The Blue City
Jodhpur
The Blue City, the Pink City, the Lake City … these dream-like descriptions of well-known Rajasthan cities have been an allure to me for many years and now I am finally here! We landed in New Delhi’s swanky new airport and that was such a welcome surprise. Gone was the shabbiness, chaos and mess of before, the place was positively sparkling not only with its ultra modern new building but with its efficiency. We cleared immigration swiftly and by the time we walked through the Green Channel and got to baggage collection, our bags were already making their rounds on the conveyor belt. This is on par with the Changi experience. A first in India for me! And the lady in the women’s toilet didn’t even ask for US dollars.
We had a 5 hour wait for our flight to Jodhpur. We found a welcoming eponymous South Indian restaurant called “Vaango” and tucked into dhosas and Indian filter coffee straight away. We completely missed the local agent who was sent to meet us and this poor young man walked the length and breadth of this vast airport looking for a group of 2 Indians and 2 Chinese, finding us finally in “Vaango” having breakfast. He seemed glad and relieved to be able to hand us our vouchers etc for our stay. The service was so excellent that we were given a complimentary mobile phone with a reasonable amount of value in it for our use during our stay. How very considerate and civilised.
Our flight to Jodhpur was on one of those small propeller jets and we landed at Jodhpur’s “defence airport” – the pilot and the flight attendant announced several times that “as Jodhpur is a defence airport strictly no photography is permitted”.
We were staying at the lovely Raas Hotel (at this point we didn’t know how lovely!) located within the walled city. The mini van that picked us up was only able to take us as far as the outer gate of the old city. From that point to the hotel, we had to take auto rickshaws. Anyone who has been to India knows what a vertebra-realigning experience that can be. We forgot to warn our two friends. It was their first time in India and the auto ride was like nothing they could have imagined! They got off their autos just a tad dazed.
The Raas is a beautiful hotel. Every room has a grand view of the magnificent Mehrangarh Fort. What a breathtaking view. We stood at our balconies just standing and staring at this vast imposing fort towering above the hotel.
View of the Mehrangarh Fort from our room
A little about the Blue City. Jodhpur is called the Blue City because a large portion of the old city is quite literally blue. You’ll see all the possible shades of blue. There are many stories as to why they are painted blue – one is that during the ancient wars, the brahmins to identify themselves as such to the enemies would paint their houses blue and the enemies would spare the home of a priest (!). The other popular reason is apparently blue keeps away mosquitoes.
For those of you equestrians out there, this is where your riding breeches originated. Jodhpurs were designed by the Maharaja of Jodhpur’s son and worn by his polo team when visiting the Queen Victoria in 1897. The design caught on.
After a rather sumptuous lunch (lamb) and a short rest, we ventured out to the markets. Like all markets anywhere, it was teeming with the hustle and bustle of tradesmen plying their wares, except here like everywhere else in India, they and you compete with cows, dogs, cyclist, auto-rickshaws … it was an assault of sights, sounds and smell.
The one thing that really stands out here is the vibrant colours that the locals wear. The women in bright and gaudy sarees and scarves and the men in bright red turbans. There’s so much colour everywhere. And I always thought they staged it for the postcards!
Inside the Blue City
Jodhpur
We were met this morning by our local guide, Sham Singh, a good looking, jodhpurs-wearing, full time DJ, part-time guide who was evidently very proud of his home city.
We made our way out in reverse – auto rickshaws out of the hotel to where our minivan was parked near the outer gate. Breakfast (masala omelette and pao keema) was well and truly churned after that ride.
Our first stop was the Jaswant Thada, a mausoleum built in 1899 in memory of the former Maharaja of Jodhpur, Jaswant Singh. It is a beautiful marble building located by a small lake. The Jaswant Thada also serves as a traditional cremation ground of the Jodhpur rulers. There are exquisitely carved gazebos and a multi-tiered garden. In death as in life, the Maharajas of India surrounded themselves in such grandeur.
Jaswant Thada
We were about to see next just how much grandeur. The unmissable landmark of Jodhpur is the Merangarh Fort. This amazing building was more than a fort. Within its walls was also a palace of such opulence and beauty. This majestic structure rises 400 feet above the city.
