In The Pink

April 18, 2002- Jaipur
(photos:Ride to Amber Fort,
Basic transportation,
Observatory)

Jaipur is named for Jai Singh. He founded the old walled city as the capital of Rajistan in the 12th century. The fort built in the 16th-17th century looms over the newer section looking like a dinosaur tail as it wraps itself around the hilltop. In the 18th century, the king moved the city down to the plain where it is today. It’s the first planned city in India. When King Edward visited it was painted pink, a Hindu color of welcome. It’s still painted in shades of pink and salmon and is called the Pink City. It looks better from a distance and is basic Indian rubble now. It’s sad to see paintings of how it used to look. The arrangement of arcades and shops with apartments over them is done in a Hindu style with a Moghul twist. Elaborate turrets, balconies, and latticework done up in the salmon color buildings with white detailing are still used in the original way the planners intended. The Hindu symbol that resembles a swastika is used frequently on store signs and in decorations. It’s always a jarring sight to me.

Jaipur hasn’t undergone the changes that come when a city is conquered since the Hindu king of Jaipur has always chosen to be a vassal to the superior power of the Moghul empire rather than suffer the turmoil of war and defeat. This city has never been attacked. To this day, the City Palace is intact. It’s the only Indian Palace with a polo field. That was the passion of the last monarch who died in competition while in England. His widow is still alive and it’s their grandson who lives in a portion of the palace today. The remainder of the palace is a museum and a collection of miniature paintings showing how the people lived centuries ago, costumes, and pashmina fabric is housed there. The interior follows the style of Moghul decoration, but the flowers are painted not inlaid with gems. One of the kings had two of the worlds most enormous silver vessels built to carry Ganges water with him when he traveled to England. He’d not dare drink or bathe in English water. That’s really humorous considering all the present day tourists here who carry around water in plastic bottles because they won’t use Indian water. Silver is so much more elegant than plastic. Our quest for water today introduced us to the Indian version of a drive-thru. We pulled up to the curb near a drink vendors cart, rolled down the window, and he walked over to sell us the water. It’s the latest in convenience shopping.

Driving The Gauntlet

We fought our way to our hotel through traffic that reflected our changed location. We now had to contend with elephants on the road as well as the usual free-range cows, pigs, horses, goats, and camels. David was willing to give Jaipur an award for having the most cows. There are more motorbikes here than in any other place we’ve been in India. They even use specially designated tuk-tuks as school buses and cram four to six children into them. The most amazing sight was what appeared to be falling down little kiosks in the middle of the thoroughfares. They’re really small temples that were there before the road was built.

There was a cow grazing on the lawn of the Rajputana Palace Sheraton Hotel when we pulled up. It was truly enjoying the luxury accommodations. Rajputana is the name of a fearless warrior caste. They never surrendered and their widows would throw themselves on the funeral pyres in a show of loyalty and courage. The staff seems very peace loving. Our room overlooks the pool that seems to be shared with the local pigeon population. Maybe I won’t go for a swim. Dinner was delightful. We learned about paneer kofti. It’s a deep fried cheese curd ball in savory tomato gravy. Yum!

Breakfast introduced us to rice bonda (fried balls), watermelon juice, and a spongy fermented rice pancake called idili. There’s an array of sauces and chutneys to use as condiments. Good-bye bran flakes. Hello Indian cuisine. Our guide, Kumar, said that if you’re going to get “Delhi Belly” it usually comes in the first two days of your visit. We are way past that but are still very careful. I rinsed my toothbrush under the tap by mistake. I may be able to buy a new one today, but if I cannot, I soaked this one in alcohol and rinsed it in bottled water.

I couldn’t believe the waiter at breakfast actually got me thinking about touring southern India some day. It’s completely different and has a very different history. Who knows, we may be back.

My skin is drying up from lack of humidity and the heat. I drink a lot and keep using moisturizer. I wash my hair every day, as usual, but I need to wash and rinse it twice in order to get it to feel normal. By the time I’ve been outdoors for an hour, it feels thick with dirt and dust and dry like straw.

We had a late start for us. We didn’t have to leave until 8:30 AM. We left a wake-up call and were woken twice in what we’ve decided is typical Indian tradition. There’s an automated call followed by what I call the human snooze alarm. Reception calls to be certain that you’re awake. As I’ve said, the service in India is exemplary, but nothing is for free. The steward won’t turn down the bed at night if you’re not in the room. Why bother if there will be no tip? As for the police, Kumar calls them “official bandits.” If they know who stole something, they’ll go to the thief and demand a percentage of the take and not make the arrest.

Another Beast

Today we saw the Palace of the Winds. It’s actually just a heavily ornate pink façade built in 1799 behind which women of the court could watch parades and not be seen. They sat several stories above the crowds and were screened by the latticework jali.

