India

Wednesday 10/14/2009 - Gadisar Lake, Pokhran Terra Cotta, Sardar Market Girdikot, Jodhpur

We woke up at 6:30 a.m., showered (enjoying the great water pressure at this hotel), and got dressed. We got everything packed since we would be leaving Jaisalmer to continue on to Jodhpur. We met Mukul for breakfast at 7:40. We sat at a table in the dining room overlooking the swimming pool, and noticed that birds were congregating in the corners of the pool for a dip. We had coffee, French toast with honey, cereal, and the usual Indian breakfast fare. Mukul was disappointed that there was no fresh juice available and we had to settle for canned pineapple juice. It was unusual for the type of hotels we had been staying at to be lacking anything. They usually take pride in the freshness of their fruit. When we were done eating, we checked out and posed for a picture with the doorman.

Before leaving Jaisalmer, Rajendra drove us to Gadisar Lake. We got out of the car to walk around this touristy place. We saw a camel which was decorated with brightly colored textiles pulling a colorful wooden cart. Mukul explained that this is similar to what Sukumar and Sonam would have as part of their wedding procession.

In 1658, a courtesan of Jaisalmer named Tilon had an arched gate built next to the lake. The structure is known as the Tilon-ki-pol. People had thought that her money was ill-gotten and Tilon was afraid that as a result, they would try to tear down the arch. In order to prevent this, the quick-thinking Tilon constructed a temple on the top of the arch. Yet another story of Indian ingenuity and clever problem-solving. We walked through Tilon's arch and we walked down to the lake. We saw some young boys in traditional Rajasthani dress playing drums and singing “Frere Jacques” for the French tourists. We found this to be quite amusing that they would play a song that the French tourists recognized, hoping for a bigger tip than they might get for playing some of their own traditional Rajasthani music.

As we walked further on we saw a group of even younger boys performing the same song. Two very small boys were dancing very enthusiastically. Mukul took our picture with them. We wandered around and looked at the pretty architecture. There was a picturesque chhatri situated on a tiny island in the lake. The lake was expansive but it was obvious that its water level was drastically low, a recurring problem at these desert outposts we have visited thus far. There were pedal boats for rent, but it seemed kind of silly; it would be the equivalent of paddling around in a glorified puddle.

As we walked back past the first group of boys Mukul stopped them in mid-"Frere Jacques." They had just assumed we were French like most of the other tourists. “Nay! Nay, French,” Mukul told them. Mid-song they immediately switched to an Indian song without skipping a beat. The little boy danced and posed with us for a photo. Mukul asked why they weren’t in school and they said that they were on Diwali holiday.

As we got back into the car, Mukul told us that the Tilon story reminded him of something that happened to a friend of his. This friend lived next door to a chai (tea) shop. The patrons would constantly use the edge of his property as a urinal. Mukul helped him to landscape the area and they turned it into a shrine, putting up a trident and a few coins to look like offerings. Not only did this prevent the urinal problem going forward, a Brahman priest asked if he could tend the shrine. They said that as long as he didn’t turn it to a temple (because people would chant at all hours and keep Mukul’s friend awake) that he was free to tend it. When the government widened the road, they took the shrine location, but they also took the tea shop, so Mukul’s friend no longer had the problem even once the shrine was removed. Once again, problem solved with Indian ingenuity.

We drove back to Pokhran and turned off the main road at an area known for its terra cotta production. Terra cotta being one of Mukul’s self-described passions, he naturally wanted to take us to see some being produced. We stopped the car and the Achlaram family approached us, introduced themselves, and invited us into their home/workshop. The wife was wearing a veil as she was a daughter-in-law living with her husband’s family. She had a green tunic with matching bangle bracelets up her arm. Her veil was bright pink and she had rings on her fingers and toes. She had four sons, who, like their father, were all dressed in western clothes. The grandmother was traditionally dressed, also wearing a veil. She was eating a piece of melon for breakfast, and then stood in the doorway with the morning light making her yellow veil glow.

The husband demonstrated use of the potter’s wheel and made two small pots by wetting the clay and spinning and shaping it with his fingers. The wife was decorating a terra cotta elephant statue with a stylus. They walked us through their entire process: clay is beaten with a wooden bat and then sifted. The fine pieces of clay are soaked in water and then sculpted, either shaped completely by hand or with the use of a potter's wheel. The pieces are then dried in the sun. After that, they are layered with cow dung and set on fire.

We climbed up to the roof of their house where their extensive inventory of finished pieces was kept. We saw statues of a bride and groom riding a camel, lanterns, vases, tiles, jars, masks, water pitchers and even chains made from terra cotta. We all looked around, picking out pieces that we wanted to purchase.

