Rajasthan, Touring with Djoser
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Walking in Delhi. The colors are rich, and even the street vendors have
a fine aesthetic sense. (But look at the sign painted on the wall!)
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Mahatma Ghandi is present in India. This is his memorial in a calm and
lovely park in Delhi.
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Near the Metro Heights hotel where we stayed in Delhi is a market.
Several streets of densely packed, colorful outdoor stores. They stay
open 'til late at night.
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Our first Rajasthan hotel, an 18th century aristocratic haveli, once the
home of the maharaja's brother.
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Our room in the haveli was palatial in a true sense, spacious, interesting
furniture, portraits of the maharaja (probably).
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The room was indeed grand. High ceilings is an understatement.
On the other hand, though the bath was enormous, the plumbing missed the
mark, as we so often discovered. The shower was a powerful single
stream.
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An ordinary truck -- a Goods Carrier. Modest decoration in this case, but we see
see none at all in the states. In a way I hope the competition for space
on the roads from hand-pushed salescarts persists. It would help preserve the
human scale that is part of India's charm.
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Lefty said she wasn't going to visit the Karni Mata Temple, famous for
its thousands of holy rats. But she actually loved it and even petted one of
the little critters.
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This is colorful, but the reason for the picture is four rats perched
symmetrically on
top of the red plaque. There are more of them in the scene. One sits on top of
the silver booth, and one on the figure's left arm.
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One of two giant elephants guarding the entrance to Junagarh fort, as
grand as it is huge.
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Grand staircases leading to ornate rooms and balconies. Just an
introductory glimpse of an enormous complex that could (and once did)
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The fort was a residence for Maharajas and their retinues. Nothing
spared to make it beautiful. Delicate painting, gold leaf, solid silver
doors, pierced marble screens.
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We had a guide here, a rajput with character and a wonderful, worldly
education. He pointed out special works of art, like this gorgeous laquered
door.
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These balconies, and the pierced screens in white marble, were the
province of the women. Their bathing pool was in the courtyard below,
closed to prying eyes.
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The intensly concentrated decoration is almost blinding, but marvelous
and a powerful attraction for locals as well as tourists.
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The fort houses a large collection of arms. One could hope they were
merely decorative and ceremonial.
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Cora and Carolin and Greg in a garden restaurant with the
main walls of Junagahr in the background.
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This is a tuk-tuk or autorickshaw. I am only pretending to be a driver
-- I don't think my reflexes are up to it.
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A Jain temple which was very open. We went with our auto driver acting
as a casual guide. We even chanted together in a wonderful echoing
chamber.
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Jain temples are home to many, many of
these seated meditative figures, usually white, sometimes gold, all with the same pose and expression
of joy in the divine.
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Did I say ornate and richly decorated? This is the same Jain temple. Amazing
colors, in the paintings and sculptures, and the walls and ceilings.
Quite beautiful, and somehow deeply religious.
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Still Jaisalmer. This is a spice store in the main market street.
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The expression on the young girl's face is precious to me. She adds a
portion of beauty to the street market with its colorful fresh vegetables.
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Our splendid doorman at the Heritage Inn in Jaisalmer, Bheru Singh
Rathore. I promised to send him a copy of this pic.
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The three of us walked a lot in the colorful market areas of the cities
we visited. Didn't buy much, but only for want of luggage space.
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A delightful guy, hoping to make us custormers, but full of stories and
good humor. Jaisalmer market.
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I'd have loved to buy drums, perhaps tabla, or at least the horizontal
two-headed ?? drum.
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Sunrise from the rooftop terrace of the Jaisalmer Heritage Hotel.
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Another Jain temple. Not sure what the expressions mean, but the Jain
priest is wearing a scarf over his mouth and nose, a symbolic gesture of
reverence for life: he will not inhale any insects.
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These Tirthankaras are characteristic
Jaina images. Often, four statues of Tirthankaras are combined
back to back with each other, in either standing or sitting posture.
This is called the "Chaumukh" or "Chaturmukha" (four faced) image.
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Walking through the huge fort complex we find nice vantage points. It
actually is a city with the city, with temples and markets, carts and
cows.
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Another striking piece of symbolism is the huge footprints. I think they
represent footprints in stone made by a Jain saint a thousand years ago.
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I think these guys are all fascinated by my traveling companions. Of
course their attention is actually fixed on the divine.
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Commerce depends on doing the job, no matter how it might be spelled.
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Life goes on. This village inside an ancient fort has some tourists, but
there's time to read the newspaper, and women in beautiful saris are on their
way home to prepare food and care for the kids.
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Have I mentioned color? So many times we found these visually stunning
displays. Easy to buy, but impossible to carry the tempting goods home.