Merangarh Fort
The story goes that the Maharaja had had a hermit living in the cave removed from the site where the fort was to be built, thus incurring the curse of the hermit. To deflect the effect of the curse and ensure the site is propitious, the Maharaja had a man buried alive in the foundations of the fort. The man was Rajiya Bambi (Meghwal) and he was promised that in return his family would forever more be looked after by the Rathore Kings. It was a promise that has been honored and Rajiya’s descendants continue to enjoy a special relationship with the Maharaja. I was simply stupefied at the story.
We started our walk from the 18th century end and finished at the 15th century end. We walked through the dazzling Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors), the Phool Mahal (House of Flowers), Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace), Khabka Mahal (Sleeping Palace) but the most amazing of all was the magnificent museum of fine miniature paintings. Simply exquisite. This walk through the palace fort took the whole morning. Such a vast, extensive place.
(Trivia: part of Dark Knight Rises was filmed at the fort).
The interiors were exquisite
Lunch was at a lovely little haveli and lamb was on our list again. Food was delicious. From the vantage point of the rooftop of this haveli, we got a lovely view of the Blue City.
We were then passed on to Kuldeep Singh, our next guide who took us on our walking tour of the Blue City. While it may be called the ‘blue city’, blue is by no means the only colour one sees especially in the attire of the local folks. The colours they favour are bright and gaudy – reds, oranges, greens and the women use a light translucent scarves called ‘odini’ to cover their heads adding to the vibrancy. The men wear sizeable turbans, red seeming to be their favoured colour.
The Blue City – a view from the fort
The old quarter (which is the blue part of the city) consists of narrow lanes complete with cows, scooters, bikes, children, dogs … one has to carefully pick their way through making sure to avoid freshly laid cow dung. Mostly only single-file walking is possible.
We faced some obstacles in our way
Everyone lives in such close quarters and everyone was friendly; most did not object to their photos being taken. A common sight was of groups of men sitting around under trees, or at their front yards, just having a chin wag – this is called “atai”. Apparently, they sometimes just sit together in companionable silence for hours.
Friendly giggly children
It was dark when we finally weaved our way out of the old quarter and back to our earlier guide, Sham, who took us next to a jewellery and textile shop, the latter being a exclusive export-only shop which has Richard Gere, Sting, Hermes, LV, Moschino all supposedly buying from them. We joined this la-di-da group and bought a few pieces ourselves. (Converting to the Sing dollar helped.)
By the time we got back to the oasis which was our hotel, we were starving and had yet another superb meal (another lamb preparation) before calling it an early night.
Travel Tales from Here and There 
A Hidden Gem and an Unforgettable Evening
Narlai
After breakfast we checked out of the lovely Raas Hotel and bid farewell to its excellent staff. We had a 3 hour drive this morning to see one of the finest temples ever – the Jain temple at Ranakpur. It is a spectacular building. Built in the 14th century, it has 1444 marble pillars, carved in exquisite detail. No two pillars are the same, and the architectural ingenuity is that these thousands of pillars are arranged so that none of them obstructs the view of the main altar.
The Ranakpur Jain temple
KF had worn shorts and so had to hire a pair of trousers to use over her shorts. It had evidently been well used, so the poor girl put it on rather gingerly. And I had inadvertently committed sacrilege as I forgot I was carrying with me a leather wallet and wearing a leather belt. (Jains are strict about these things and leather of any sort is not permitted into the temple). I only realised it after the fact and said a quick apology to the Universe.
Inside the Ranakpur temple
It was past 3 pm by the time we were done at the temple and we were starving. Once again lamb in all its variety is on every menu in every restaurant and the place we went to for lunch had the best mutton curry.
Happily mutton-fed we then drove another 1 1/2 hours to the village of Narlai. As we drove through the village, we thought the driver might be lost and couldn’t imagine that there would be a hotel in that village. How pleasantly surprised we were. Our hotel, Rawla Narlai, was a 17th century hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Jodhpur.
As we walked in through the main gate we were greeted with marigold garlands, welcome drinks etc. The setting was so unexpected after the drive through the village that there was a collective ‘wow’ from all of us. Slightly out of place was a young Etonian amongst the staff also garlanding and greeting us. He was from London and there as an intern for a few months.
