Rajasthaning in the kitchen with tablas...and rats?

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I arrived in Pushkar in an overnight bus from Udaipur yesterday morning, about an hour before sunrise. Other than the couple tea stalls offering me and my rickshaw driver some chai (and the stray cows and donkeys chewing on cardboard) it was a pretty ghost townish morning. I sat on the table-on-wheels variety of rickshaw and practically jolted from my half-wake half-asleep state when the megaphone attached to the neighborhood mosque announced the first of 5 daily prayer announcements.

Something I may not have eluded to in previous blogs is the faith-rich culture of this country I've been exploring. The loud announcements blasting at 5-6 am may not be the most welcomed sound, but it connotes a level of religious freedom that is different than that found in my country (ironically, founded on freedom of religion).

Before my five days in Udaipur, I was in Bikaner and there I visited the Karni Mata temple. Thirty kilometers outside the city, this is an important pilgrimage site for many Hindus, and home to thousands of "holy rats". And like all Hindu temples, the shoes had to come off. (There are many things that I can handle--but walking, barefoot, into a temple with rats running around my toes is very near to my limit!!) wow!! When I asked one of the locals if he was scared that the rats carried rabies, or that they would bite, I knew I had asked the wrong question. "Of course not--they're holy rats." Just like that. "Ah...I see..." I kept thinking -- in America, people are punished for owning 30 cats; I couldn't imagine a religious institution getting away with caring for the THOUSANDS of rats that inhabit their building!! It's this kind of stuff that, although seems very ODD to me, is almost puzzingly wonderful because I see people worshipping their God (or gods) in ways that I would never imagine at home.

So from Bikaner I went to Udaipur, where a dozen of roof top restaurants boast the towns famed appearance in the James Bond flick, "Octopussy," with their nightly showings of the film. There are beautiful palaces (like the one in the middle of a now-dried up lake), temples, interesting museums, a historical battleground, and enough amusing people-watching that kept me busy for a while😊. I also took two cooking classes where I learned about the crucial spices for any Indian dish -- and I learned how to prepare malai kofta, paneer parathas, and south indian dishes like dosas, idlis, uttpams, and chutneys. yuuummm. I also took 3 tabla (indian drum) lessons, and though I am no expert (yet)(😊) I had a blast trying to figure out how to make all the different sounds on a single drum.

I am in Pushkar but intend to move on either tomorrow or the following day, and will definitely keep you informed. Best wishes...
patsy

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Photos

oh rats...
I usually don't buy in to the "camera fees"...especially at temples, but i thought that this one was worth it.

in Udaipur
overlooking the city from a balcony in the Udaipur city palace

I am getting ready...
matt and i will be forming a "dijeridoo and tabla" band (refer to the first blog for Matt and his dijeridoo), playing for extra cash in the subways :)

at a Rajasthani cultural show in Udaipur (DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME)
this lady was AMAZING--about the age of my grandmother, and (in this photo) she is dancing on broken glass with 3 large jars on her head. but that was childs play -- she soon added 3 more jars, and danced on saws!!