INDIA. Jodhpur. Mom and children. ⓒ Julie Mayfeng

How I’ve longed to say these 3 words (No No … “Back to Civilization”). After a short ‘n sweet six month stint in Bangalore, I was combo packed with my life … and sanity and chucked to Ludhiana. Oh Wait. I did have a nice – royal one month sojourne’ in Jaipur and Jodhpur.

Anyhow, what began then was … Shit I’m so troubled by the mere recollection of the story that the words just scamper away from the mind.

No point really in dwelling in the past. As I’ve already said, I’m just glad to be back to Civilization. Back to long, irritating traffic jams. Back to bad road sense and driving manners. Minimal Powercuts. 5 day weeks (Awwright !). ‘Co-ed’ Parties . Impossible to solve parking problems. Marriage parties bang in the middle of the road. Chicks . English Movies ! Hard Rock Cafe`. Delhi Winters. GK M Block market. Khan Market. Big Chill. (I could just go on and on and on…)

Also, (hopefully) back to blogging as well with Suds 4.0 !

By Dian Hasan | November 19, 2009

What would a resort stay experience be without a pool? Unthinkable for today’s travelers. They’ve come a long way, playing a central role in creating a distinctive experience and the common denominator as a social hub. Integral to a hotel’s brand identity. Here’s a glance at some of world’s most gorgeous resort pools, sharing the same traits regardless of their locale: sexy and chic!

We walked around the fort in Jodhpur and admired its incredibly elaborate architechture and ornaments

Inside, we saw a collection of beautiful palanquins, some destined to be carried by elephants, others by men.

And always, the colours and the beauty, in spite of extreme poverty.

People wearing traditional attire or occidental jeans, animals, street shop, you have it all here. Only the cow is missing.


At the entrance of a temple, she was presenting people with food offerings

It is a unique way to explore the arid deserts. The idea of a veritable camel safari is attractive for exciting ventures and nature loversYou will be amidst the most traversed deserts of India. These spots are the kingdoms in the huge ranges of deserts. . Camel Safari in India offers major hotspots including Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner in Rajasthan. A tour of camel safari also includes night halts at villages in camps within desert scrub. Camel safari is also performed in the barren deserts of Ladakh in many regions, which is quite surprising for many people. It is a major transportation in deserts of Ladakh and Rajasthan. It is the best way to explore the culture of Rajasthan and Ladakh. Camels are the lifeline of deserts and known as ship of desert. It will let you experience illuminating glances of India’s harshest but prettiest regions!
Destination – Ladakh: Camel safari in Ladakh is enjoyed in the month of July, August and September. You will traverse through rutted mountain terrains on camels. The cold deserts of Ladakh offer beautiful sights of colorful landscapes and remote villages. Spend your nights under the studded sky. Camel safari imparts exciting views of glorious vales, Buddhist Gompas. You can explore pretty settlements such as Nubra and its valley, a fantastic place.
From Leh, you travel to Hunder, and take a camel ride through the sand dunes and picturesque valleys to Diskit. Take a short ride to Tegger village for another fascinating camel ride with the river to Pinchimic. Ladakh is well known for its nonpareil beauty, which can be treasured with two-humped camel ride. Destination – Rajasthan: Camel Safari in Jaisalmer A town of cobbled streets, desert, medieval architecture, Jaisalmer is bounded by golden sand dunes. It is the place where camel ride commands supremely will take you to the Badabagh, worth exploring. Badanagh is the place where tombs of Bhatti Rajput Kings are located. Visit a village called Baisakhi where you will find a temple. Trail to the village of Roopsi on the back of camel. A typical camel safari traverses to the architectural ruins of Lodurva set in the vicinity of Jaisalmer. Take halt at Baisakhi and move your camel ride towards Ramkunds, famous for its Hindu temples.
Bikaner is 333 km north-east of Jaisalmer. It is renowned for its interesting camel safaris, sweets, rugs and savoury snacks. Camel safari starts from Bikaner itself, in which the magnificent view of old Junagarh fort can be sighted. The lovely fort of Leh Palace is second to none! Camel safari will take you to south, where you trails through the villages of Baru, kansar, Naukh and other small towns like, Tadana Mohangarh. Thereafter, ride on camel towards Dungri and then to Jaisalmer.
Mandawa: Mandawa can be reached in just a few hours’ drive from Delhi. The ancient Havelis of Mandawa are decorated with colourful frescos, which is worth exploring. Camel safaris halt at the small villages nearby, mainly in the hamlet of Dhakas. Thar is one of the famous deserts of Rajasthan. Next place for your respite is Khotia. It set within the dunes of Thar and its settlements.
Pushkar: The camel fair at Pushkar is another added attraction if the riders want to witness a camel dance in its entire exquisite aura. You can view Aravalli Range, sandy fields, small dunes, pleasant hills and bewitching Sunrises and sunsets. The sights are exceptionally enticing!
Things to carry: Camel safari is done during winters, so carry woolen clothes, socks, mufflers. Take along plenty of warm sweaters and jackets when you are on a camel safari. Bedding- a warm sleeping bag, extra blanket . Carry a first aid kit as well as any other essentials. You can carry an extra blanket to envelop the wooden saddle Precautions/advice: Keep in mind about the arrangements, accommodation, food and drink etc. Be careful while riding on camel, you may turn dried up. Drink plenty of water – 2, 4 liters per day. Apply cream on your body to prevent from heat. Wear sun glasses, sun hat . Rajasthan is quite un-spoilt region, so do not spoil the places around and deserts.
Do not harm the ecology and the culture of any region in which you do camel safari.

I like the way the older ladies are looking at the boys. Hadn’t noticed them when I took the photo!

Big day today!  After a brisk early breakfast we headed up to the imposing Mehrangarh Fort.  I debated whether to try to get in under the local Indian entry fee much which is much cheaper than the fee for foreigners.  “Why you look like us?” is a question I face on a daily basis so I thought I would try to reap the benefit, but I chickened out.  The fort is actually quite impressive and was apparently one of the venues in which Liz Hurley celebrated her wedding.  After the fort we walked back down into the town and took a break to watch a bit of the cricket – first ODI between India and Australia.  For dinner we tried the famous Omellette Shop which has been running in the same spot by the clock tower for over 30 years.  We were not expecting anything special and were totally blown away!  The owners kept bombarding us with their book of comments and photos so we decided to join the fun.

View of the fort from breakfast

The famous Omelette Shop

The people of India are famously friendly and this has proven to be true thus far but today we found the most unfriendly man in India.  PZ is kindly identifying the gentleman below so that you may know to avoid him.

The angriest man in India

An early morning start today as we continue our travels through Rajasthan.  Despite the early setback of our tuk tuk not turning up, not being able to find another and then a slight timing miscalculation which caused us to miss breakfast due to nothing being open, all seemed well when we boarded our first Indian bus.  Although the bus had no AC the low 20s temperature, the one person per seat policy and window seating had us in a positive frame of mind.  By hour 4 – music blaring from every phone, they guy behind us hocking up his lungs and spitting them out the window, the kid seated above throwing up his breakfast down the window, the 6 people to a sleeper berth, the wall to wall people standing – had a repeat of Day 2 written all over it.  Fortunately a carefully planned packed snack of Pringles and Oreos staved off any imminent disasters and saw us both arrive in our Jodhpur hotel 7 hours later unharmed.  After the adventures of the day, Jodhpur nights seemed positively sedate.  A quick bite by the clock tower then a romantic dinner on the rooftop provided a quiet end to the day.  Special thanks to our dear friend Rav (pictured) who despite 7 hours in a non AC bus in the middle of the day in 30 degree heat managed to keep his cool in skivvy/polo/turtle neck while all those around him lost theirs.

