more of jaipur...the better part

(This post was supposed to be here three days back but my blog was giving me problems...but finally, here it is!)

Hello people who have bothered to open this page and read!
Now…this post is mainly going to be about Jaipur. But first, tell me something…why do people lie? Inspite of saying that they wouldn’t, they do. Strange!

Anyway…let’s now get to the topic and not waste further time mentioning mundane and usual things.

I told u about Jaipur. This place is ACTUALLY strange! I mean, pink buildings were strange enough but this place has stranger things to see! Ok, let’s start with the Jal Mahal. It’s a building made long ago by one of the kings (I don’t remember the details because I was always bad at history) and he used to sit there and watch the dancers and stuff of that kind. One floor of the building is now underground. The place is known to be jinxed because every attempt to break that structure and make something new there has been foiled. Creepy! Now I jump (force of habit) to Amer Fort. It’s more like the king’s harem. The king, who made it, apparently weighed 250 k.g. and was seven feet tall! Yikes! That must have been scary. Added to that, the guy had nine wives! This concept, I don’t understand. I mean, why does one need to have nine women in his life? Why not just love one, care for one and be with one? Plus, economically seen, it increases maintenance cost! The fort, by itself, is pretty nice. Though not marvelous or anything of the sorts. And yes, before I forget, the Rajasthan tourism department has maintained the structures really poorly. I mean, these structures deserve more care! The guide we had could beat me any day at yapping. He just went on…and then said…”this is, after all, my profession!” Christ! In the fort, the prettiest queen had a bigger room on the ground floor and the other queens were put up on the first floor. Now, who was the one who said looks don’t matter? And somehow, just like in fairy tales and folklore, this queen was both the prettiest and the most intelligent. Beauty and brains eh? Anyway, one can see the entire Jaipur city from the fort. And I have just lost count of how many gates this city has! Everywhere that one can see, there is a gate. Next, I was looking at how block painting is done. Pretty interesting. And hand done, of course. Then I saw the hundred gram quilt that is famous because it uses just hundred grams of wool and is very warm. Most of the painting work in the city is done with vegetable colors.

Oh…and now coming to the best part. Chokhi Dhani. It’s a place where one can eat, take a few rides, get a head massage, get into the maze (which has a weird outlet), see what an ancient Rajasthani village looks like, see tribals, buy souvenirs and basically, have a blast. There were hookahs put up at places and though I have given up smoking, I sneaked in a couple of drags when dad wasn’t looking. Was missing someone who I thought was very close. And then there was this cave which was made artificially but looked pretty real! And I played the tribal drum for sometime…felt weird but was a great experience. Got a head massage. Those who think that it was one of the nubile, good looking, ravishing girls giving the massage will be highly mistaken ( come on, this isn’t Thailand or Malaysia!) because it was one of those huge Rajasthani chaps who ALMOST broke a few bones of mine while giving me that massage. But it felt great after that because the entire body felt like it had been loosened up. The set up of this place is brilliant, least said. Right from the ambience to the uniforms to everything else is in sync with the ethnic feel. But thankfully, the cleanliness of the place has been maintained very well. And now, I come to the most wonderfully torturous but wonderful part of the deal….FOOD. A word of caution. People who are on a diet, or are thinking of going on one, don’t even DREAM of coming here. It’s going to be fatal. Suicidal. But I loved it because the thought of dieting can never even occur to me! Butter and ghee flow at this place. I mean…actually flow and if the roti isn’t buttered properly, people may take offence. Here, it's not buttered roti...it's roti'ed' butter! The calorie count goes for a royal toss. But the food is awesome. There is something called bajrey-ki-khichadi which has huge quantities of sugar and butter in it. But it tastes great. Plus the menu is LONG. Really long. And vegetarian! For a carnivore like me, that sounded miserable. And doing proper justice to it will mean half and hour of time at least (if you are one of the proper eaters, that is). This place is paradise for hogs like me. Oh! the buttermilk...it's fantastic...great...brilliant! Since my dad is a lot more civilized than me and not that big a foodie, i compensated for what he couldn't extract! The eating place is this typically Indian setup where one has to sit on the floor and there are these short stubby tables put out in front. Crockery was all leafy! I mean, the ones that are made out of those tree leaves...even the bowls were the same. For glasses, there were clay glasses! There are camels and rabbits and statues of bulls and a few other animals!

Ok, I have been typing and the Sun has come out. I have to sleep. So, take care and hope you have had a great diwali!

Adios.