Rawla Narlai
As we were being shown our rooms, this rather distinguished gentleman with a dignified bearing greeted us and introduced himself as Rana, a representative of the Royal family. He gave us a quick history of the place and informed us that people visit Narlai for two reasons – its ancient 5th century stepwell and the Shiva temple up on the mountain. We did not know this as it was just an overnight stop for us between Jodhpur and Udaipur. How glad we were that our travel agent, Sheena, had suggested it!
In the late evening as we were sitting in the courtyard sipping our complimentary glass of Indian Grover wine, we were pleasantly surprised when the staff came out bearing gifts of a Rajasthani turban for Brian and ‘odinis’ for us ladies!!
Our next experience was almost magical! Dinner was going to be by the ancient stepwell and were driven there in bullock carts through the village under a moonlit and star-filled sky. A man with a lantern walked alongside to light up the way. Somewhere by the roadside was a sadhu who sang a most haunting song and his husky voice just reveberated through the crisp air. It was one of the most surreal experiences I’ve had.
Bullock cart ride under a moonlit night
Then as we got to the stepwell, there was another collective gasp! Hundreds of lanterns and oil lamps were lit making the ambience surreal. We were treated like royalty … as we sat beside the beautiful stepwell, a man came along and gave us a head, shoulder and hand massage. We couldn’t help laughing at this heights of decadence!
5th century stepwell
And this whole experience cost us about S$100 – the cost of a ordinary restaurant dinner in Singapore. The surprise didn’t end there! The sadhu we had seen on our way came with his instruments and sang for us these beautiful haunting folk songs. His voice had a gravelly quality to it and the songs he sang had a meditative effect – it truly completed the experience. He also smoked a rather large spliff (the aroma of which added to our headiness) that probably enhanced the quality of his singing 🙂
The whole experience was simply magical.
Om Namah Shivaya
Narlai
We were up by 6am and set off on our walk up the ‘mountain’ with Bagdaram, our guide. As we made our way up, the sun rose and we stopped to admire the vista. It was a picture postcard scene. The way up was steep but it was an easier walk than Mt Phousi (Laos) and Tiger’s Nest (Bhutan) and only a fraction of the distance.
The Shiva temple is a simple but a powerful one, according to Rana Sahib. He told us that Narlai is a spiritual place. For a small village, it has an unprecedented number of places of worship – Jain temples, Hindu temples, churches and mosques. This did surprise us as it really is a tiny village. When we got to the Shiva temple, Bagdaram lit a lamp and rang the temple bell. There was no priest.
Shiva temple
Further up from the Shiva temple is a statue of a huge white elephant. It was built for the Maharani in memory of her pet elephant that had lived to the age of 75. It was a beautiful breezy morning and we had tea and biscuits as we took it all in. It was so peaceful up there.
Bagdaram saying a thanksgiving prayer
We took a slow walk down and back to the hotel for a leisurely breakfast. At the hotel is a small temple or altar I should say and sitting around outside it was a group of men. We thought it must be a some special male-only temple affair and held back going in. We didn’t want to offend anyone or upset their male commune with the presence of female company in their midst. Our sole motivation was photography of course so we asked anyway but were told we had to take photos from outside. Boo to that.
There was another photographer (male) who was in the temple and in their midst, he must have made some great shots. He very helpfully informed us that the men of the village do this every Monday morning – just gather around and have a huddle and drink opium-laced coffee! He thought we should know what’s in the coffee lest we were offered it.
Male-only Monday morning chin-wag
Later, we went on a walk – we wanted to see what village life was like and Bagdaram once again escorted us. We did draw some curious looks, but most people were friendly and didn’t mind us poking around taking photos.
A walk through the village
We made the acquantaince of some village women and they were aghast that we were on a trip so far from home without our husbands or male companions in tow.
The place seems to have been caught in a time warp and we really wished we had more time here. We managed to squeeze in a relaxing spa before checking out and heading out again. What an incredible find this place was.
The City of Lakes
Udaipur
We arrived in Udaipur last evening and were met at the banks of Lake Pichola by the Leela Palace boat. Lake Pichola is the largest of the lakes in Udaipur and the hotel we were staying at (The Leela Palace) is on this beautiful lake.
