The Rajasthan Chronicles-Day 7 (Ranthambhore-Tiger Country)

After reposing in the bed we went down for breakfast and finger-licking paranthas were laid out. I lost count of the number of paranthas that entered my stomach. One friend and me kept our grinding machines (read mouth) working non-stop. (He was so intent upon eating that he refused to keep count). It was a lazy morning and the first that we got to do as we wished. We sunned ourselves in the cold chill and then caught sight of mental boys jumping into the chilly pool.

Time passed quickly enough and we were then en route to meet India's Tiger Man-Fateh Singh Rathore. He looked like he was from a different day and age. A cravat around his neck, an impressive moustache adorning his face-he looked everything that I'd imagined him to me. But I had also thought of him as ferocious which turned out to be way off mark- he was gruff but very very kind. He spoke to us about park management issues, the need for rehabilitation of people who used to inhabit the space within the park, the threat to the park due to tourists, obstacles in conservation efforts due to dearth of ministers who understand the importance of ecology and wild life. He was pleased with the steps taken by Jairam Ramesh and called him 'one good minister who understands the importance of conservation'. Well more ministers like him and at least we would be on the path leading to success stories. He shared a lot of his hunting stories-he would organise hunting expeditions for the Britsh Royal Family and other Indian Royals but somewhere down the line he turned towards saving the hunted-The Tiger.

A search on Fateh Singh Rathore pours out bazillion results on this great man. My friend had specifically asked me to meet him and it was a thrill when he granted us an hour of his time. Widely known as the tiger authority in India, he is credited with successfully carrying out tiger conservation work in the Park. I guess this link will provide more accurate information on this living legend.

 At the end of our time we gheraoed him clamouring around him for his autograph and more information. I asked him something about having zero experience and yet wanting to volunteer for the various projects being carried out by the park. He gave a good-natured laugh and answered that from zero he would transform all of us into heroes. He then went on to pull my cheeks-apparently he was inquiring whether I was  chora or a  chori.

He being so old harbours the conviction that conservation will bear fruit despite corruption, apathetic officials, ignorant tourists all because he believes in the youth. Spending time with him was something that left a smile on my face and hope in my heart that with collective efforts change is happening for the good- slowly but surely. However, they don't make people like Fateh Singh Rathore no more.

The Rajasthan Chronicles-Day 6 (Bharatpur)

I woke up in the morning with a raging fever. I was burning all over and yet shivering due to the cold. I only wished to sleep right back again hidden underneath the warmest of quilts. Worse still I had lost my voice to a terrible throat ache and the pain in my ear was terrible and unfortunately that day we departed from Jaipur without breakfast so I couldn't even relieve my discomfort with pills. My friends took awesome care of me and it still makes me squirm to think of all the times I burdened them with my silly pains. I slept most of the journey and then towards mid-noon we halted at a wayside dhaba for a quick brunch which was the traditional kacchori and samosa. And the place also spotted a sign saying ' taharne ka uttam vyavastha'. Most of the lodging and boarding hotels in Rajasthan had this sign even when the place looked dilapidated and in nearly in ruins. While in the bus I overheard our teacher telling one of my friends that if I wouldn't recover by today I wouldn't be allowed on the trail to Ranthambhore. Ma'm wanted we to rest and recover before I took a turn for the worse. I had to summon all the will power I possessed to get well soon. I kept urging myself to feel better and waited for the perspiration to start trickling- a sure sign of the fever lowering. Nevertheless, I felt it in my bones that after one more night of burning I would be fit to greet the next day.

We reached Bharatpur in the afternoon and our pulse started racing when we read the board which said-'Agra-55 km'. We sorely wanted to visit Agra having come so near but our plans were quickly dismissed by our teachers by a rude face and a swear word :) We were so enticingly near and yet so  maddeningly far..

