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Published: March 8th 2016
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It is only a few hours drive from Jodhpur to Khimsar, our next destination, so after breakfast taken on the cool shady terrace we stop off at Mandore Gardens. This is a pleasant enough park built on the site of the old capital of the Rathores. In it there are various mausoleums of old Rathore rulers and some temples. Heavily weathered red sandstone so much of the carving is hard to make out. Next to these is the remains of a palace, only the old zenana (harem) quarters remain. There is also a really dismal museum with badly displayed junk. The most bizarre exhibits (considering it is supposed to be a history museums) are some models showing the internal organs of the human body and a model of a grinning child covered in huge pustules described as ‘boy with smallpox’. We consider walking up the “old fort” but given how mangy the place has been so far, and the fact that we have found nothing about old Mandore in any of our researches and we are very hot, we don’t bother and return to the car.
On to Osian. Important ancient town on the old Delhi to Gujarat trading road,
part of the mystical Silk Roads that criss-crossed Asia, home to beautiful Jain and Hindu temples from the 6
th to 14
th centuries. We had an expectation of a shimmering haven on the edge of the Thar desert. We drive down what our driver calls a single track road. They appear to lay about 6” of tarmac on top of the rocky soil. It is about the width of 1.5 cars. So you barrel along and then suddenly you and the approaching car each lurch to one side as the nearside wheels go onto the so called verge so you can pass each other without slowing. Sometimes a “local driver very bad” will ignore this understanding and almost force you off the road. The edges of the roadway are not sealed either so in patches the road just disintegrates or it has been endlessly patched where potholes have developed, and sometimes windblown sand almost obscures the roadway.
What a disappointment Osian is. A smelly little town seemingly inhabited by people who just want money from you. An evil looking youth attaches himself and tells us we need a guide. We eventually shake him off. We find a temple but as
we don’t trust the locals not to nick our shoes (as happened on a pervious holiday), Sara leaves hers with David and goes in alone. About ten minutes later she returns, her verdict – not worth the climb up the hill. The eighth century temples are now hard to see amidst the stainless steel handrails, blue plastic sheeting and green roofing that have been erected to keep the worshippers safe and cool as they climb the hundred or more steps to the top temple. We return to the car. There are a couple of weathered little temples in the car park. Did we miss something or is Osian significantly overrated??
Another hour and we arrive at the haven of the Khimsar Fort. A lovely hotel, originally built in 1537 though so significantly rebuilt that it is hard to find the old stuff. Very pleasant for the afternoon though, especially after David very politely asks if they have any rooms that are a little lighter than the one we were given, and we are then given one that is three times bigger with a cushioned alcove we can sit in and drink beer and read. We wander out
to inspect the local Rao's vintage car collection, but resist the not very strong urge to go and wander down to the dusty little village. Maybe in the morning.......
More pictures below...
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Keep Smiling
Mike Fossey
Museums...
Your previous photo of a mangy monkey in a museum and now ‘boy with smallpox’ reminds me that I always try to avoid Indian museums like the plague!