Mukul bought a tile featuring a representation of Ganesh for Craig’s father’s birthday. We picked out some terra cotta items for ourselves: a camel (since we had just ridden one), a Ganesh statue, a Ganesh tile, and a mask. Mukul picked out a few pieces to give to friends. The entire lot came to 400 rupees - around $8 US. Prices are amazingly low when you go right to the source.

We got back onto the road and saw some gray francolin partridges run across the street. We also saw peacocks sitting on the side of the road. In Dechu, we passed a military convoy: 9 tanks on flatbeds, 3 armored personnel carriers, 2 trucks, and a Jeep. We made a “comfort stop” at Manvar Desert Resort. The Manvar Desert Resort is certainly an oasis in the desert. It is lush and green with shade trees shielding the outdoor eating space from the sun. We used the restroom and then sat in their lovely courtyard beneath a flamboyant tree to enjoy sweet lassi. Mukul picked some fresh dates from a palm tree and gave them to us to sample.There were frogs swimming in a little pond, and agaves sprouting their century-plant trees. As we walked, refreshed, back to the car, we noticed some bees or wasps or something similar that looked like they had been spray painted yellow. Every portion of their bodies was plated with bright yellow armor.

We got back into the car and continued on toward Jodhpur. We noticed that in this area of Rajasthan, people use narrow sandstone slabs as fenceposts, corner posts, pickets, and house walls. We thought that this technique would probably work well in Mali, as they have so much stone available and then they wouldn’t have to re-mud their buildings each year.

As we approached Jodhpur, we noticed lots of rock formations and quarries. At Rajendra’s suggestion, we took the scenic route into Jodhpur and passed a lake fed by Punjabi waters. There were beautiful lotuses in the water and we saw many birds, including black-bellied terns, cormorants, snow geese, and barheaded geese.

We arrived at Ajit Bahwan hotel. They gave us cold facecloths and lime soda in their lobby (which featured a very cool antique radio) as we filled out the registration paperwork. We were then led through the expansive grounds to an annex of newly-renovated rooms. We were in room 81, and Mukul was right next door. The rooms were gorgeous. The furniture was wood with brass embellishments. The door to our bathroom had brass spikes and looked like it was capable of staving off an elephant attack (we had seen doors that looked similar in the various forts and palaces that we had visited so far). We had a nice flat-screen TV and a marble bathroom with a bathtub. All of the hotels we were staying at were so amazing; we really felt like we were following in the footsteps of royalty. Mukul was feeling a bit tired and didn't seem like his usually enthusiastic self, so he went to check out the spa. We wondered if he was overheated. We were wearing very lightweight clothes and were very sweaty. He was wearing a long sleeved corduroy shirt, and we thought he very well could be dehydrated. While he went to the spa, Craig and I relaxed in the room, journaling and watching some TV.

At 5 o’clock, we met a re-invigorated Mukul, who raved about the spa and insisted that one of us take the 7:45 p.m. open appointment time slot tonight. We were all rejuvenated by our little siesta after having spent so much time in the car this morning. We were now ready to go again. We checked out some of the classic cars on display in front of the lobby, and then met Ranjendra for a drive downtown. Rajendra let us off near the clock tower in an area known as Sardar Market Girdikot, and then left to locate a parking space. We walked through a sandstone archway amongst crowds in the bustling streets. It will be Diwali in three days, and everyone had something to sell or something to buy. It was interesting to see an authentic marketplace where locals were shopping for themselves and there were few tourists.

People were selling small terra cotta dishes as well as cotton to be twisted into wicks. These would be used as little candles during Diwali. There was a man with a cart selling fireworks who seemed to be following us. He was always behind us somehow. Stalls were full of clothing, bangle bracelets, fruit, fireworks, sweets, house wares, toys, images of Hindu deities, posters, calendars, spices, piles of garlic, onions, and potatoes...just about anything could be procured here. People rummaged through piles of blue jeans, a cobbler inspected people's shoes as they passed. There was even a sign featuring a large smiling mouth...a dentist! He was not open right now, which is probably for the best. I'm not sure I would want to watch people getting dental treatments on the sidewalk. As we looked at our surroundings we noticed a large fort on a plateau overlooking the marketplace. We surmised that this might be our destination tomorrow.

Most women were dressed traditionally (either in saris or salwar kameez tunics and loose fitting pants) with gold jewelry, but many of the men were dressed in western collared shirts and slacks. Cows wandered in between the sellers. We passed large metal cauldrons and piles of sneakers for sale. I was very comfortable snapping photos here. The locals were all quite friendly and were unhurried in their holiday preparations, always ready with a smile or a hello. A little girl in a frilly yellow dress was sitting in a plastic bucket on the ground next to a parked motorcycle. I snapped a photo of her and when I showed it to her on the camera she laughed so hard that the bucket fell over and she spilled out onto the ground, which made her laugh even harder. With her bright yellow fancy dress sitting in the dusty street she brought to mind the image of the girl in the yellow dress in "Slumdog Millionaire." Her clothing seemed much too fancy for a girl out playing in the dusty streets .