We engaged a guide at Keoladeo National Park. It's so named because it has a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva at the centre of the park. It was previously named Ghana because the park is very dense. My friend had warned me though that because of a bad monsoon, the migratory birds were not seen in the park. He had said that you'll be lucky if you get to see any birds at all. Well, we did see birds but nothing exotic.  Home to nearly 364 species of birds, over here birds migrate from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and of course Siberia (the famous Siberian Crane). As we walked the change in the landscape also was very apparent-it started off being arid and then marshy and ended with a lot of water bodies. My friends helped me spot the rose ringed parakeet, flame back woodpecker, oriental magpie robin, collared dove, yello footed green pigeon, pied kingfisher, rufous tree pie, cormorant, black necked stork, rufous black shrike, white breasted water hen, mor hen, crested serpent eagle, bramhiny duck, grey heron (which was magnificent), spoonbill, black headed ibis, the indian roller, a family of spotted owlet and I got a glimpse of the hoopoe. I also finally saw the monitor lizard for the first time ever and also spotted the usual nilgais, sambars, chinkaras, spotted deer, terrapins and the bonnet macaques. Didn't get very good photographs here as the sun kept interfering and showing a very dull landscape.

But it wasn't fulfilling. We wanted to go on but were compelled to turn back as we had to reach Ranthambhore before midnight.

We had a sumptuous and delicious lunch at the forest guest house. It felt like a king's meal after eating at the roadside dhabas and hotels. The resort was beautiful and later we heard that we were actually supposed to halt there for the night but for the change in the plans. I felt better after shoving the food down my throat, my energy was back. We fooled around the resort for some time and as usual our group was the last to board the bus. People were having a gala time in the bus while I was forced to stay put due to my maddening illness. I was missing out on some real fun!

We reached Ranthambhore late at night. We were told that our trip into the park would be in the afternoon. For the first time in the trip, we had the entire morning to relax. Yuhoo!!!

The Rajasthan Chronicles-Day 5 (Finally Jaipur-The Pink City!!!!)

After setting off from Ajmer, we had a long way to travel. Jaipur by far was the place I was most excited to see. My sister had spent half an hour in Jaipur some years ago-she had been shopping like wildfire for me back then. The markets that she had described were enough for enough to whet my curiosity about this place. I frankly couldn't wait! But our bus 'Laxmi' mulled along slowly and I couldn't fight the sleep anymore and in no time was fast asleep. When I woke up people in the bus were oohing and aahing at various sights. I didn't feel very well so I put myself back to sleep. But the sounds of exclamation got the better of me and I found myself looking at the various sights of the city. Palaces big and small round every corner and malls caught my eye. Here the old and new co-habited peacefully, it didn't seem wrong here to have an urban, hip mall next to a stately, old and grand palace. Jaipur was in no hurry to give up it's tag of being one of the most well-planned cities in India. The second I lay my eyes on Jaipur I loved the it!

After lunch we set off to Amer Fort also known as Amber Fort located on the Delhi-Jaipur highway. It looked down imposingly at us. A huge wall spread over nearly 4 hills caught our eye-Great wall of Jaipur??? I'd read that the one could see the fort's reflection in the lake at it's foothills, but Lake Maotha was sadly empty. We went in to be greeted by scores of monkeys and pigeons-nothing out of the ordinary in places like these.We climbed zig-zagging steps and this led to a huge courtyard. It was teeming with people and here we spent some time just admiring the wast expanse. We made our way inside and this time I was truly stunned. Beautiful hunting paintings adorned the wall and ceilings, the mirror work and the carvings were simply breathtaking. Our guide then took up one carving and with his practiced hand hid various parts of the carving which then revealed elephants, fishes, birds, butterflies, bees and many more animals. It was fascinating and felt like a secret document which was being deciphered for us. He then dragged us to one place which had 12 doors. These doors opened into the quarters of the 12 wives of  Maharaja Man Singh. He also showed us the pavillion where Aishwarya Rai feeds Hrithik Roshan in the movie Jodha Akbar. People who had seen the movie sighed while I just 'hmmemd' at this piece of information. He then took us to see the cave where the food was prepared during this scene and then once again we were out in the sunlight. We spent some more time doing some tom-foolery with mammoth sized cauldrons places there and then once again we were off. While going back one cheeky boy gnashed his teeth at the monkeys. This angered the monkey so much that without a second thought the monkey gnashed back it's teeth right back at him. The boy was so taken aback that he ran down immediately from there. We couldn't knock off our laughing for a long time.

We were then take to a garden where wedding preparations were in full swing. Colossal ice sculptures, mouth watering dishes and dainty decorations bedecked the place. It was all certainly charming and royal.  I was by now extremely feverish with hardly any energy left. A cold chill was making me feel worse. After wandering around we had a nice hot cup of coffee which infused some life into me.