Today’s post was contributed by guest writer PZ.

Rav, Lord of the skivvy

I miss travelling. At lunch the other day, my co-workers and I were discussing our ideal trips or vacations. The first dream that came to mind was a month-long (at the least) backpacking journey around India; north to south and everywhere in between.

I’ve never been to India (mind you, that can be considered a big deal being that I am Indian). Although my Gujarati-speaking and Hindi-speaking skills are lacking significantly, what better way to learn, right?  I’m sure I’d feel the culture shock to a more concentrated degree without being able to communicate effectively with those around me and therefore (among many other reasons); I’d stand out like Yao Ming in China. But oh well, those experiences sometimes make the juiciest of memoirs, sour or sweet.

This post was inspired by National Geographic’s list of “133 Destinations Rated” (most recommended places to visit) from all over the world. Rajasthan made roll at #64 and stood out to me as I browsed through the lengthy tab of mysterious and magnificent locations. Ragasthan was deemed as “India’s Tuscany” with a “strong sense of cultural identity” and “remarkable appeal and mystique.” How ironic…that’s exactly what I love to be exposed to! The photo to the left of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, was taken by “dwrawlinson” on flickr.com. His photo collection is amazing and definitely worth a peek.

If it’s not a month-long (plus) trekking trip on Indian soil, I would love to go spend some time in South Africa with my family. It’d also be great to pay tribute to my motherland’s gem-locations that are commonly revered, furtively hidden, and culturally authentic. I can’t even imagine the kind of memories that would flood my mind if I were to revisit the places I had been to when I was a child. There’s also so much that I don’t know and haven’t seen; wisdom which I’ve mutedly encountered in others’ fascinating stories and appealing photos.

However, an expedition that is more attainable, which I’d like to see in the nearer future, would be to span my current home: the good ol’ US of A. From west to east; major cities beyond the borders of the golden state, superfluous culture and customs of their own, diversity encapsulated, and (inevitability) seasonal weather that ranges from the prime meridian to the equator.

So many places to explore…

शांति
Chetna

And so to food, one of the great joys of travelling.  A great joy not just because you get to experiment with interesting dishes from wherever you are, but also because you can do that very English thing of wandering around the supermarket pointing out all the English or Western things that have made it onto the shelves, and then buy them for about 12 times what they cost here (I paid nearly three quid for a truly awful Mars Bar in India in August).

Drinking camel milk at a camel farm in Bikaner, north India

Below is a list of some of the great dishes I have eaten whilst abroad and also a few restaurant recommendations.  Please feel free to add to the list in the comments

• Amazing paella at Barcelona marina
• Pigeon pie
• Vegetarian thali in a decrepit little locals-only place in Jaisalmer
• Steamed beef momos in Nepal
• Camel kebab in Abu Dhabi
• A potato restaurant in Berlin; name escapes me (think it translated as Potato Cellar) but it was near Friedrichstrasse station
• Wild boar
• Buffalo
• Incredible vegetarian samosas from a street trader in Jodhpur
• Sensi restaurant in Barcelona
• Caribbean rum punch in Antigua
• Goat curry
• Camel milk
• Nepalese rice wine – ‘Nepalese whiskey’
• Lobster thermidor
• Masala tea in a slum in Bodhnath
• Snapper fish in Florida
• All sorts of weird and wonderful soups, including a cold strawberry one
• Peri peri chicken in the Algarve
• Weizen Bakery in Kathmadu – fantastic cooked breakfasts, they also have wonderful peanut butter
• Vana Tallinn – somewhat sugary Estonian spirit

JODHPUR, India — Hindu priest Bhupendra Vaishnava steps gingerly into the Kunj Bhihari
temple’s Vishnu grotto. Two inches of water instantly submerge his bare feet. In between two marble slabs in the basement shrine’s center, a thin spurt of water jets an inch into the air.

The temple is flooding.

Here in the desert city of Jodhpur, a popular tourist destination nestled in the hinterlands of the great Thar desert, Vaishnava shares his plight with home and business owners fighting groundwater rising by up to 4.5 feet a year.

As large parts of India suffer the worst drought in 20 years due to the delayed monsoon, this indigo blue city is slowly flooding because of the Indira Gandhi canal. The behemoth irrigation scheme, which began in 1958, diverts water from the northern “breadbasket” state of Punjab down to Haryana and Rajasthan. It reached Jodhpur in 1997.

Kunj Bihari Temple in Jodhpur, Rajasthan seems like a replica of the Ghanshyamji temple in Jodhpur. Kunj Bihari Temple is another example of architectural splendor in Jodhpur. Specifically the top of the temple and its entrance are artistically made. Devotees of Krishanji should try to visit this temple on their trip to Jodhpur

Before then, the city was almost as tinder dry as the surrounding farmlands. According to legend, the dryness stretches back to 1459. When the maharajah ordered the foundation stones of the Mehrangarh Fort to be laid, a hermit was forced from his shelter. To retaliate, he issued the curse: “May your kingdom suffer drought for ever!”

The canal has turned that legend on its head.

Geologically, Jodhpur lies in a bowl-shaped indentation to which the excess water drains. The state government has set aside 120 million rupees ($2.6 million) to help the city, with tentative plans to plant eucalyptus and other non-native, water-demanding trees to literally drink away the problem.

As Jodhpur floods, Rajasthan as a state faces depleted ground water in the face of this year’s drought. Recent NASA satellite imagery suggests a foot a year is being lost. Some 450 million Indian farmers depend on the monsoon which accounts for 80 percent of the country’s water. This year, only two thirds of the average fell, and far too late to save much of the crops.

About an hour outside Jodhpur, villagers testified they expected only 5 to 10 percent of their usual millet, mung and mothbean production. Staple food will have to be bought.

But these farmers’ water needs could be Jodhpur’s savior.

Nearby villages are due to be connected to the canal. Along shrub-lined countryside roads lie large white pipes, like giant maggots in the sand, waiting to be linked up and buried. Once installed, they could ease the pressure of the city’s rising levels, siphoning off too much of a good thing.

By Ann Tornkvist — Special to GlobalPost

भारतातील राजस्थान हे राज्य, तिथल्या वाळवंटी हवामानाबद्दल प्रसिद्धच आहे. ग्रेट इंडियन डेझर्ट किंवा थरचे वाळवंट हे या राज्याचाच भाग असल्याने राज्याच्या इतर भागात सुद्धा अतिशय कमी पाउस, खुरटी झुडपे, उन्हाळ्यात धुळीची वादळे व अति उष्ण हवा तर हिवाळ्यात कडाक्याची थंडी यासारखी वाळवंटी प्रदेशाची वैशिष्ट्ये अनुभवता येतात.

