JODHPUR (The Blue City)

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December 18, 2010: Jodhpur (The Blue City)

Sam Wrote:

Well, even though we did not expect from the day, it became one of the best. The day started little lazily and we met with our guide, Ashish Sharma, at 9:30am. We first proceeded to the Mehrangarh Fort, which is the largest fort in the state of Rajahstan. It is one of the most impressive and formidable structures – although invinsible from outside, the fort has 4 gates approached by a winding road. Within the fort we saw some magnificent palaces with marvelously carved panels and lattice windows carved out of the local red sandstone. I was in my element, shooting loads of pictures & videos.

The guide, Ashish, though very knowledgeable, was hard to understand initially due to his accent. After a while, he understood our intentions and slowed the tour allowing us additional time to soak in all the history. He also shared with us his knowledge on Hinduism and the influence of the Moghul period on India.

After the fort, we visited the Jaswant Thada, which is a cluster of royal cenotaphs in white marble built in 1899 AD in memory of Jaswant Singh II. It has since continued to be a memorial and also where royal funerals are held. There were hardly any tourists there and such we enjoyed a leisurely pace – also great picture opportunity.

At the fort, we had a personal turban tying exhibition, and Lord Tejas was front and center. He looked so regal in a turban that I had to buy the 9 yards of majestically colored fabric. Good luck to us in tying a turban back home. I wonder if YouTube has any instructional videos on Turban Tying.

After lunch, we boarded a jeep and went to a neighboring Bishnoi Village. The Bishnoi’s are the ultimate conservationist and environmentalists. There I got to sample a traditional opium drink (watered down). Yamini and the kids took turns at a potter’s wheel as well as looming a Dhurri rug. It was a very educational and entertaining excursion. We all enjoyed it very much.

In the past, a typical Indian family would have a lot of clay pots in their homes for storing all sorts of material. Now a days, pretty much the only clay item a home would have is a water pot. Clay water pots somehow helps to cool the water in addition to enhancing its taste. It turns out the secret to this phenomena has to do with pottery process it self. The clay is mixed with ash and saw dust. Once the pots are fired in the kiln, the saw dust is burnt off and the process leaves tiny air pockets which helps cool the water.

At the Bishnoi village, most of the huts had solar powered batteries that powered all their lighting requirements. When I told the chief how much we spend on Hydro each month, he thought I was making it up.

Dinner was at the hotel – we were all pleasantly surprised as to how tasty the food was. Damn, I am eating way too much on this trip.

It was another great day and I can wait for tomorrow. I am sure Jaipur will be even better.


Yamini Wrote:

Jodhpur is the 2nd largest city in Rajasthan. Jodhpur is not only known as the blue city, but also “Sun City” as it has the most of hours of sun in a day (8 ½ hours). Initially blue homes distinguished where the Brahmin (priest) families lived, but later more homes painted their homes in blue hues to reflect the sun, keep away flies and mosquitos, and to ward of evil (Shiva’s colour). Our guide, Ashish was very informative and intriguing. He not only gave us information about the attraction we visited but would also give us a lot of other insightful information about the Hindu culture.

One of those insights was why our ancestors initially wore earings, necklaces, and bangles. It has to do with acupuncture and pressure points. The piercing of ears was to actually soothe the throat. He told is that was why women have such sweet voices. In Rajasthan, all men also have both ears pierced. The necklace was worn to balance the weight on their back, hence relieving pain in their back and for good posture. The bangles had something to do with easing the women’s monthly cycles and menopause.

We visited Mehrangarh Fort, which is an absolutely breathtaking fort, initially built in the 15th century by King Jodhah Mehrangarh. The artistic craftsmanship of the trades is definitely present in all the structures on this site. The fort is built up over the years and you can definitely see the different styles in the detailed work. There are incredible views of the “blue city” of Jodhpur from this fort as you will see from the numerous photos Sam has taken. We also got a great lesson on turban tying, hopefully I can try it on the boys! Tejas sure did look princely with this headgear. Sam ended up purchasing a turban and he actually wore it for the rest of the day. The kids may have been a little embarrassed by him, but I actually thought he looked quite handsome and charming.

The current Maharajah is the 39th ruler, Maharajah Gaj Singh. Ashish also informed us that the Prince of Jodhpur just recently got married on November 15th this year in a lavish ceremony.

We later visited the Jaswant Thada, a very peaceful and beautiful memorial site.

