Jasper.
The experience was out of this world. Bright beautiful colours were splashed everywhere you looked, and everyone's skin eventually became a mix of blue, pink and purple. The people were fun and friendly, but occasionally, some boys would get a little out of hand. If you wanted to enter the main square you had to be prepared to have your shirt ripped off by the surrounding mobs...a wild experience in itself. After five hours, Jasper and I were exhausted and thoroughly covered in layer upon layer of coloured powder and water. The fun was over, but the work had just begun...getting all that colour off. Even after several very long showers, I wasn't back to my normal hue. Even a week later, I still have pink toenails and a blue belly. It was definitely a once in a life time experience.
We spent another couple of days in Pushkar after Holi, and then decided to move farther into the desert state, to the giant sand castle of Jaisalmer.
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Matt Bernstein
non-member comment
WOW!
The Holi shower picture is certainly one for the ages (or at least your Facebook profile). Also, Becky, after watching many movies with Chris, I can say with certainty where the farting and snoring was coming from. Sounds like you're still having a good time. How much longer are you gone for? Matt