After yet another fabulous dinner last night and a restful evening, we threw open the doors of our room this morning to the description of the Leela Palace on their website – “With a majestic location on the Lake Pichola and spectacular view of the Aravalli Mountains, The Leela Palace evokes grandeur and opulence … Beautifully designed to reflect the surrounding style and influences, the intricate craftsmanship … makes it an ultimate palace experience and regal indulgence.”
Lake Pichola
I assure you, we were made to feel quite regal. We had the doorman holding quite a grand-looking umbrella over our heads as we walked to the boat, doors magically opened as we approached them, attentive waiters would appear out of no where to help with our plates. The footmen were so regally attired we felt we ought to be holding the umbrellas for them!
We set out this morning to explore this beautiful ‘City of Lakes’, also known as the ‘Venice of the East’ – both apt descriptions. The city has 5 beautiful lakes, each with its own charm. Our guide today was a smart young man called Rajendra Singh Solanki – ‘Ricky’ for his clients who find it hard to remember or pronounce. It seemed that we didn’t pick the right day as it was Muharram, and many areas of the city was crowded or closed off to traffic. There was heavy police presence. We stayed within the main tourist routes and later decided against the walking tour that we had originally planned.
The amazing City Palace was our first stop – part of the palace is still the private residence of the current Maharaja of Udaipur and the rest has been converted to a museum and open to the public. The sprawling grounds has a hotel within it too. (Trivia: Parts of the Bond movie ‘Octopussy’ was filmed here).
Ricky was very informative and told us the significance of many of the features and structures of the palace which we would have otherwise missed. At one wing of the palace was a museum called the ‘Crystal Palace’ – filled with well, you guessed it, crystal pieces. These were quite extraordinary and elaborate crystal pieces – in addition to plates, glasses and lamps there were four poster beds, tables, chairs – all variety of household furniture all in crystal! These were specially ordered from England in 1877 by the then Maharaja. He died before the cystals arrived and these exquisite pieces were in storage for quite a few years.
City Palace
A boat ride on the lake was arranged and we took a leisurely ride around the island, getting off at the Jag Mandir or ‘Pleasure Palace’. The royal family used the palace as a summer resort and palace for holding parties. This was also where Shah Jahan took refuge after feuding with his father. It is said that he got the idea for the Taj Mahal from the architecture here.
We stopped for lunch at another one of the lakes called Fateh Sagar – guess what we had for lunch again?
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Rajasthan Art School. So captivated were we by the simply exquisite Indian miniature art.
Brian had spotted a Vintage and Classic Car Museum on our drive out and we decided to make an impromptu stop. What a beautiful collection. The 22 cars on display belong to the Maharaja. We had quite a fun time there with the museum guide overflowing with enthusiasm as he explained various features/stories about each of the cars and getting an obliging KF to pose in front of a few and pulling Brian in for a couple of shots well.
We had quite a relaxing evening, having dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and by the lake, all arranged courtesy our guide Ricky. It was once again a fantastic meal!
Chittorgarh Fort
Chittorgarh
The drive from Udaipur to Jaipur was a long and tiring one, eating up most of our day. We did make a stop though at the truly spectacular Chittorgarh Fort. The formidable fort is perched atop a 180 meter high hill covering a massive area of 700 acres. We were so awe-struck as we drove up to it. It is believed that the fort was built by the Mauryans in 7th century; there are other sources that say its origins can be traced to the Pandavas of the Mahabharata.
The ruins of Chittorgarh Fort
Our guide regaled us with many stories, the most famous one being that of Sultan Allaudin Khilji who coveted Queen Padmini of Chittaur. Here’s how the story goes:
Queen Padmini was married to the Rajput King Rawal Ratan Singh. She was considered to be the most beautiful woman and on hearing this Sultan Alauddin had to have a glimpse of such beauty.
Meeting her was out of the question but Ratan Singh agreed that Sultan Alauddin could see her through a reflection in the mirror while she was seated on the steps of a building across a pond! On seeing Padmini’s reflection in the mirror (I honestly don’t know what he could have seen from that distance), Alauddin Khilji decided that he had to have her in his harem. It is what happens next that made it the stuff of legends … the Sultan captures the King and asks for the Queen Padmini if the King’s life is to be spared.