We’ve ridden donkeys up the steps in Santorini, Greece and now we can say that we rode a painted elephant up the ramp and into the Amber Fort. Kumar rushed us to beat the tour buses to the mounting platform. This platform was made of stone and much sturdier than the bamboo ones we had to navigate in Chang Mai, Thailand. We got on so fast that we weren’t sitting correctly. We had to shift ourselves around as the elephant was moving up the steep incline and a photographer caught our expressions. We look terrified. A musician tagged along and when he saw we were enjoying his music, he followed for a while. He asked us for money as we neared the top and I had to toss the bill to him. The 10-rupee note ($0.20) floated down and landed under the slow moving elephant. The musician retrieved it intact and moved along to his next prospect. Kumar followed us up on foot and took several photos of us from front and rear.

The fort and palace overlook ruins of the original 11th century city and are surround by a ten-mile long wall that sits on top of the surrounding hills. The architecture is the typical Moghul blend of Hindu and Muslim design but it was the first time I saw pastel colors used. Some rooms have sandalwood doors inlaid with ivory and horn decorations. The pattern on the doors is echoed in the layout of the gardens they overlook. The king had a private passageway that led to the apartments of his different wives. There was a hidden entrance from the corridor to each of the apartments so none of the wives knew whom the king was visiting. It was a good way to keep the peace. Ingenious cooling systems were created for the hot climate. In one area, air is directed into the room through ducts so that a wind is created. This passes over water to create an ancient air-conditioning system. Another device was made by using a copper pipe with a perforated hose in it. The pipe was hung over an exterior threshold and grass screens were hung over the openings. The water from the pipe dripped onto the screens. The air was cooled as it passed through the screens.

I really enjoyed the observatory built in 1728 by King Jai Singh. He was an avid astronomer and astrologer. The clean straight lines of the massive “time clocks” and astrological devices are in sharp contrast to the curved lines and elaborate symmetry of the Moghul buildings. The observatory resembles a modern art sculpture garden and is exquisite in its stark simplicity and monumental scale. We checked our watches and noted that the observatory is still accurate to within twenty seconds even today.
Getting Clued In

We mentioned that we had no idea what our hotel costs since we paid for the tours, flights, and lodging as part of a package. Kumar teased us and asked us to guess. We were so far off. He said that his tour company pays $US 33 per night including the buffet breakfast. They have a special contract with the Sheraton and there’s no individual who could get that rate. Every day of touring ends at a shop. Kumar was very candid about this the first day. He said he has to ask us to go into the shop because the tour company he works with gets a commission if we buy. He does not. The shop is notified when we are touring and reports back to the company. If the guide didn’t bring us into the shop, he would never get another job from that company again. He told us that if we wanted to buy we should bargain for 50% off, but he could not help us once we were inside. He said we could leave as soon as we wanted to and he has been true to his word. We’ve bought nothing…yet.

We gratefully went back to the hotel to eat and have the rest of the day free. I had the most delicious lunch. It was called Murgh Kathi Kebab and was a parantha (onion crepe- like pancake) coated with egg and wrapped around tasty chicken and vegetables. Last night we noticed what we thought were a number of gay men checking in. Today we struck up a conversation with a friendly man from England who climbed over the low wall around the coffee shop and sat down at our table. He was a pilot with Air 2000, a charter company that has a group of VIPs touring India, Cyprus, and Kenya. That explains the gay men. They’re flight attendants on that plane. We asked him about Kenya and he assured us we would be fine on safari and that we should stay inside the hotel the one night we’re in Nairobi. He’s an experienced traveler but ended up being coerced into buying a carpet here yesterday at a shop that some street hawker claimed was his “uncle’s.” He said he loves the carpet and it was a good price, but he had no intention of buying one. These are some of the greatest salesmen. He’s being very careful about what he eats. His first officer had some bad curry at a nearby restaurant last night and is not up to par. They fly out tomorrow and he needs at least two healthy people in the cockpit. Tonight they’re all invited for cocktails at the maharaja’s palace. He figures that alcohol is safe.

We went to a free show at the hotel before dinner. It was primarily music and folk dancing. It took place in a garden near the pool and only four people were in the audience. The dancers were less than enthusiastic and their efforts seemed forced. One woman looked as if she was learning the routine and kept watching the other dancer for cues. There was an impressive number where a woman did an elaborate dance balancing seven pots on her head. We know they weren’t attached to each other because a man added them to the pile one at a time. The costumes were spectacular multi-layered silk outfits of brilliant hues. They wore pants under their skirts, aprons over that, and bells on their ankles. The jewelry flashed as the scarves and shawls twirled. Dinner yielded yet another new dish. I had Anjeer Subz Seekh. It’s made of chopped figs and vegetables that are cooked in a tandoori oven. They looked like hot dogs and were quite spicy. I liked them but I’m not sure my stomach did.

Toby