Colour In The Desert

Rajasthan is truly a spectacular place. This province in NW India is filled with colour, texture and beauty at every turn. Pink cities, blue cities, cities of lakes, cities in desserts…there is so much life to fall in love with here. The history and culture are truly unique, so much of it awe-inspiring, and all of it worth seeing.

Our first stop in Rajasthan was Jaipur. Jaipur is known as “The Pink City”, for the colour the old city has been traditionally painted. Though it is commonly believed that the city was originally painted pink for Queen Victoria when she visited in 1876, old paintings at the royal galleries demonstrate pink buildings in Jaipur centuries earlier. It must be said, however, that “pink” may be a slightly exaggerated explanation of colour – in reality, Jaipur should really be called “The Terracotta city”. Regardless of chromatic interpretation, Jaipur is a city as rich in beauty as in history, with wealth that has spanned both ages and empires.

To any shopper with a love for colour, fabrics or texture, and eye for the unique, special and beautiful, the old bazaars of Jaipur are not to be missed. Armed with my faithfully patient companion/bartering “bad cop” (aka Cameron) I admit I did some damage here – and don’t regret it one bit (regardless of the extra bag and weight I am now hauling around the rest of India). Decorated puffs, embroidered pillows, purses made from recycled saris, handmade silver and stone jewelry, scarves in every colour imaginable, saris in every fabric possible…needless to say, I had quite a lot of fun (Cam enjoyed this part significantly less but was a very good sport).

Perhaps the most notable (and beautiful) sight to see in Jaipur ia the Royal palace. Still home to the royal family today, this amazing structure in the middle of the old city and is India’s rival to Buckingham palace. Walking towards the entrance, visitors pass beneath beautiful arches covered in colour, with decorative patterns and various deities adorning the exterior. The interior is even more stunning, with trademark “pink” surrounding walls, courtyards complete with chandeliers, ornate, painted doorways almost psychedelic in intricacy, traditional throne rooms and sitting areas, and fascinating displays of royal clothes, art and arms. The current royal residences can also be toured at extra cost, but as this is quite a staggering hit to the backpacker budget (around $50 in addition to the $10 regular entrance fee) we did not see it.

We also visited the Jantar Manat, the royal observatory that consists of beautiful outdoor larger-than-life astronomical instruments, and the Hawa Mahal, a beautiful building off the main palace where the royal women would traditionally watch city life behind a wall of latticed small screens.

Jaipur also has three forts – Amer, Jaigarh, and Nahargarh. We started at Jaigarh, which features the world’s largest firing cannon (apparently, it is questionable if this massive beast ever fired and said cannon looked definitively dormant). Located at the top of the cliffs surrounding the city, we enjoyed the beautiful view before walking down an old stone road to Amer, a lower but much more decorated and ornate fort, more resembling the style of the royal palace. We finished at Nahargarh, where we watched the sun set over the spired roof and then over the city below.

We were sad to leave our guest house, Doogri Haveli, which was home to a lovely family that took very good care of us. The grandmother served us a delicious breakfast every day, each time with a new Indian dish to try in addition to western food she knew we liked. She also taught me how to tie a sari, and though fun and very beautiful I decided to stick with western clothes, as saris take quite a lot of time and effort to wear correctly. Cam also tried a turban and looked very dashing, though I believe echoed my sentiments on preferring garments that are slightly more functional and simplistic.

Our next stop was Jodhpur, in which we arrived by train. While Jaipur is “The Pink City”, Jodhpur is known as “The Blue City”. While calling Jaipur “pink” is slightly dubious, Jodhpur is, in fact, blue! A wonderful old city, many of the walls have been painted indigo for centuries, apparently for it’s cooling and insect-repelling qualities. We arrived at our indigo painted guesthouse and climbed up on the roof (every house in Jodhpur seems to make use of their roof space, ours had a very nice restaurant and seating area) and looked up to Jodhpur’s famous fort, directly above us, lit up at night and providing a beautiful backdrop to the city.

We spent three days exploring Jodhpur, wandering around the old streets, seeing the old stepwell (now a swimming area for young local boys), the clocktower, and the market. We walked up to the fort, which, though very similar to the forts of Jaipur, was formidable and beautiful in it’s own right and included an interesting and informative audio tour. They were also shooting a movie there which was apparently starring a very famous Bollywood actor, which locals seemed quite excited about. It was an interesting added dimension to our fort explorations, with many extra props and decorations being trucked in and set up.

Our last stop in Rajasthan was Udaipur, the city of lakes. Built on a dam system, the old town sits on a waterfront that weaves its way through the city, reflecting beautiful white heritage buildings and enhancing old stone walking lanes. A simply beautiful place, our time here was spent largely relaxing on the cushion-covered rooftop of our hostel, watching the sun set over the water and visiting with other travelers. We did do a very good walking tour through the town, as well as tour the royal palace, an old summer residence for the royal family.