उपग्रहाद्वारा केलेल्या सर्वेक्षणामधे असे आढळले आहे की राजस्थानमधली भूगर्भ जल पातळी वर्षाला एक फूट या प्रमाणात खाली खाली जात चालली आहे. याचा परिणाम साहजिकच हवामानावर होतो आहे. त्यातच या वर्षी पडलेल्या मॉन्सूनच्या पावसाने सरासरीची तीन चतुर्थांश पातळी जेमतेम गाठली आहे व तो अवेळी पडला आहे. याचा परिणाम साहजिकच पिकांच्यावर झाला आहे. बहुतेक ठिकाणी फक्त 5 ते 10 टक्के पीक हातात येईल असे शेतकर्‍यांना वाटते आहे.

जोधपूर हे राजस्थानमधले एक शहर. थरच्या वाळवंटाला लागूनच जोधपूर जिल्हा आहे. या शहराची सूर्य नगर (Sun City) म्हणून प्रसिद्धी आहे. अतिशय सुंदर महाल, किल्ला वगैरे वैशिष्ट्यपूर्ण आकर्षणांमुळे, येथे प्रवाश्यांची नेहमीच गर्दी असते. जोधपूरच्या भौगोलिक स्थानामुळे येथे वाळवंटी हवामान व पाण्याचे दुर्भिक्ष असणार अशी कोणाचीही अपेक्षा असणार.

प्रत्यक्षात जोधपूरमधली भूगर्भजल पातळी, वर्षाला साडेचार ते पाच फूट या प्रमाणात, सतत वाढतच चालली आहे. जोधपूरमधल्या कुंजबिहारी मंदिरात सर्वत्र संगमवरी फरशा बसवलेल्या आहेत. या फरश्यांच्या दोन ते तीन इंच वरपर्यंत सतत पाणी असते. फरश्यांच्या मधल्या भेगांच्यातून सतत पाण्याची छोटी कारंजी उडत असतात. ज्या घरांना तळघरे आहेत तेथे रोज इतके पाणी साठते की ते पंप लावूनच काढून टाकावे लागते.

जोधपूरमधे पाण्याची एवढी सुबत्ता पूर्वी कधीच नव्हती. शहरवासीय अशी एक दंतकथा सांगतात की इ.स. 1459 मधे तिथल्या महाराजाने, जेंव्हा मेहेरनगड किल्याचे भूमीपूजन केले होते तेंव्हा त्या ठिकाणी वस्तीला असलेल्या एका गोसाव्याला हुसकवून लावले होते. संतप्त होऊन या गोसाव्याने “ तुझ्या राज्यात नेहमीच दुष्काळ राहील” असा शाप राजाला दिला होता. शापवाणीने म्हणा किंवा भौगोलिक परिस्थितीमुळे म्हणा जोधपूरमधे पाण्याचे नेहमीच दुर्भिक्ष राहलेले आहे. आजूबाजूच्या प्रदेशात पाण्याचे दुर्भिक्ष असताना जोधपूरमधे मात्र आज पाण्याची सुबत्ता कशी? हा एक संशोधनाचा विषय झाला आहे.

जोधपूरच्या जय नारायण व्यास विद्यापीठाच्या भूगर्भशास्त्र विभागाचे प्रमुख श्री. भवानीशंकर पालीवाल यांच्या मताप्रमाणे, पाण्याच्या या सुबत्तेची दोन प्रमुख कारणे आहेत. प्रथम कारण म्हणजे इ.स. 1997 साली, भारत सरकारने बांधलेल्या राजस्थान कालव्याचे, जोधपूरपर्यंत पोचलेले पाणी. या कालव्यामुळे, पंजाब मधील नद्यांचे पाणी, राजस्थानकडे वळवण्यात आलेले आहे. या कालव्याच्या जवळ शेती असणारे शेतकरी, हे पाणी आपल्या शेतीसाठी वापरतात. त्यामुळे त्यांचा भूगर्भजलाचा उपसाच बंदच झाला आहे. दुसरे महत्वाचे कारण म्हणजे जोधपूर हे शहर एखाद्या बशीसारख्या खोलगट भूप्रदेशावर वसलेले आहे. त्यामुळे आजूबाजूचे भूगर्भजल जोधपूरच्या शहरी भागाकडे भूगर्भाखालून वहात येते. हे पाणी दुसरा मार्ग नसल्याने जमिनीच्या वर येते आहे.

आता या पाण्याचे करायचे तरी काय असा प्रश्न येथील शासनापुढे आहे. शहरांतील बागांना जास्त पाणी पुरवठा केला जात आहे तर नळ टाकून शहरातील जादा पाणी पंप करून आजूबाजूच्या पाण्याचे दुर्भिक्ष असलेल्या शेतीकडे पाठवावे असाही विचार आहे. या योजना जेंव्हा कार्यवाहीत येतील तेंव्हा येतील, सध्या मात्र वाळवंटाच्या मधे गंगा असा अनुभव जोधपूरवासीयाना येतो आहे. पाण्याचा कमीत कमी वापर करणारे हेच लोक आता पाण्याचा मुबलक वापर करताना दिसतात.

26 ऑक्टोबर 2009

C’é un posto a Jodhpur che ti fa sentire Principessa per una sera. Il ristorante del Forte di Mehrangarh.
Nel Palazzo del Maharajà, ora riconvertito a Museo, la sera apre il ristorante sulla piazza d’armi. Un luogo incantato, illuminato da sole torce e candele, i camerieri in livrea servono le specialità rajastane in coppette di ceramica su magnifici vassoi tondi di ottone.
Ci sono i soliti musicisti con sitar e mandolino, ma non disturbano troppo, anzi allietano ulteriormente la vista della città.

Mehrangarh Fort //Mehran Terrace

Like stated in my previous post, here is my next post and it contains pictures from the 2 times i went inside the temple. one was around sunset and my other visit was next morning at around 10am. So in this post you would find pictures of one of the most holy place in for the Sikhs. But make no mistake about it people from all religions are welcomed there and if you do find the time to go there im sure you would enjoy what this place has to offer. Other than it being extremely beautiful just being around, looking at the temple and meditating or just walking around can bring a sence if peace in you. For the moment you are there it would feel like you are in a place that’s out of this world and at the same time you feel like you are a part of a bigger world and those are only some of the reasons why thousands of people are attracted to this place everyday. So yeah just check the pictures out to have a better idea of how this place is. If you ever decide to visit India this place is definately a must see. So yeah i hope you like this post, comments would be appreciated as usual.

Souvenir market outside the golden temple

Girl Checking stuff out

People at Souvenir shop

Sikh coat of arms

Punjabi Salesman

You have to clean your feet before you enter the compound as you can see none of them are wearing shoes or slippers. That’s cause like all Indian temples you arent allowed to wear footwear inside the temple.

The Golden Temple

Picture of temple compound

People waiting for the prayer

People praying by the lake

Carps in the Lake

Evening prayer time and time for the temple to shine

The Golden Temple all lit up

people appreciating the beauty of the temple

Entering the bridge to the temple

Entrance Chandelier on golden ceiling

People patiently wating in line

Temple guard

The exit lane

Another shot of the lane

Golden fence outside the temple

Picture of one of the many lamps around the temple

The actual entrance. last point before they ask you to off your camera, i could have taken shots if i really wanted. But as a sign of respect i didn’t plus you only get to view the “Guru granth” or the Sikh bible for less than 30 seconds. Operations are very organized, thats why even if there are hundreds of people in the line, it won’t take you longer than 20 minutes to get inside from way back. But thats on a normal day. Im sure thats not the case in other Holy days.