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This is Thali, a wonderful dish that's different in each restaurant,
an always interesting sampling of the local favorites. With a
Kingfisher beer -- what a lunch.
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In Jaisalmer, I had an opportunity to go on a camel ride. I was the only
one from our group, but what a wonderful time. The desert with its dunes
was beautiful, and I like camels, no matter their reputation.
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Classic. Can you imagine how that feels? It's real desert, and though
there are other people around, it comes close to being deserted - and is
beautiful for sure.
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My camel driver was cool. Quite old, but very solid. He had character,
which I suppose is a natural product of a tough life close to raw
nature.
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He made sounds to match that look -- a sort of growling. Not clear that my ministrations were appreciated. Camels have a powerful odor that stuck to my fingers.
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Sunset in the Thar Desert. Camels are wonderful photo opportunities.
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To cap my day with the camels, there was a desert evening with food and
dancing. She was lovely and very talented, apparently someone from the
community.
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I'm not sure how I came to be there, one white face in a crowd of a
couple hundred Indians. But it was beautiful. And they had the best chai
I drank in India.
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On the road again, we had a standing request for the drivers to stop for
baby camels.
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We stopped at a farm where Margriet said the people would not welcome us
in to see their home. I later learned she did not know them, but knows
the culture so well she could confidently expect a welcome.
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It is a simple place -- one could say primitive. But it is neat; the hardpacked
earthen floors are swept spotlessly clean.
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The colors of India are everywhere, including the farms. And the
traditions are strong. Only the husband is to see the face of a married
woman.
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This face is so beautiful. How would you interpret that look?
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Looking back at this simple farm. Granite slabs for walls, thatched
grasses for shelter. Hard work, but faces that showed joy.
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A view of the blue quarter of Jodhpur, where the Brahmans live. This
color is used very often for houses in Rajasthan, but especially in this
city.
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The handprints of the Maharaja's harem at the entrance of Mehrangarh
fort in Jodhpur. Maybe this relates to the practice of ?Sikhri?
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We're in Mehrangahr fort, and thid guard first offered to help, then
realized I hoped to include him in this picture of a Howdah, seat or
carriage used with elephants.
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So many beautiful rooms, once used for entertainments of royal
guests.
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This was an audience room. Seating on the floor, lighting from splendid
colorful windows.
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We're on the way to Luni, but Margriet and the drivers keep an eye out
for nice stops. A communal water well. They will carry those pots on
their heads.
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Atop the refurbished Chanwa fort in Luni I could get quite close to the
parrots. I'm not sure whether it is the male or the female preening under
the partner's watchful eye.
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In Luni we stay in a maharaja's palace, converted for our pleasure.
Parrots abound, and the food is fabulous, as are the courtyards.
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Fort Chanwa was genuinely beautiful, with carved doors and furniture and
paintings everywhere. Fresh flowers floating in pools and containers
complement the fresh chalk decorations and symbols on the paving.
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Immediately outside the massive gates the village is an equally strong
presence. The man might be waiting to use the phone service -- local,
national, international. The cow and the dogs are just waiting.
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Greg liked the Kurta, and looks good in it. This is Luni from the fort's
higher levels.
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We're walking with Pooja through the village to see Luni's schools.
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Great faces, don't you think? They are in school clothes I think, but
walking together in the village.
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The woman has a basket of cow dung patties, and the young girl has her
hands full of new raw material. It will be shaped and dried in the sun
for fuel.
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A particularly handsome bull. There really are cows all over India, in
the cities, in the middle of the roads --
here they have a pleasant place for a cow to be.
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Goats are also ubiquitous. Both provide milk and related products, but
while cows are not killed for food, goats are raised for meat as well.
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A school teacher. How could the kids go wrong?
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They were very shy, but delighted with our visit, and finally I got a
picture with many of their smiling faces visible.
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Pooja walked with us through Luni's market. This is a shoe shop, and the
shoemaker would happily put you in a customized pair in a couple of hours for
astonshingly little money.
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Shops in Luni. They are all open to the street, no walls or doors,
though I suppose they close up at night.
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A barbershop, like all the stores, open to the air, and to passersby.
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I found the kids irresistable. They are beautiful, the world over,
and this may be the reason we maintain optimism in the midst of wars and other
tragedies.
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On the road again, we stop at a small business, like a farm, but they
make rugs. Quite beautiful, simple but elegant, with fine colors.
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This makes me think of a desert sunset. Gorgeous color, and classic,
simple design.
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Making chapaties for the family. She rolls the dough thin, and pan fries
it to make the delicious flat bread to dip in sambar and rasaam.