After lunch we had an incredible excursion to the Bishnoi Village to see day to day life in this village. This truly was a hands on experience as Tejas, Shivani and I got to try out the potters wheel. The kids laughed at my work of art, ashtray! Shivani made a pretty water pot and Tejas made a masterpiece. Yes, we have to admit, his was the best. The kids even got to try out the art of rug making. Seeing how these rugs are made really makes me now appreciate how much labour and talent goes into each piece. We visited in actual village family and the head of the household offered Sam and I some watered down opium after performing a special ritual! I politely declined the offer but Sam was up to trying it out, besides he didn’t want to be rude. Also at this home, we caught Tejas, making a cute little baby in a basket woven swing, smile away. I must say I really enjoyed this village experience. (I should also add I was pleasantly surprised to see a flushing toilet for their guests☺)

This was another great day and now looking forward to Jaipur.


Tejas Dictated:

Today was awesome. At the fort I got to wear a turban – again. I got to see all types of armour and weapons - and the views there were cool.

Now I also know why Jodhpur is called the Blue City. It is because:
• all Brahmin homes are blue
• blue color keeps the houses cool in the summer
• the color blue keeps the mosquitos away and also evil

At the Bishnoi village, I got to make a clay pot on a potter’s wheel. I did a better job than my mom or sister. After that I got to see how a rug is weaved.

At the village, we got to see how they live – their indoor and outdoor kitchens. I also made a baby girl smile that was lying in a traditional basket woven cradle. She was covered with flies but they didn’t seem to bother her. She was so cute and happy.

At breakfast I got to eat chicken sausages! They were so yummy that I had two helpings. I was so stuffed that I couldn’t finish my lunch which was back at “On the Rocks”.

Tomorrow we drive to the largest city in Rajasthan, Jaipur.


Shivani Wrote:

Today we visited the Mehrangarh Fort. We also visited Jaswant Thada- a royal crematory, and took a Jeep Safari around a Bishnoi Village.
The Mehrangarh Fort was beautiful, and had a great view of the blue city. The architecture was amazing. I have never seen anything like it before, other than Bollywood Movies!

Hindus will clean and paint their houses before a major event, such as a Wedding, Celebration of Diwali, etc. because the Goddess Lakshmi will not bless a house that is dirty.

Jaswant Thada is a crematory, where the dead members of the royal family are cremated. As per Hindu tradition, all men and women over the age of 1 are cremated. Hindus believe that fire is a purification process. Babies under the age of 1 are either buried or floated down the river – That’s kind of creepy. People think it is cruel to burn a Babies body, because the Babies bones are not fully develop.
I felt kind of creeped out when the guide told me what happens to Babies.

For Lunch we went to On The Rocks…again. At Lunch I ordered Butter Chicken! My first time in India. I think my Mom makes better Butter Chicken. But I do enjoy the Lime Soda here. They give you a lime mixture that they make, and then they give you a soda called Kinley (Kinley is sort of like Club Soda) in a bottle. They also bring you syrup if you would like to sweeten it.

After we finished lunch, we entered the parking lot. In the parking lot was a khaki colored car, with camouflage chairs. That was the Jeep that was taking us through the Bishnoi Village. The Bishnoi Village was at least 20-25 minutes away from the restaurant. Once we entered the Bishnoi Village we first visited a Potters House. Our guide explained to us the different types of Pots, and what they were used for. Then the 17-year-old potter, Deen (that’s how he spelt it), demonstrated to us how they make a pot. He was excellent at it. He asked us if we wanted to try. First Mom went, then Tejas, lastly me! My Mom’s was horrible, Tejas’s was beautiful, and mine was good, but not as good as Tejas’s.

Second we went to a typical Bishnoi House, where we met a traditional Bishnoi family. There was a Mom, Dad, Son, and a Baby Girl. The Baby Girl was laying in a traditional woven basket that was hanging. She had flies all over her face, but she didn’t seem to mind. Tejas was making her laugh- it was so cute.

Last we went to a weaver’s home. He made woven carpets/rugs. Tejas & I had the opportunity to help weave a carpet that they had been working on. He said that it takes at least 3-4 weeks to make a carpet by 1 person, and it takes 1 week to 10 days with 2 people. We ended up buying 1 rug.

I really enjoyed this day, but I wished that my Dad wouldn’t have embarrassed me by wearing a Turban all day long - Boy did he get a lot of attention. ☺

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