More Carps

Outside the temple

A shot of the bridge to the temple

People resting by the temple lake

People enjoying the view

Group picture, too bad im not in it. we tried but none of them could take a pic with slow shutter speed and if i took one with the flash the temple didn’t look as beautiful.

My sister Maya, my niece Diana and my cousin Tanuja waiting for the food.

This is the food hall. they serve free food here 4am to 12 midnight. everyone is allowed to eat here the food you recieve here is believed to be blessed by God. You can say it’s something like communion but you eat real food. Note thousands of people go here everyday and there is never a time here that they run out of food.

People helping wash the plates and utensils

The giant kitchen, incase you were wondering this is where they cook food for the thousands of people that come here everyday from 4am to 12 mid-night.

Another section of the food hall

Day 2

People walking on extremely hot marble. Trust me when i say it’s hot. You couldn’t stand even for one second.

People getting ready to bath in the lake

People

The water there is super cold and it tasted good too. It tasted like fancy bottled water.

Temple guards walking around with spears and swords and make no mistake about it, these are for show if someone trys to cause trouble and refuses to cooperate these keepers of peace are given the right to use their arms.

Farewell shot of the temple.

Can’t wait to go back and visit again, and like i said if you are ever around this part of India you must visit this temple. So yeah keep visiting guys more pictures from my trip to India are to follow. Feel free to comment guys as they would be highly appreciated.

The trip snaps are available on flickr

We needed a break from work, and also it was time we vacationed someplace; a car-trip down south, or a trip to Rajasthan were options that we considered. Rajasthan was just desert and heat in my mind, and I somehow didn’t exactly warm up to this idea. But then Indu’s insistence, and some research on the web sort of convinced me that this may be worthwhile after all.

We applied for leave, and booked air-tickets to Jaipur and back. I usually use Cleartrip to look for tickets… somehow the layout of the site, and the aesthetic and utilitarian layout of content on that site really appeals to me. Anyway, I digress.

We then listed out our trip details, and the various costs on a spreadsheet – we used Google docs for that purpose. The plan was to spend a day and half at Jaipur, 3 days at Udaipur, a day or two at Ranakpur, a day at Jodhpur, and then return to Jaipur for the flight out to Bangalore.

Day 1: Start the trip, and head to Jaipur

The flight out to Jaipur was uneventful, and once we landed there, the in-flight announcement informed us that Jaipur was a warm 38 degrees in the shade. Later we were informed that this was the first time in a century that weather across Rajasthan has remained at summer-time temperatures, even in the month of September. Lucky us.

The heat was something we had to put up with, but then once we stepped out into Jaipur with the realization that our vacation had begun, all the temperature concerns took a back-seat.

We headed to the Rajputana Sheraton, from the airport. Had a decent snack, and hit the bed. Relaxed for sometime, and then stepped out into the heat again around 5pm. A cycle-rickshaw-wala offered to take us to the nearest market. We were reluctant to get into a cycle-rickshaw initially, and then on confirming that it is only a 5 minute ride away, got in. He promptly dropped us in front of a handloom store, and mentioned that this is the market. Looked like it was the usual racket of herding tourists to specific shops, and get them to purchase things from there. In any case, we spent the next couple of hours at this store, because we liked his collection of textiles and materials. The store is the Rajasthan Handloom Textile corporation, near Galaxy hotel. Bought a bunch of bandhani type textiles.

We planned to return to this store the following Monday to collect the purchases, instead of lugging it along on the rest of the trip.

Stopped over at the Railway station, headed to the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation information center, inquired about the taxi rates to go around Jaipur for a day, and finalized on a taxi to pick us up the following morning.

Returned to the hotel, had dinner, and hit the sack. We were exhausted by then.

Day 2: Jaipur look-about

Woke up early, and when I stepped out of the hotel room, I could feel the heat building up outside. It must have been in the 30s at half past eight in the morning. We were glad to have asked for an AC taxi to tour Jaipur.

Had a hearty breakfast at the hotel, and finally started out on the tour at 9:30 ish. The plan was to visit the Birla temple, Albert Museum, Jaipur City palace, lunch, Amer fort, Jal-Mahal and back.

In front of the Albert Museum, Jaipur

Albert Museum is closed Mondays, so we just clicked a few snaps of its facade.

The Jaipur city palace is colorful, and the textile museum within it is worth a visit. We hired a guide to take us through the palace and its history. Costs about Rs.150 for the guide. Its worth it.

The pashmina shawls, the embroidery, the richness of the materials and the sheer number of artifacts on display need to be viewed and appreciated over a day, rather than the hour or so that we spent there. There is too much to see and absorb. The day was really hot too, and once we were through with the Jaipur city palace, we headed out for lunch. Post lunch, we headed to the Amer fort.

Amer fort in the background

Amer fort was our first encounter with a fort in Rajasthan, and it is a really fantastic sight. The moat surrounding the fort was dry, because of the rather dry year in Jaipur. This did not take anything away from the beauty and imposing structure of the fort. The Amber palace within it has been built and extended over centuries, and every successive king has made his contribution in increasing the size and grandeur of this palace. The Sheesh Mahal, and the expansive views of the city and fort from the palace windows are breath-taking. A guide is absolutely necessary to understand the history of the place, and also to easily navigate through the huge fort and palace.

At the Sheesh Mahal

We were exhausted by then – the heat was really getting to us. It didn’t curb our enthusiasm though, because the tour so far had totally engaged us, and the Rajasthan experience had been memorable so far.

On the drive back, we stopped at the Jal-Mahal -  a palace on a man-made lake. Clicked some snaps there. On the drive back to the hotel, we stopped at a blue-pottery place (Jaipur blue pottery art center), and spent an hour or so there looking at their collection of pottery, and understanding the process of making such pottery. We also stopped at the Hawa-mahal and clicked a few snaps.

Our driver for the day, Santosh Singh, made the entire day tour enjoyable with his tid-bits about the city and its history, and also his engaging conversations.

Back at the hotel, a quick freshening up, and a relaxed dinner readied us for our night-travel to Udaipur. The train was on time, and we settled in for the night. The train was to chug into Udaipur by 6am in the morning.

Day 3: At Udaipur

We had arranged for a taxi to pick us at the station, and he was waiting for us, as arranged. It is a 1.5 hour drive to Jaisamand lake from the city. The drive is through some green country-side, and wildlife sanctuary – enjoyable in the mornings, because of the generally cool weather. We were stuck by how green Udaipur is. It is situated in a natural valley, and has a lot of lakes.

Once we reached Jaisamand, the lake looked simply breath-taking. We were looking forward to spending a couple of days at the Jaisamand Lake resort. It is a hotel built on one of the islands in the lake. Called up the hotel, and they sent a boat to pick us up. Everything was wonderful so far.