There was a controlled chaos to the scene, frenetic activity yet at the same time a somehow laid-back atmosphere. When people realized that I was taking their photos, they all had a smile. Even with tuk-tuks and motorbikes beeping their horns incessantly, there was a good-natured ease to it all. I saw a woman with a cute toddler selling bangle bracelets. The toddler was a cute little girl who was wearing miniature bangles on her tiny wrists and jingly anklets. I decided that I wanted to wear bangles for Diwali. Mukul advised against glass ones as they break too easily and can cut you, but this woman was selling metal ones. Mukul asked if she had any big enough to fit my wrists. She pulled out the biggest she had (they were pink and gold) and squeezed them over my hand onto my right wrist. The set of pink and gold bangles cost 100 rupees, not quite a bargain at around $2, but this was the pre-Diwali rush, which I’m sure is reflected in the price.

Mukul brought us into the Shri Mishrilal Hotel. According to its sign, "Est. 1927 - Mfrs of World Fame Makhania Lassi & Rabdi". Mukul told us that the place was indeed world famous for its thick lassi. We went in and sat at one of the narrow tables. Waiters came by with trays full of lassi glasses, handing them out to everyone in sight. We each got one, and Mukul ordered some deep fried peppers. There was a family consisting of parents, four sons, and a daughter sitting to our left. The baby had charcoal eyeliner, a tradition which is supposed to protect him from the evil eye. We were the only foreigners in the place, and we piqued the curiosity of many of the patrons. This family was no exception. Mukul, Craig, and I toasted with our lassi glasses. One of the sons asked his father what the gesture meant. His dad explained it and then raised his glass to us “Cheers!” Every eye in the place was on us, but in a curious harmless fashion. We could easily have felt intimidated and uncomfortable with all the attention, but we took it for what it was (curiosity from folks who don't always see a lot of foreigners) and played along.

The lassi was delicious. Instead of being infused with rose petal water, it contained cardamom. It was so much thicker than any other lassi we had tried. The family next to us watched intently as Craig took a bite of the fried pepper. They expected his mouth to be flaming, but he didn’t find it overly hot. They got the money shot from me, though. I took a bite and was soon fanning my mouth from the spiciness. The family giggled. Mukul ordered a mawa kachari nutmeg dessert for us to share, as well as some more peppers. Craig and Mukul had another round of lassis, but I was too full. When the bill came, Mukul showed it to us...5 lassis, 5 namkeen, a bottle of water, and a mawa kachari came to 153 rupees - roughly $3! Mukul explained that lassi is only 17 rupees per glass, so this becomes a place where all classes mingle. The poor go there because they can afford it, and the rich go there because it is so good. So you see a wide cross-section of the population here.

After eating, we walked around a bit more. We walked down an alley called Butcher Street, where the Muslim butchers did their business. You could tell the Muslims from the Hindus by their austere dress, in contrast to the Hindus who were in their bright pre-Diwali outfits. I said hello to an old Muslim man with a white beard colored orange with henna. He shook Craig’s hand and then gave Craig a big smile. As we approached our car, the girl in the yellow dress found us again, and this time she had brought some little friends. We took their photo and then showed it to them, which got big smiles.

We went back to the hotel to change into fancier clothes. Mukul wanted to take us to the Taj Umaid Bhawan Palace hotel for drinks. He called them and found out that they were charging a 3000 rupee ($60!!) cover charge at the bar. Mukul was mortified and we decided to have drinks at our hotel instead. We sat in the outdoor dining room and Mukul ordered a Kingfisher beer for himself and Craig to split, and started to order a fresh lime soda for me. I stopped him and said that I wanted something alcoholic instead. Mukul was delighted by this. I wasn’t sure what to order but I decided on fresh pineapple juice with vodka. It was the right choice - so refreshing! Even though the sun had set it was still quite warm out, and we were sweating just sitting there. We decided to “repeat” our drinks, (Indian English for ordering another round). There was Rajasthani entertainment, and we listened to the band and watched a young boy dance while we enjoyed our drinks.

At 7:45, Craig reported to the spa for his massage, and Mukul and I headed back to our rooms. I decided to take a bath and then wrote in the journal. Craig returned from his massage at 9:45, and we collected Mukul and went to the outdoor dining area for dinner. We got chicken tikka, kadhai paneer, mashed potato in a light gravy, cheese naan, and garlic naan. Craig and Mukul had Kingfishers and I had vodka and pineapple juice, my new favorite drink. We had nice conversation and came back to the rooms for bed at around 11 pm.

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