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How old is this technology? This brahma bull is grinding sesame seeds. I
tasted the oil -- marvelous, sun warm and somehow better than just good.
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Another cook, this time in a fairly large resort, but though the
decoration is a bit more elegant, the bread is made in exactly the same
time-honored way.
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Lunch at a resort near Jodhpur, with enchanting traditional entertainment.
It is easy to read a tough life in such faces.
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Decorative carvings and an active prayer shrine in a Jain temple. Here,
as in most temples, fresh flowers are given to honor the deities.
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On the way to Udaipur, we stop at a colossal Jain Temple in Ranakpur.
The literature says carvings show lessons from the Kama Sutra, and I guess that's so.
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Lookin' good. Lefty's lively presence outshines the devis and goddesses.
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Another ancient technology still very much needed. Water is being raised
from a deep well, using a chain of buckets, to irrigate crops.
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Some of my pictures are just attempts to capture the
color. Everywhere, spectacles of luminous color. And it's a good bet
that these folks hardly think about it -- natural, normal beauty.
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Our hotel in Udaipur had quite a view. In another direction we could see
in the distance the famous Lake Palace.
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A bed cover or tablecloth; an expansive patchwork of brilliant reds in
subtle variations, plus tiny round mirrors.
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Women bathing. The men are elsewhere, as is the laundry operation. The
Lake Palace of Udaipur is in the background.
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Washerwomen in Udaipur. This is their laundry room; this is what one
wears to work.
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We're inside the beautiful City Palace. This is a great stage in the
main courtyard, with a young performer in rehearsal for an evening
program.
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Lord Ganesha is everywhere. This is an otherwise undistinguished hallway in
the City Palace. He's not forgotten though -- he has fresh flowers, and
a couple of painted ladies to fan him.
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We took a boat tour of the big lake in Udaipur. Along the shore people
are at the business of living. This is a laundry, and probably a social
occasion as well.
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Looking out at a temple near the city palace. This was one of our
favorite restaurants.
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The blonde woman in red kept buying fruit and vegetables for the
elephant. He was delicate but happy, and the shop keeper was surely delighted.
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Our room in the magnificent Karni Fort, Bambora, in the middle of nowhere. Wonderful place.
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Karni Fort had a spectacular
swimming pool with a gazebo in the middle.
In the hills, it also had the only kitchen for miles,
and the food was excellent.
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Karni has many levels. This is a high balcony overlooking the swimming
pool, and Bambora at sunset.
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Walking in Bambora. Young goats act and even look a lot like puppies.
They are enchanting, cute creatures.
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Bambora is a tiny village, and the kids don't ask for pens. I wonder
what joke Lefty and this young guy are sharing.
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Elegance and balance for water jugs. And an incredibly large nose jewel. The style and size
of this decoration varies from place to place.
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Enchanting faces, with a transparency that is almost unique in my
experience.
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Lots of sparkle here, and just behind it maybe some pathos? On a purely
observational note, the young lady seconf from left has the beginnings
of the gigantic nose jewelry favored in this area.
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A couple of mature faces. Strong men, from the expressions. I think I
would like them. The woman in green wears an awesome piece of jewelry.
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We're on our way to Roopangahr.
Someone, maybe one of our drivers, said this is the "poor man's" taxi.
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Cows are part of the family. Like the color which is so natural to them,
I imagine the people don't really notice the calm, but to me
incongruous presence of a huge beast in the "living room".
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The vegetables look good enough to eat (of course!) They are always
stacked and arranged aesthetically.
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I find the markets, with their color and their attention to detail in
the often elegant presentations, endlessly fascinating.
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Shy, a little, amused, for sure. Beautiful people in world apart,
touching modernity, but still handmade, unique, traditional, and very
interesting, very much alive.
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And where will she go with the passing years? Fascinating charm, with
that serious background, an enigmatic smile and eyes full of soul.
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A tailor, ready for business. He would make a fine kurta, or a suit, for
an astonishingly small price.
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The main beast of burden here. They draw two wheeled carts designed for
camels. The tires are from airplanes, their lifespan finished.
For the camel carts they will be good for many years.
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The animals wander freely, unless they are in harness.
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Lots of little donkeys, also fitted with carts designed just for them.
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Time for a coffee or more likely a cup of chai. Maybe a mini-puri chat
with aloo. And a never-ending village conversation.
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At this point the focus is on ideas. I wonder if the white cream or
powder is intended for the whole face. Some barbers just put a stool
under a convenient tree. This is a two-chair shop.
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Taking his ease, this man had a twinkle that the picture almost
captures. It's possible he has a secret.