The clever Queen offers herself and her ladies in waiting (some 600 odd of them) and asks that each lady be sent a palanquin and the not-so-clever Sultan sends the palanquins (it takes months for them to make that many palanquins) … The Queen sends in each the bravest Rajput warriors who then attack the Sultan’s men and rescue the King. The furious Sultan then laid siege the Chittorgarh Fort and eventually cut off all food and water supply. The Rajputs fought to their deaths and the Queen and her ladies committed what is known as a ‘divine suicide’ or ‘jauhar’ (by jumping into a huge pyre) rather than submit to the Sultan.
The steps where Queen Padmini was supposed to have sat
700 acres is a lot of ground to cover so we picked the main structures that we wanted to see – Queen Padmini’s Palace, the magnificent Victory Tower, the temple of Meera Bai. There was just so much too see, and way too little time.
Lunch at a nearby restaurant was the first mediocre meal that we had. We continued on our long drive arriving at the splendid Oberoi Rajvilas to more gasps of amazement. It is such a beautiful hotel set on 35 acres of perfectly landscaped gardens and private vilas designed to thoroughly spoil you. Ah, if only we had more time to enjoy all these lovely hotels!
The Pink City
Jaipur
We would only appreciate the true beauty of the extensive gardens of the Rajvilas in the morning. A sense of peace, relaxation and well-being pervades these gardens. The hotel was built around an 18th century Shiva temple. S and I thought we might attend a puja but never woke up early enough on both mornings.
Rajvilas grounds
The Lotus Pond – Oberoi Rajvilas
We started our exploration of the the Pink City (actually the buidlings are not so much pink as they are terra cotta) at the breathtaking Amer Fort and Palace. For that regal experience, the journey up to the fort was by elephant. It was quite uncomfortable as it was a steep climb. The elephant S and I were on was a fairly large fella. He sprayed us with what the mahout says was sweat but what we thought might have been mucous!
The mahout kept telling us how lucky we are that we have received the blessings of Lord Ganesha. The elephant would spray on demand too – whenever the mahout said “Ram, Ram”, we would get sprayed, and the mahout would say “You lucky! God Ganesha give blessing”. Uh huh.
The elephants walk up the hill in single file as another row of them walk down the hill having safely deposited their pillions. We arrived at a large square and alighted but not before giving the mahout the tip he demanded, after all “Ganesh bless”!
Amer Fort
The Amer Fort (aka Amber Fort) was built in 1592. It has a series of impressive palaces, halls, gardens and courtyards within it. We spent the whole morning exploring the place. Its magnificence undoubtedly makes it a great location for films. One of these film crews damaged a 500-year-old canopy, demolished the old limestone roof of one of the buildings, drilled holes to fix sets and spread large quantities of sand in the main courtyard.
The Rajasthan High Court intervened and stopped the filming with the observation that, “Unfortunately, not only the public but especially the concerned authorities have become blind, deaf and dumb by the glitter of money. Such historical protected monuments have become a source of income.” (Wiki)
We stopped for lunch – by now I don’t have to tell you what we had ordered! We still did not tire of the local lamb preparations and its many variations in the different cities.
We went to see the Jantar Mantar next. I found this exceedingly fascinating. The Jantar Mantar is an astronomical observation site built in the 18th century. It is a collection of 20-odd architectural astronomical instruments. It was so interesting to see how these ancient sundials were used to tell time and the position of celestial bodies etc. There was one instrument called the ‘samrat yantra’, which is a sundial, that can tell time to an accuracy of about two seconds! One can only marvel at the ingenuity of the ancient engineers, scientists and architects. The whole complex was like a maze. These structures don’t look like scientific instruments and would not seem misplaced in a children’s playground (in fact I did see a child climb onto an instrument) thus, the many signs placed all over the complex saying “Please do not climb on the instruments”.