View from the Jaisamand Lake resort

Things changed once we reached the hotel, and were taken to our room – the lift was musty and dark. The corridors were rather depressing, and once we were shown to our room, we didn’t know what to make of it. The view of the lake and surroundings were really nice. The room itself was sort of depressing – the carpet on the floor looked worn out and not so very clean. The toilet was huge, and not so very clean. It had towels from the Oberoi and other hotels. Indu and I were thoroughly disappointed with this hotel. The management was trying to setup this hotel to be another five-star luxury one, but just didn’t have the experience to run such a hotel. They could have just gone with a simple clean hotel -  because the location of the hotel is fantastic… no one is necesarily going to ask for a face towel, or a stupid camel ride. Anyway, an hour at this place convinced us that spend Rs.4000 a night here was totally worthless, and decided to check-out. We called up the taxi (the one from the morning) to return from Udaipur and pick us up. The management in the hotel insisted on charging us for a night stay, and some arguments later, it was reduced to 50%. We just wanted to get out of this place by then. The hotel is an ugly blot on this location.

By the time we got back to Udaipur, it was already 2pm. We had noted down Amet Haveli’s number, because of the reviews on TripAdvisor. We headed there, and the cleanliness of the room, the hotel, and the views of the lake from our room won us over. The tariff is a tad expensive, but by then we didn’t care. We had wasted enough time for the day. We chose to stay here, had lunch, and slept.

Woke up around 5:30pm, and walked to the nearest bridge to cross over to the old city. This is a better option, than taking a rickshaw to the old city. Its just a 10 minute walk. Once in the old part of the city, its a wonderful experience – there are a lot of shops catering to tourists. Most of the shops are paintings or curios … not very interesting. The bada-bazaar area, Jagdish temple area are all nice. We generally took in the sights, and also because it was Navarathri/Dusshera, the good part of the roads and city were lit up, and people were congregating at various spots to dance away the night (Dandiya dance)

Hot jamoons (image courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/94801434@N00/)

Also spotted a place where fresh jamoons and other sweets were being prepared. Downed a couple of hot jamoons. This turned out to be a daily routine, right through the Udaipur stay.

Day 4: Udaipur sight-seeing

Woke up the next morning to see sunlight streaming into our room, and also the reflections of it sparkling on the lake outside our window. Some of those reflections found their way into our room, and basically lit up our room in liquid shimmering sunlight.

Had a relaxed breakfast at the Amet Haveli’s restaurant – the Ambrai. Watched an old man teach his grand-daughters swimming, by first binding one end of a dhoti to their torso, and holding the other, and getting them to flap in the lake waters. Other resident folk came by and took a dip or a swim in the lake. It was a picturesque setting – morning sun, cool shade of the trees at the Ambrai, views of the Udaipur palace and other havelis on the lake banks.

Following breakfast, walked to the City palace (just across the bridge, and close to the Jagdish temple), got our tickets, and a guide, and spent a couple of hours atleast walking through and admiring the contents of the palace.

Decided to have lunch at Hotel Natraj (highly recommended, for its simple, yet, quality vegetarian food). Walked to the hotel, after a stop at a fresh-fruit juice shop for some refreshing mosambi juice, conversation, and directions to Hotel Natraj.

Post lunch, stopped at the Elite tea center (Bapu Bazaar area) and purchased some somph, amla, and elachi based churan stuff. Got back to the hotel, and slept till sunset.

Decided to walk about a bit, and spotted the “German Bakery” next to the bridge, and immediately got chatting with its owner – Suresh (aka Daada). Conversation flowed over cups of hot tea, and Daada gave us some tips on how to get to Chittorgarh, and the other places to see in Udaipur. He also suggested we rent a bike (from the Hira motor cycles shop), and go around Udaipur. That sounded like a good plan, and we also decided to return to Daada’s restaurant for breakfast. Tracked down the Heera shop, got some details on renting a bike and the costs, and made a mental note to return to this place if we had some more time in Udaipur. Along the way we also met Rakesh Soni, who is a artisan and has his paintings shop near the Jagdish temple. We spent another hour of conversation with him, understanding his painting techniques, listening to his interesting travel tales, and his tips on how to not get swindled at touristy locations.  None of these conversations took on the buyer-seller or tourist-local combination… rather they were just normal conversation between people who didn’t try to get the other to buy anything from them, or profit from the other. These were fun conversations, and it was good to meet people and have simple engaging conversations with them.

Walked down to the jewelery street, near bada bazaar area, and found a shop open. We spent the next hour there, buying some Meenakari jewelery. Then walked past the jamoon place for daily quota of jamoons. Back to the room for a contented night’s sleep. The plan was to visit Chittorgarh the next day.

The Udaipur City palace, as viewed from the Pichola lake

Day 5: Trip to Chittorgarh and back

Another brilliant peaceful sunrise woke us up. We spent some time lying around in bed and gazing at the lake. Then got ready, and headed to Daada’s restaurant for breakfast. Had a decent breakfast and chai, and headed out to the bus-stand from there, to get onto a bus headed to Chittorgarh.

We were issued tickets to Chittorgarh, and bus we were supposed to get onto had already started moving out of the bus-stand, and we didn’t have a clue about that. Some general confusion later, and arguments with a disgruntled ticket issuer, we finally got our tickets transferred to a different bus. Thankfully there are buses to Chittorgarh every 30 minutes or so. An hour and half of bus ride through blistering hot sun, but the breeze blowing through the bus windows was surprisingly cool enough, and we reached Chittorgarh by 2pm-ish. The moment we step off the bus, we are accosted by an auto-driver who also offered to be our guide, and he promised to give us a fantastic tour of the fort and its monuments for 200 rupees. After some general head-scratching, we decide what the heck, he can’t be all that bad, and decide to use his auto-guide services. After a decent lunch, we headed to the fort.

By then, the sun was really heating up the place, and I guess the fort area must have been in the 40s. Blistering is the word. But then, the fort and its environs, and details out of Ram-Kishan (our driver-guide) was riveting enough, and we managed to put up with the heat and sweat. We stopped by at the granary/food-storage area, the ruins of the Kumbha palace, the functioning and beautiful Meera Bai’s temple, before we got to the area of the fort that has the magnificent Vijay Stambha.

The Vijay Stambha area is adjacent to the courtyard where Rani Padmini committed Jauhar. The story of the jauhar, and the societal structure and mental makeup of that time sort of weighed on our minds. We walked along the beautifully situated Gaumukh reservoir, and the Sammidesvara temple. Also had a quick look at the Rani Padmini palace, in the middle of another water reservoir. We were surprised by the number of water bodies, filled with water, in this fort. Quite a few of them are natural springs. This entire fort is also built on the top of a single huge hill. Strategically located, strong natural defense structures, and availability of fresh drinking water made this one of the coveted forts, during its glory days.

By the time we covered these monuments, we were feeling weak and dehydrated. We then downed a bottle of water each, and then headed to the Kirti Stambha – another exquisitely carved tower. From there, we had a look at the fort’s rear gate, and the expansive views from there. Custard apple trees dot the entire fort area, and apparently bear one of the choicest custard apples during the season.

Kirti Stamba at the Chittorgarh fort

Ram-kishan, our driver, dropped us back at the bus-stand, and we were on the 6pm bus back to Udaipur. The ride back to Udaipur was uneventful, and a cool breeze kept us in good relaxed spirits.

At Udaipur, we dropped by at a place that served Dal-bati-churma, near the bus stand, and were hungry enough to wolf down a couple of plates of it. It was delicious. Then took an auto, and headed to the jamoon place, and from there walked back to the hotel, and dropped into our beds. Content, and with dreams of the beautiful Chittorgarh fort.

