Jaipur was a blur, it went by too fast. Known as the Pink City, it is the capital of Rajaztan and it has much to offer with its architecture, schools and major landmarks. We stayed at Diggi Palace, a hotel that resembled a small palace complete with perfect color and sophistication. At dinner, we were entertained with traditional Rajaztani music and dancers, and one of the, even pulled me up on stage with her. I have no moves so it was pretty terrible, but fun nonetheless.
That night, before our long awaited elephant rides up to the Fort, I came down with another virus, this time much worse than before. I didn’t think I would make it the next day, but I pushed through and went on that elephant. Caroline and I had the first ride of the group, but we ended up getting passed by all of the group along with some other people, which ended up being fun because we had the longest ride! Our elephant, Bobi, was 34 years old and eats bananas, sugar cane and watermelon. We had a lot of fun trekking up to the top of a palace and fort on top of such a majestic animal. The palace itself was beautiful and is so huge I was getting lost. My favorite part of Amber Palace was the Hall of Mirrors. Just look at the pictures, and you’ll see.
At this point in the day, I had come down from my “elephant high” that made me so energetic and eager to not stay at the hotel and rest. Basically I was starting to feel terrible again, but I kept going and was glad to see the City Palace that afternoon. It was filled with gorgeous courtyards and intricate doors. It was across the street from an observatory, where we actually met with an expert who explained horoscopes and their connection with the location we were in. Indians believe strongly in their horoscopes so much so that all arranged marriages are not approved unless the horoscopes match. At this observatory, we learned how astrology works with time and light.
I was ready to go back to the hotel to rest by the end of the day, and I did in preparation of our traveling the next day. We set off for Pushkar, another city in Rajaztan, to visit another NGO that deals with ex-sex workers. We walked into a small room filled with dozens of women sewing quilts and other products who all looked up with glee when we arrived! After taking our shoes off, we sat around the room as they brought us tea and snacks. Once we made the introductions, we were free to interact with the women as they worked. I found myself between a few women of all ages but similar backgrounds. Most had children and husbands, and it was clear that sex work was not mentioned in their lives anymore. Instead, Anchil (the NGO) works to employ these women after that part of their lives and sells their work for product. Most of the women were not educated, or only up to middle school, so we needed a translator for most things, but we understood enough. I had a blast with the women and one who was 22 even said to our translator “we don’t understand each other’s language, but we are all the same”. It’s true, and once again, interacting with locals was another one of my favorite days.
That night in Pushkar, where camels are everywhere and “hipster” becomes cool in India, we went to the holy lake where Hindus bathe religiously. Because it was a December night, no one was out bathing, but it was fun watching the local youth hang out there and wondering what it looks like when it is packed.
We still had a few hours left in the dry state when we returned from Pushkar, so some of us who had heard about the Rajaztan Heritage Festival decided to go. We realized we didn’t know too much about it when we got there and found out it was actually a fashion show. We felt silly stepping into a fancy show hours before it went live, but when we saw the exhibit outside, we were fascinated. This entire fashion line that was being presented was modeled after Ghandi’s movement, so the clothes were all cloth. It was fantastic. We saw some extra sites on our way back, and all agreed it was worth going.
I am currently sitting on our final six hour long bus ride back to Delhi for our last few days in India. We sang our last songs, made our last rest stops and played our final games. We have spent so much time together, especially on buses, it is hard to believe all of it will be over!
Get Curried Away With Kamber 