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Peacocks on the walls of Roopangarh Fort.
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Were these cross-shaped opening in the walls ever used for defending the
fort? The colored spots are women in the village square far below.
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Greg and I had a wonderful time exploring the unused back halls and
tunnels at Roopangarh.
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We decided this was a cistern, built in the upper layers of the fort,
designed to capture rainfall from the roofs. It was a fabulous resonant
chamber.
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Overlooking an overgrown lower level of ancient Roopangarh fort, and the
modern village.
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Parts of Roopangarh are completely restored to the original
charming presence.
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The rooms were large and interesting. This one had a couch in addition
to the beds.
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Sunset over Roop, from the rooftop of the fort.
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The pigs in India look a lot like the wild boars in Europe. But they are
as tame as can be.
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Wonderful combinations of ancient fort walls, colorful clothes,
vegetable vending carts, goats and cows.
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Bissau Palace in Jaipur. Yet another of our elegant rooms,
nice furniture, lovely decor.
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Our home in Jaipur. Lefty and I had this palatial room near
the garden and swimming pool. Greg had a steep climb to the third
floor.
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We shared the pool area with monkeys. They didn't like sharing much --
one of them smacked Carolin on the leg and chased her away.
At least he didn't bite.
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The pool at the Bissau Palace in Jaipur was particularly pretty. Alas it
was too cold for us to enjoy swimming.
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We went to Tiger Fort overlooking Jaipur in the evening. Nice view even
with the haze.
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High above Jaipur, in Tiger Fort, we helped celebrate Ge's "almost 60th"
birthday. It is toward evening and the sun will set in a few minutes.
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Framing for sunsets was often rather nice. This is Tiger Fort.
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Nightfall over Jaipur. A view from Tiger Fort.
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Music and dancing entertainment in our restaurant for the evening.
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Balancing a pot of fire, not water. A dancer fascinates the musician.
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Snake charmers find their way to the tourest spots. I doubt that they
make a lot of money, but we are all enchanted, even the snakes.
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The palace of the winds was the home of the maharaja's women. They could
look out the 1000 windows to the streets below, without being seen.
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This is looking toward the ramparts of the Amber Fort, another of the
beauties of Jaipur.
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One of the elephants tourists can rid up to Amber Fort. What a sad look
they have.
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One could ride an elephant up to the Amber Fort, but the monkeys already
live there.
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Amber Fort is really big. It has vista after vista of massive, yet
ornate decorative structures.
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One of many entrances, each more richly decorated than the last.
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Incredibly ornate decoration in the Amber Fort, and the place is huge! We
only wandered in the restored parts. Greg ranged a little wider.
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Pierced screens and stained glass. The surrounding wall is delicate
inverse relief tiles.
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The sunken relief patterns are more visible here
and the light and shadow shows the screen to good advantage.
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I love the elegant pierced marble screens used in so many
monuments, palaces, and tombs. They protect visually while permitting
breezes to flow.
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One of the courtyard gardens, and a perspective that shows the scale of
this remarkable place.
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Ge and Loes with lefty. They were great travel companions, always ready
for adventure, and always ready to laugh.
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Still in the Amber Fort, Greg and I explored some of the back halls and
byways. I like this picture, though it is strange, at first appearing to
be out of focus. Needs a touch of tilt.
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Many monkeys at Amber. Relaxed, they look almost like the tourists.
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The monkeys had no fear, and not much interest in us.
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Working women with bundles of sticks, probably firewood, mingle with the
crowds of tourists.
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Driving back to Jaipur, we stopped for a view of this palace in the
lake. Pretty, but nameless for now.
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The baskets are big, the filled with crisp puri-like bread, mostly
air.
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Isn't this cartful of vegetables beautiful? I was tempted at every
street vendor's stall to have a taste. Those long red veggies are
carrots!
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This is the entrance to a kind of memorial complex having to do with the
ceremonies when the maharajas were cremated.
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In the mausoleum, perhaps it has another name, for the ceremonies
attending the royal family cremations.
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The bas relief carvings are magnificent, and numerous. The several
monumental buildings are all works of art in detail.
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One more shot of the mausoleum. Lots of gods to watch over the
eternities.
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In the center of Jaipur, going to lunch at what turned out to be a
particularly strange place where we became invisible.
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An ancient observatory, massive structures dedicated to time.
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An observatory or planetarium where time and the movement of planets were
studied. I think the focus was on astrological calculations.
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We had a guide, but the complexities of the ancient science left me
thinking of this as beautiful sculpture.
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A long way up the stairs. Would one achieve a better understanding by
sitting up there?
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We went a Bollywood movie! It was great, three hours long, and attended
by an engaged audience that cheered and booed as necessary.