Jantar Mantar
Our next visit was to the City Palace which is an elaborate mix of Indian and Mughal architecture. Like all the palaces and forts we have seen, intricate carvings, paintings and motifs adorn the walls and the ceilings and there are three museums within the complex – the Darbar Hall, a display of royal costumes and the third displaying the Mughal weapons. As we walked around this impressive palace complex, we were in need of some strong coffee as we were falling on our faces! The long drive yesterday and the early start today was taking its toll. Coffee was had and we felt better and continued on.
City Palace
We then drove past the Hawa Mahal and were driven to a block printing/carpet making place. It was interesting to see how the block printing is done locally and carpets woven by hand, but it was one of those places which was really hoping you would spend time at their showroom and buy a handwoven carpet. As none of us were keen on buying carpets, we skipped the showroom and headed back to our lovely hotel.
Hawa Mahal
In preparation for photographing the Taj Mahal by moonlight, that night S and I experimented with moon photography and surprised ourselves at how much detail we managed to photograph despite hand-holding the camera. Tripods are not allowed at the Taj Mahal. We were quite thrilled with our results.
We had dinner at the fine-dining Indian restaurant (no prizes for guessing what was for dinner). The restaurant was at one end of the sprawling grounds, so we were transported there by golf cart.
What a lovely evening of food, drinks and music it was. KF requested for ‘Jai Ho’ to liven things up a bit and Brian asked for something from ‘The 3 Idiots’ and S and I asked for anything from ‘Bobby’. The waiter, a young man of 21, who was conveying our requests to the singers, had not heard of “Bobby” … that request was quite an age reveal.
Another Hidden Gem and Farewell Rajasthan
Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh
We decided to take our time this morning. We had a lovely breakfast. The service here was beyond excellent – the waiters hearing that we were checking out and heading to Agra offered to pack us some snacks for the journey (and what a yummy spread of things they were – several types of pastries, fruits, drinks).
We asked about a book ‘I Am My Best Self’ a copy of which was in our rooms and wondered if we could buy it. It looked like an interesting compilation of vedic stories. The young waiter and waitress promptly went off to arrange four books and returned informing us that it was complimentary courtesy them. Now, where do you ever get such exceptional service! And they were just kids who had finished college, on the their first jobs as trainees.
The proceeds from the sale of the books go to an educational charity and so we went ahead to make a donation anyway. The GM of the hotel who had greeted us when we arrived was also at hand to bid us farewell. We really wished we had more time. If any of you are planning to visit Rajasthan (and that you must do so at least once in this lifetime) please take note that 10 days is just not sufficient.
And so after the farewells, we set off to Agra via – Abaneri (also spelt as Abhineri or Abhaneri … spellings here are not always consistent) and Fatehpur Sikri. The first was a detour and one that we were so glad we included in our itinerary.
In the village of Abaneri is one of the oldest and largest stepwells of India. It is another one of those hidden gems! Called the ‘Chand Baori’ this stepwell has 3500 steps cut into its side in an amazing geometric design. It descends 62 feet to the water level. This stupendous well was built in the 8th century by King Chanda, thus the name Chand Boari (which means ‘well’).
The Chand Baori
I have never seen anything like it. The first stepwell I had ever seen was the one we dined at in Narlai – which is a modest size in comparison but impressive nonetheless. Why they were designed this way is a curious thing and something to research. Fetching water must have been quite a hazardous undertaking for the women who had that many steps to descend and then walk up again with buckets of water balanced on their head!
Architecturally, it’s a beauty. This stop is one that many visitors skip and is often overlooked by tour operators as well. Do not make that mistake. It is well worth the detour. Do not think it is only a village well and decide to give it a miss – it is a village well that will leave you awestruck.
After a quick lunch ( guess what again?) we pressed on to Fatehpur Sikri. As we crossed the border into Uttar Pradesh, we actually felt sad that we were leaving Rajasthan. I have to say the difference between the two states was quite stark. Our guide (who is from Rajasthan) said that even the Indians refer to Uttar Pradesh as “‘Ulta Pradesh” (‘ulta’ meaning ‘upside down’ in Hindi).
At Fatehpur Sikri it seemed more like the India as I know it – crowded, pesky touts, beggars … but surprisingly clean toilets I must say. Here we were hounded by two bright-eyed English-speaking young boys who were trying to sell us postcards. S got to talking to them – one was only 8 years old. This is what they do after school every day. This young fella spoke French and German as well – all from his touting interactions with tourists. We said we would buy his postcards at the end of our tour, unfortunately we exited through a different gateway and didn’t see the kids after that. We felt quite badly about that.