Day 6: Head to Ranakpur

Another awesome day to wake-up to, at the Amet Haveli, and we were feeling sad that we had to leave this place today. After the relaxed breakfast at Daada’s, we headed to the Jewelery market yet again to pick up some of the stuff we had purchased a couple of days back. In the bargain, we ended up purchasing a lot more jewelery than we had initially planned. We were then left with an hour or so to return to our room, have lunch, checkout, and head to the bus-stand to get onto a 3pm bus headed to Ranakpur. Naturally, this didn’t work out… the lunch was at a relaxed pace, and we decided to take our time getting to the bus stand.

Finally got into a bus headed to Ranakpur, around 4:30pm. The bus initially collided with a car, while reversing out of the bus stand, and then just kept loading people on as it briefly toured the city before heading out to Ranakpur. We were comfortably seated, but in our minds we wanted to get into the Aranyawas at Ranakpur before night-fall.

The bus sort of lumbered along the road to Ranakpur, and at a half-way point, the engine compartment of the bus started billowing smoke. Everyone got out of the bus in 2 seconds flat, and most of the guys around started yelling their opinion of what has gone wrong, following that up with a lot of I-told-you-so. In any case, thanks to mobile phones, the conductor of the bus called up the depot in Udaipur and checked if another bus was on its way.

In the mean time, some of the passengers were trying to flag down other vehicles on the road, to hitch a ride to wherever it is they wanted to go to. I sort of convinced Indu to flag down a jeep, which, as it neared us, turned out to be a Police Jeep, and those policemen glared fire at us as they sped past us. Poor Indu didn’t know where to hide herself, and I had to laugh. At the wrong time. After a few minutes, we both managed to laugh out loudly about the incident, and hoped that the replacement bus reach us sooner than later. The “replacement” bus turned out to be yet another bus on the Ranakpur route, already bursting with passengers.

There was a mad scramble to get onto the bus. We boarded last, with all our luggage. Its a wonder how 100 plus people squeezed into that bus, with all our luggage. The rest of the journey is best described as traveling via Mumbai’s local trains at peak hours,  with the train weaving its way at hectic pace through a winding ghat section. This was fun, in its own way. We were finally deposited in front of the Aranyawas main gate around 9pm in the evening.

The cottage room allotted to us was spacious, and clean, and comfortable. We then proceeded to freshen up, and had a nice relaxed and delicious dinner. Couldn’t have been a better end to the adventurous day.

Day 7: Stay in Ranakpur

Aranyawas is located amidst beautiful rolling Aravalli range of mountains/hills. Its got thick tree cover, and the temperature is atleast 8 degrees cooler than the plains. Also the area around the hotel is visited by various birds. We were basically woken up by the “music” of bird cries. Woke up lazily, and then headed for breakfast. The breakfast was as delicious as the dinner, the night before. The staff were courteous, and “conversation-oriented”. We felt really pampered, and relaxed. Post breakfast, with camera, and novels in hand, we wandered about the property. Clicking snaps, or just staring into the distance. Then finally settling down at a check-dam, watched dazzling blue kingfishers going about their breakfast, for hours on end. Before we realized it, it was already lunch time. Had a good lunch, and then it was time for siesta.

Aranyawas hotel

Woke up in the evening, and then I sat out in the balcony… and spent an hour or so conducting a staring match with a pigeon-like-bird perched on a tree branch close to the balcony. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time doing nothing. Felt rather refreshed, and yeah, I gave up, the bird won the staring-contest. We decided that we wanted to spend another night at this hotel, and to truncate our Jodhpur plans to just a few hours. Aranyawas’ manager, Mr Subhash, made a few calls to find out about various modes of transport to Jodhpur, and finally worked out a reasonable cost for a taxi to Jodhpur. We just loved the service at this place, and the way the staff went out of their way to make us feel at home, and to sort out transport and other such  issues.

Day 8: Head to Jodhpur and return to Jaipur

Woke up feeling refreshed. The taxi was to pick us up at 2pm ish. A hearty breakfast, some more bird watching at the check dam, and a quick snooze later, we were ready to head out towards Jodhpur. We felt we should have spent a few more days here, or better still, purchase a piece of property here and stay put (doing what? no idea). A few kilometers from the hotel is Ranakpur, and its magnificent Jain temple. We spent all of 10 minutes here, and continued towards Jodhpur. The heat hit us as we descended to the plains, and was with us all the way to Jodhpur.

Mehrangarh Fort, in Jodhpur

We were at the outskirts of Jodhpur by 4:30ish, and the Mehrangarh fort was the place we wanted to head to, before it closed for the day. The fort entrance closes by 5:30pm. We wanted to see whatever we could. Managed to reach the fort gates at 5:30pm, and were deeply disappointed that we couldn’t enter the palace in the fort. We consoled ourselves by looking at the exterior walls of the palace, and the fort. The carvings, and designs were breath-taking. The plan is to go back to Jodhpur sometime later in life, and spend sometime walking through the fort and its palace.

Stopped at a handloom and handicraft’s shop, spent a couple of hours buying some textiles there. Then reached the railway station, dumped our luggage in the cloak room, headed to the nearby Kalinga restaurant for some decent dinner. The train to Jaipur was to start at 10:45pm, but finally left the station at 11:15pm. The seats of the train were covered in fine sand-dust, because it had just arrived from Jaisalmer, and its desert environs. Dusted the sleeper, and slept like a log.

Day 9: Back to Bangalore

Indu thankfully woke up before the train pulled into Jaipur. We got out of the train, and checked into the retiring rooms at the railway station. The rooms were clean, and so were the attached bathrooms/toilet. We checked into a double bed room, and went back to sleep. The occasional train pulling into the station with a loud honk tried its best to wake us up, but we were too sleepy to be bothered. Finally woke up, got ready by 10am. Had breakfast at a nearby restaurant. Went back to the Rajasthan Handloom Textile to pick up the stuff we had purchased the week before. Then returned to the railway station, checked out of our room, and headed to the airport. We had hired an auto to do the Jaipur run-around and drop to the airport. Once at the airport, we sat back in the cool air-conditioned comfort of the spanking new airport, and ran through the trip in our minds for the hundredth time.

An uneventful flight later, we were back in rain-cooled Bengaluru. Home.

The trip snaps are available on flickr

Exactly a year ago I was traveling to Jodhpur in India. Although I had looked very much forward to photograph in “the blue city”, not much of that happened unfortunately. We actually enjoyed just one day of sightseeing, which was supposed to be three. My wife and I both fell terribly ill and had to stay in our hotel room for 48 hours before we were allowed to travel onwards from our local doctor. I will spare you the details, but it was not pretty.

Thankfully we stayed in a wonderful hotel, the Ajit Bhawan Palace Resort. This beautiful residence of the family of the late General Maharaj Ajit Singh is turned into a heritage hotel, and I could wish no better place to be ill. I highly recommend this hotel might you be planning to stay in Jodhpur.

The one day we did spent in the city was to view the fort. In the early morning we traveled towards it and first enjoyed the view from a distance. Some local musicians and dancers were entertaining and I managed to make the attached environmental portraits of them.