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Baby camels, not really steady on their long legs yet. But the mother is
solicitous, and they will be fine.
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Mama and one of her newborns. It looks big, but was still too wobbly to
stand for long.
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A truckless truck. Quite a number were on the road, probably being
delivered. This "dangerous" ride would be forbidden in the US.
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The fruit and vegetable stands were ubiquitous, and always beautiful,
with precise stacking and color.
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Farmyards are interesting. Seldom any machinery, and plenty of hard work
in evidence, but nice, calm and peaceful places.
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A farmyard, with "elegant shitpiles" storing the fuel for cooking fires.
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Camels are cool. They always look interesting, even when just plodding
along.
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Near Bharatput we spent a few hours in a preserve, where guides with
bicycle rickshaws introduced us to the birds of the sanctuary.
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We stopped at the Keoladeo Bird Reservation in Bharatpur. Our bicycle
rickshaws guides gave us opportunities to look for snakes as well.
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Greg and Margriet at the last palace on our tour. Next morning we're off
to Agra, where we will say goodbye to our Dutch friends.
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Morning, looking out from our hotel the Chandra M Haveli in Bharatpur.
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The walls around the grounds of the Taj Mahal. First peek at the famous
monument.
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It is hardly necessary to name the Taj Mahal. It is indeed ethereally
beautiful.
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Nice shot of Lefty and Greg. Interesting structure in the background.
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All around the Taj, beautifully carved white marble, symbolizing purity.
The colorful borders are inlaid semiprecious stone.
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This is a close shot of the "inlaid semi-precious stones" mentioned in
tourguides and descriptions of the Taj marvels.
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The bas relief floral carvings, with borders of inlaid marquisite,
carnelian, turquoise ...
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The whold edifice is ornate, and the fine decoration covers all the
surfaces bottom to top.
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The dorways are surrounded by caligraphy, quotations from holy texts,
maybe the Koran.
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There are other beautiful buildings surrounding the Taj, part of the
complex of gardens and monuments that make it a lovely place to be.
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In contrast to the Taj, the surrounding structures are all red, and also
highly decorated, quite beautiful.
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Archways, domed ceilings in the contrasting red buildings that
define the boundaries of the Taj Mahal park.
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The photographer's dream -- magnificent monumental architecture framed
by the trees.
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The symmetrical gardens are pretty, and have reflecting pools (which
work even with maintenance workers disturbing the surface.)
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This is a nice shot of Carolin and Cora, the other young, unmarrieds on
our tour.
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After the Taj, we toured the Red Fort and a grand mosque in Agra.
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We went on to other attractions in Agra. This is a balcony in the Red
Fort complex, and we're not the only tourists taking in the views.
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The inlaid semiprecious stone decoration of white marble can be found in
many other monuments and buildings in this area.
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A particularly rich example of the inlaid stone decoration.
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A carved or pierced marble screen.
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The mosque is large, with several entrances. The structural stone is an
interesting deep red color.
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Another splendid tomb in Agra is called the Baby Taj. It too is richly
decorated with inlaid stones. Here we were free to make photos.
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The baby Taj details equal those of the Taj Nahal.
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A detail of the details, showing very interesting stone inlays. Maybe
only jaspers and marbles, but nice natural designs.
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A longer view of the baby Taj. Nice, though definitely a baby version.
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Our tuk-tuk driver brought us to a nice vantage point on the other side
of the river for another perspective of the Taj.
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More views of the Taj, from across the river with the setting sun.
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It was a fine view. And the timing was good. Sunset and reflections.
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Walking by the river, enjoying the evening, or
carrying produce, accompanied by a mother goat
and a baby goat too small or too tired to keep up.
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Nice folks, easy to meet. Lovely smiles, both adults and the children.
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This is in the Mosque area of Fatehput Sikri. Our guide persuaded us to
give donations for children, and to tie a thread embodying our heartfelt
prayer.
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Back on the road, we stopped at a temple for Jai Guru Dev, more modern
than any we had seen, but quite beautiful, and obviously rich.
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Hopful entertainers at our lunch stop at Midway Restaurant. This place
also had a wonderful store, with beautiful (expensive) souvenirs.
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Hanuman is another very popular god. He's often seen as an enormous
roadside statue.
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Our last stop, the Chandrrapur temple on the road from Delhi to the
airport. A huge place with many temples, I think for many religions.
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We finished our long journey beautifully, with a darshan blessing, a spot of color for the third eye, a flower, and a thread around our wrists.
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And home just in time. The airports were closed by heavy snow after we
landed. Greg stayed over, and next morning we all re-entered New Jersey.