Buland Darwarza – the entrance gateway to Fatehpur Sikri
Fathepur Sikri was built in 1569 and was the capital and seat of power of Akbar, the Great. The construction of this walled city took almost 15 years but remained as the Mughal empire’s capital for only 10 years (apparently due to severe and constant water shortages). This huge complex includes several royal palaces, a harem (Akbar had more than 300 concubines), courts and a mosque. The entrance is impressive and imposing at 180 feet and according to the Uttar Pradesh Government website, the largest gateway in the world.
We went to the tomb of the Sufi saint, Salim Chishti, and followed the crowd in circumambulating the tomb. Many were tying a red or yellow string on the lattice work. Apparently if you make a wish and tie a string at this tomb, it will come true. After all it was this saint that Akbar had turned to when he was still childless at age 26. It is believed the saint’s blessings bestowed upon Akbar 3 sons. In the saint’s honour, Akbar built this new city in Sikri where the saint lived and named it his new capital, Fathepur Sikri – the City of Victory.
Tomb of Salim Chishti
In his pursuit for peace and unity among the the various rival political and religious factions, Akbar had 3 official wives – a Muslim lady from Turkey (Ruqaiyah), a Christian lady from Goa (Mariam) and a Hindu Rajput princess (popularly known as Jodhaa Bai but according to our PhD-pursuing-history-scholar guide, her name was actually Harka Bai).
These alliances brought peace for a period. For each of his wives he built a palace within the complex – that gives you a sense of scale and size of the place. It is said his favourite wife was Jodhaa Bai for whom he built a temple and even a separate kitchen (as she was a strict vegetarian). Their story was made into a Hindi movie “Jodhaa-Akbar”. Although a lot of research went into the making of the movie, many Rajput groups claimed historical inaccuracies and the movie was not screened in many cinemas in Rajasthan.
Inside Fatehpur Sikri
We spent some time wandering through the buildings and grounds and then made our way into Agra – not only the home of the Taj Mahal, but also that of my old and very dear friend P, a Maharani herself. I couldn’t wait!
The Taj by Day (and Night) and a Royal Reunion
Agra
As we got off at the ITC Mughal last night, the first thing that struck us was the pollution in Agra and the distinct acrid smell – smog just hung thickly in the air.
We were up just before 6am this morning and off we went excitedly to see the Taj Mahal by sunrise. You can’t get too close to the Taj now and have to be dropped off some way off and get onto battery-operated vehicles that ferry you to the Taj. This was an attempt by the authorities to minimise the devastating impact pollution was having on the Taj.
When we got there, the queue was already snaking its long way out onto the road with the ladies’ queue twice as long as the men’s queue. There goes the view of the Taj by sunrise. We were going to be in the queue a while …
Security was taken very seriously and we had to undergo thorough checking and frisking. It did seem as if the women were subject to more thorough checking in a curtained cubicle while the men were just patted down cursorily. Hmm, are women considered the greater threat or is it just the case of the women guards taking their jobs more seriously? There was one encounter I witnessed between a woman guard and two tourists who brought in a mini tripod (the rules are quite clear about tripods). The guard was not brooking any nonsense and told the girls politely but firmly that she’d be happy to arrange a refund of their tickets.
Once cleared, and with the sun having well and truly risen, we walked in through the Eastern gate. As we approached the gate, our guide (who spoke excellent unaccented English) told us to look down and walk and to look up only when he says so. I have to admit I didn’t bother as I had already caught a glimpse of the Taj and found it mesmerising – just as I did 30-odd years ago when I first saw it. Pity the haze/smog was so bad, but in a way the haze enhanced its dream-like image.
The story goes that Emperor Shah Jahan built this mausoleum in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. She died shortly after giving birth to their 14th child (!) and her final request was for him not to marry again (!!) and prove their endless love by building the most beautiful mausoleum in the world in her memory (!!!) – quite an imperious woman I say! It took 20,000 workers, 22 years to build.