After the visit to the fort we went literally and figuratively downhill, and had to go to a local pharmacy to pick up some medicine. In the small street in front of the pharmacy I had to hide between two cows to disguise what nobody wanted to see… 30 minutes later I was happy to just be in bed and let Jodhpur for what it was. I would love to go back to Jodhpur and shoot much more of the city, despite the memories I have from this place, but not this year…

Tomorrow I will be off to Cuba for a three week journey. I hope I will stay well and able to shoot some more compelling environmental portraits in a completely different part of the world. It will be quiet for this coming period on my blog, as I do not know how well Cuba nowadays is equipped with internet access, but please come back end of October to read on.

Have some great weeks!

Jodhpur est connue sous le nom de “ville bleue”. Depuis le fort Mehrangarh nous apercevons un mur d’enceinte de plus de 10 km et une vue plongeante sur les maisons aux reflets bleutés. Les habitants ont constaté que cette couleur repoussait les moustiques et autres insectes, et en ont donc badigeonné les murs. Cette étape est l’un des moments inoubliables de notre voyage grâce au Marwar Festival dont les musiques et danses traditionnelles redonnent vie aux lieux historiques. 

Pour lire la suite cliquez ci-dessous :

Après avoir épuisé les superlatifs, tenté de traduire avec nos mots les émotions qui nous envahissent depuis notre premier jour en Inde, nous avons décidé de faire une pause et de laisser les images parler d’elle-même.

Nous avons assisté à des compétitions pour le moins originales, dans la plus pure tradition des foires provinciales. Les concours de moustaches, de turbans et de sarees opposent les indiens aux occidentaux. Certains participants,  au système pileux défaillant n’hésitent pas à user de postiches sans même s’inquiéter de ce que les juges en penseront. Pour nous, en tout cas, c’est une bonne partie de rigolade.

En soirée, nous dinons avec Nick et Cheryl rencontrés 2 jours plus tôt à Jaisalmer sur le toit de la villa du propriétaire du restaurant BollyGood. Ce vieux sage, sevré de 30 années d’alcoolisme, nous accompagne tout au long du repas et prend plaisir à nous exposer avec philosophie sa vision de la vie. Un personnage atypique qui possède malgré tout ses zones d’ombre et qui a tendance à monopoliser la parole alors que nous espérons désespérément de faire connaissance avec nos jeunes routards. Une soirée que nous ne sommes cependant pas prêts d’oublier.

Yet again, it’s a late post. As usual i’ve been busy with college so yeah here are more pics from my trip to India. In this post i would be sharing the pictures i took in the 1000km drive to Amritsar from Jodhpur. For those familliar with the route you guys might wonder why i don’t have any pictures from the places we passed by. But yeah i have few pictures because we drove non-stop. We only stopped for food and tea. So yeah it was 30+ hours of travel. as tiring as it sounds this would have been awesome if i wasnt on a schedule. So yeah comments would be appreciated guys. good or bad! everyday is a learning experience.

Starting point. Sardarpura, Jodhpur.

so happy in the start.. they have no idea we are in for a 30+ hour drive.

Streets of ajmer

Pigeons

Bad ass ride

Streets of Ajmer

Just 678 kilometers more.

A Tata truck, for those who didn’t know Tata motors owns Jaguar and Land Rover.

Rajasthan Roads

Overloading Revamped

Uncle, Cousin, Cousin, Sister, Niece and Mom.

I should try that next time. i’ve always wondered why people like sitting on top of truck ands trains.

My niece being camera shy. Bet she was extremely tired it had been almost 18 hours since we started travelling.

So tired.

Mom and sister extremely tired.

Dhaba’s the place to eat when ur travelling in India.. It gives u a sense of where you are. The food is good. Just pick a good one before you stop. In our case our driver knew this one. So yeah we had some tea and streched our backs there.

Uncle “stretching” his back after a long drive. Im pretty sure he was asleep.

Gas Station in Punjab. Im surprised some gas stations in Punjab are better than the ones in the philippines they even had playgrounds and rooms.

My niece Dia, Enjoying the morning breeze and the play ground.

Cousin and Mom enjoying the swing after almost 20+ hours on the road.

Sorry, I couldnt resist. haha

Indian Tata cargo transport trucks.

Gas station play ground.

My niece Pari enjoying the slide.

I wonder what these bycles are doing in the gas station? hehe

The milkman’s badass ride.

Punjabi Chai

People enjoying early morning fresh air.

Overloading Reloaded

Election time. So yeah the Indian Military was everywhere.

Camel on the road.

A shot of the sign leading to the Golden temple.

Finally the outside of the structure where the lake and the Golden temple are located at.

So yeah we left at 9am and got there sunset time nextday. Keep visiting guys pictures of the Golden temple and it’s surrounding would be the content of my next post.

Jodhpur: “We Hindus in Pakistan are being discriminated against, tortured and harassed,” complains Ram Lal, a 45-year-old migrant from Pakistan, one of the estimated 10,000 migrants from that country settled in and around here in the desert state of Rajisthan. He come to Jodhpur with his family of five over six months ago when, he says, things started to worsen.” I do not want to go back… being a Hindu, there are so many problems for you in Pakistan,” Ram Lal told IANS, adding that only one member of his family, his brother, now lives in Pakistan…

Courtesy: Weekly Voice, Saturday, September 19, 2009, Vol. 13, No. 69

About Gurudev Siyag

Sadgurudev Shri Ram Lal Ji Siyag (also popular as Guru Siyag or Sant Siyag), 83, renowned spiritual master and Siddha Yogi from India, has re-introduced to the world the most ancient and original form of Yoga, derived from spiritual heritage of India. Founder-patron of Adhyatma Vigyan Satsang Kendra (AVSK), a Jodhpur (a major town in Rajasthan, India) based spiritual organization, Guru Siyag mostly lives in Bikaner in India’s desert state of Rajasthan.

Revered by lakhs (hundreds of thousands) of disciples all over India, Sant Siyag has been spear-heading a quiet spiritual revolution since the mid 1980s, when inexplicable spiritual experiences made him realise purpose of his life and motivated him to give up the ordinary material life, and to begin a new quest for bringing about a divine transformation of mankind.

Born with divine powers that he became aware of in the wake of mysterious spiritual experiences in the late 1960s, Guru Siyag has freed countless people from physical, mental and spiritual agonies and led them onto the path of self-discovery and realization of God.

Humble beginnings

Ramlal Siyag was born into a poor family in Palana, a small village 25 km to the north of the city of Bikaner, on November 24, 1926. His childhood was marked by an intense struggle for survival — made more difficult by the sudden demise of his father when he was barely 3 years old. Ramlal’s mother, a woman of grit with spiritual leanings, worked as domestic help to feed her lone child and continue their precarious existence. As there was no one else in his family to take care of him while his mother was at work, Ramlal had to be shifted to a local orphanage during this period. Despite the privations he suffered there, he managed to go to a local school and finish high school level studies. However, when he turned 18, his mother’s suffering compelled Ramlal to discontinue his studies, and to take up a clerk’s job with the Indian Railways.

Life in Bikaner, a remote desert town, revolved around the railway junction there, which generated jobs through movement of cargo and travelers during the British rule. Honest to the core, young Ramlal Siyag worked hard and long hours to make a living. His cheerful demeanor, honesty and dedication to work won him respect and admiration not just among fellow workers but also among managers in the higher echelons of the local railway network. He soon got married and started a family. In the years that followed, he eventually had five children — a daughter and four sons.