I am sure you would have heard that Shah Jahan had the hands of the Chief Architect and builders chopped off so that he/they would never again build another building of such magnificence. Well, our guide was quite emphatic is saying that it’s all a myth … well, who knows …
Lots of photos later, it was back to the hotel for breakfast then to the Agra Fort. Known as the Red Fort of Agra (its red sandstone gives it its name), this is another UNESCO world heritage site. Shah Jahan, was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in the Agra Fort, from which he had a view of the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan is said to have died in the Musamman Burj, a tower with a beautiful marble balcony. The smog was so bad we could only make out a hazy outline of the Taj from the balcony.
Red Fort of Agra
Smog covered view of the Taj from the Red Fort
It was back to the hotel for a shower and change. My dear old friend P, came breezing into the hotel, having successfully stopped her 3 bodyguards from following her in. It was so good seeing her again. After the hugs and kisses and introductions to Brian and KF, she took us for lunch to the Peshawari restaurant in the hotel. The staff were falling over themselves welcoming her with deep bows and namaskars and broad grins. We were finding the whole thing rather amusing and enjoyed the treatment we got thanks to her.
We decided to go shopping at the Sadar Bazaar and as there was no place in the car for all of us plus the bodyguards, P told the bodyguards they had to take a taxi. Oh, the distress this caused! It was quite amusing to watch. Then as we were negotiating traffic, a siren went off and we looked at each other askance and were in fits of laughter when we realised the siren was from our car. This was going to be fun!
Later, after our shopping, we decided to go across the road for coffee – it was almost comical how the armed body guard jumped in front of the traffic to get P across safely. S and I were trying hard not to get too hysterical!
That night, we were back at the Taj again, this time to see it by moonlight. They were stricter this time – no mobile phones even. More queues and more frisking (we were frisked 3 times by the same guard at different points in the queue, which was slightly odd and uncomfortable). We were allowed onto the viewing area in batches of 50 and each group is given only half an hour.
Now, the beautiful moon was no where over the Taj, in fact it was at the other end, near where we were standing and the smog was so bad there was no moonlight reflecting on the Taj. It was so dark, our cameras would only click on manual mode and each of us got a differently coloured picture! My photos came out in a slight red/orange hue! I think all the photographers were struggling with their settings and one guy listening to S and I discussing settings, chipped in and said “It’s very hard!”. We couldn’t agree more! We were literally shooting in the dark. After a while, it was nice to just stand and stare at the silhouette of the Taj.
Taj by night
While I wouldn’t go so far as calling this ‘Taj by moonlight’ promotions a scam, it just really wasn’t anything quite so romantic or amazing. Perhaps we came at the wrong time of year when the position of the moon wasn’t quite right … it was nonetheless a fun evening.
Next, we excitedly went off to P’s home for dinner. It was a rather late dinner by our standards but early by Indian standards. What a lovely spread! She’d been reading the blog and knew how much lamb we had been eating and thought perhaps we might want something else… but no, 25 years or so ago, S had eaten the most delicious lamb biriyani here at P’s and requested for it again. It was the same cook mind you! There was so much left over that the gang decided to come back for lunch tomorrow!
A Perfect Holiday
The Telegraph had an article some years ago on what makes a perfect holiday and their conclusion was “that a great holiday has nothing to do with age, or even cost, but everything to do with where you go and who you go with.”
I could have told them that and saved them all that time and money on research!
The past 10 days were superb – everything we did, saw and experienced was interesting, enjoyable, fun and our days were filled with lots of laughter … and lamb. We didn’t have any airport nightmares, horrible hotels, awful food or raging arguments and we got on blissfully. I couldn’t have asked for better company to do this trip with. This foursome will do more holidays together … we’ve already started making plans …
As the rest were getting set to leave for Singapore, I was settling in and looking forward to Downton Abbey-like days ahead with P and her household staff and catching up with her in her 10-acre home complete with guinea fowls, geese, partridges, emu (no, you’re not misreading I did say emu), peacocks (yes, peacocks), a dog and a stray cat that comes and goes as it pleases:-)
Emu roams the grounds of Bhadawar House
Geese
Peacock
It’s going to be a right royal hoot for the next few days, there’s nothing quite like spending time in conversation with a dear friend.