Circumstances forced him into Spiritual Practice

The winter of 1967 proved to be a watershed in Ramlal’s life. His humdrum life was suddenly upset when he was seized by an inexplicable fear of death though he wasn’t down with any illness at all. A local soothsayer told him that he was under ‘Markesh Dasha’ — a constellation of planets casting a spell of death. The only way to escape ‘imminent death’, a local ‘pandit’ (religious person) told him, was to invoke the blessings of Goddess ‘Gayatri’ through a special ritual. Gayatri, the Goddess of cosmic light, alone could rescue him from the clutches of death, he was told. Though a believer, Ramlal wasn’t given to ritualistic practices. He didn’t really care much about rituals. For him, the struggle for survival was too intense to find time to pore over scriptures or do the rounds of temples. But fear of death compelled him reluctantly to submit to this recourse. He was advised to perform a Havan — lighting of a sacred fire — and to chant the Gayatri Mantra daily every morning. For the invocation to be complete and offer him the divine protective shield, he was told, he would have to conduct the ritual until he had finished chanting the mantra 125,000 times.

In the October of 1968, Ramlal Siyag began the ritual in earnest during Navratri, a 9-day festival, dedicated to the feminine divine Shakti. He would get up in the wee hours of morning every day and chant the sacred Gayatri Mantra over ‘Havan’ for a couple of hours before getting ready to go to the office. The pressure of illogical panic that had seized was so intense that he performed the daily ritual with utmost sincerity and concentration. It took him almost three months to complete the ritual. Recalling those days, Guru Siyag was to comment later that it was as if a divine force had propelled him into an artificial state of fear only to change his mundane life that he had led until then and to goad him unto the spiritual path.

Gayatri Mantra Siddhi

The day he finished the ritual, Ramlal went to bed that night thinking he would wake up during the normal morning hour the next day now that he was through with the arduous Gayatri worship. However, having got used to rising early, he woke up in the wee hours next morning. Just as he opened his eyes and sat up in the bed, he felt the inside of his body light up with an immensely bright white light. It was a kind of bright light that he couldn’t compare with any other — not even with sunlight. He noticed that the light illuminated his body from inside. The light was neither warm nor cold; it just brought a wave of soothing peace. He was soon immersed completely in a state of joy and bliss that he had never known to exist. The Light, gave him an inner vision. Ramlal Siyag saw that despite the clear bright light that illuminated his body from inside, he couldn’t detect the presence of his organs, as if his body was a mere empty shell.

Having worked occasionally as a helper in the railway hospital’s mortuary where doctors performed post mortems on deceased patients, Ramlal was aware of the position of various internal organs, muscles and bones in a human body. And yet he could see none of it inside his own body! He soon became aware of a buzzing sound as if a swarm of bees were creating a racket over a honeycomb. When he focused on the sound, he realized it was emanating from the center of the naval. As he concentrated he noticed, too, to his astonishment that the buzzing was nothing but the Gayatri mantra being repeated at an amazingly high speed, making it sound like the buzzing of bees! He was to learn later that the Gayatri Mantra that he previously chanted through willful efforts had now become established as a non-stop, self-run process, linking him permanently to the divine force. He later realized he was initiated into Yoga by the Feminine Divine herself!

The divine glow brought another discovery for Ramlal. He realized that behind the façade of his identity and existence in the material world, he was a very different entity altogether. He was neither bound by his physical limitations nor was his personal awareness restricted to the physical world that he inhabited. He felt as if his personal being had expanded so vastly that he could embrace the whole universe. In fact, he felt he was the universe and he could feel the vibrations of all the animate and inanimate beings inhabiting it as if they were his own. He realized too through this unique experience that he was indeed what the ancient Vedic seers had called Brahman, the all pervading, changeless and amorphous divine force.

शक्ति पीठों व घरों में घट स्थापना के साथ ही नवरात्रा महोत्सव का आगाज शनिवार को होगा। शहर के लटियाल माता मंदिर सहित सभी देवी मंदिरों में घट स्थापना की जाएगी। महोत्सव के तहत जय लटियाल भक्त मंडल द्वारा केशवनगर, सांई ग्रुप मित्र मंडल की ओर से मदूजी की बेरी व नवरात्रा महोत्सव समिति की ओर से संजयनगर क्षेत्र में दुर्गा प्रतिमाएं स्थापित की जाएगी।
शारदीय नवरात्रा महोत्सव की तैयारियां क्षेत्र के ग्रामीण इलाकों में पूरे जोर-शोर से की जा रही है। महोत्सव के तहत कस्बे के शिम्भेश्वर तालाब स्थित दाता साहेब के मंदिर के सामने दाता नवयुवक मंडल की ओर से देवी की प्रतिमा व घट स्थापना की जाएगी।

जाट नवयुवक मंडल की ओर से जाटों की हथाई व मौसलपुरी नवयुवक मंडल की ओर से माता के थान पर भी घट व प्रतिमाएं स्थापित जाएगी। क्षेत्र के बागोरिया माताजी मंदिर, पालडी राणावतां के नागणेच्या मंदिर, अरटिया खुर्द के भटियाणी माता मंदिर व देवातडा के बायांसा के थान में भी महोत्सव की तैयारियां पूरे जोर-शोर से की जा रही है।
नवदुर्गा महोत्सव का शुभारम्भ शनिवार को  घट स्थापना के साथ शुरू होगा।  कस्बे के माताजी का मंदिर (नवोडा बेरा) चौहानों का बेरा आशापुरा माता मंदिर, सदर बाजार, राज बोहरा बावरी समाज, पुलिस थाना स्थित जगतम्बा मंदिरों में नवरात्रा के तहत धार्मिक आयोजन होंगे। शहर में डांडिया महोत्सव की तैयारियां भी की जा रही है।
मथानिया के देवी मन्दिरों में शनिवार को घट स्थापना के साथ ही नवरात्रा स्थापना महोत्सव शुरू होगा। इस पर्व को लेकर देवी मन्दिरों को आकर्षक रोशनी से सजाया गया है। कस्बे के अगुणाबास में स्थित प्रसिद्ध करणीमाता  मन्दिर, भैसेर चावडियाली की मां चामुण्डा मन्दिर, मथानिया के बिजलीघर की देवी मन्दिर, उम्मेदनगर पहाडी गुफा की बाणमाता मन्दिर भैसेर कुतडी की कालका माता मन्दिर में शनिवार को घट स्थापना के साथ विशेष पूजा अर्चना, आरती समेत कई धार्मिक अनुष्ठान होंगे।
शक्ति की प्रतीक मां दुर्गा का पर्व नवरात्रा महोत्सव शनिवार को कस्बे सहित क्षेत्र में श्रद्धापूर्वक मनाया जाएगा। विश्नावास स्थित स्वर्णकार समाज के माताजी के मंदिर, पुलिस थाना स्थित माताजी के मंदिर व जाटावास क्षेत्र के प्राचीन भाखर स्थित करणी मां के मंदिरों व घरों में शुभ मुर्हूत में घट स्थपना की जाएगी। इस अवसर पर मंदिरों पर विशेष सजावट की गई है। उधर जाटावास में गौसाई चौक में मां दुर्गा महोत्सव समिति के तत्वावान में नवदुर्गा की स्थापना की जाएगी।