Now the part that I was waiting for the most-We were then dropped off at our hotel with instructions to step down in 5 minutes flat.  The shopping was about to begin. I hurried up, emptied my haversack to fill it with the shopping goodies, grabbed my cash and I was the first one down. I was flushed with feverish excitement and my legs were itching to start walking. However, we had to wait for a long time (it seemed ages to me) for the others to make their slow way downstairs. By now I had reached boiling point. We started off with our tour-manager. He kept telling us that the market was 2 km away and that we would need a bus to get there. But the buses were overflowing and so we walked  and walked. People had started grumbling by then as the walk was tiring. My friend and me in our excitement didn't notice that most of our gang was lagging behind. We both were enjoying ourselves to the hilt-this was surely the best way to see the city. We saw 2 marriage processions and the grooms were really cute, we saw the old palaces now converted into 5 star hotels and all this while i could feel my temperature rising. I could feel a heady rush and I couldn't stop my feet from running. We were headed towards Hawa Mahal for our shopping trip. On reaching the gates of the city I now remember screaming for joy. I threw a caution to the winds, grabbed my friend's hand and we ran to cross the road and then we reached the first shop and exhaled deeply. Finally we could begin. I slowly let my eyes wander and saw Hawa Mahal look down at us. We were surrounded by shops selling all that we wanted, shop-keepers beckoning us towards their wares and so much of beautiful colour. It enlivened me even more. My friend and me ran in and out of shops like a storm leaving a blazing trail of astonished shopkeepers in our wake, occasionally meeting some lost friend who only disappeared minutes later. Everyone was in a a hurry to make the most of this shopping trip. I ended up with dupattas, some colourful jutis, a stole, dress material and bangles. Bargaining was the highlight-the shopkeepers would quote some silly exorbitant price and we would beat them down to peanuts all in fast motion. It was an experience of a life-time. We had never enjoyed so much. After we had amassed all that we wanted, we started to cool down a bit. I could now feel my euphoria ebbing away and I suddenly realised that I was blazing with a fever and shivering in the cold. I was now paying for my excitement which had kindled itself into fire in the past few hours. I was also sorely hungry and my head was throbbing away. The pain was all the more terrible because I didn't have anything to take my mind off it. I was now more aware since the thrill had now passed. We caught up with our HOD and some friends. Our HOD promptly packed us into a rickshaw with some orders. The rest is in a haze. But I distinctly remember bickering with my mother, pushing some food down my throat, shuddering in the cold and then witnessing a fight between my seniors in the bus. That woke me up thoroughly. While in the bus people showed their purchases to each other. and we had a jolly good time. My only regret was that, that I hadn't been able to grab some ear-rings. It had been my dearest wish to buy them but sadly this was left undone :(

Back in our rooms we had a great time comparing our goodies. After some dose of hot gossip and cough syrup I was asleep. I knew that the morning was going to be awful for me. I was sick and now I was frightened.

The Rajasthan Chronicles-Day 5 (Ajmer)

This was one of the best days although the day kicked off with an awful start. We were given a choice between Ajmer and Pushkar. It had been decided to split the group-people who wished to visit the the dargah in Ajmer and the group that wished to visit Pushkar. We were not allowed to visit both places as we were short of time. To visit Pushkar, one had to go back a good 20 km while Ajmer lay on the way ahead to Jaipur. Protests and grumblings arose in plenty but the authorities were in no mood to relent. On one hand lay the famous Temple at Pushkar which is the only temple in the world dedicated to Lord Brahma and on the other the 2nd most holy site for Muslims after Mecca and the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti-the harbinger of Islam and Sufi tradition to India. It was a tough choice to make and one boy ended up asking, "Kiska aashirwad sabse powerful hai?" I dearly wanted to visit both places but then I found myself getting up and getting set to visit the dargah. Our group unanimously agreed to visit the dargah-we are good at sticking together.

The Ajmer group totaled to around 20. We were told that if we could finish with the dargah early we stood a chance of visiting Pushkar. It was a slim chance and we more than ready to take it. We rode in a city bus to the dargah, taking in the sights of the city. But being inside a closed bus the view was pretty sad. Nothing to describe here.

The bus halted a few good kilometers away from the dargah and we had a long walk. We left our footwear in the bus since it was considered to leave footwear unattended near the dargah. And so we walked barefoot dodging the spit and cows, the pan spitool, dung, wet mud and water. Nobody minded and we felt much better for the walk. We bought a chadar since most of us wished to ask for something-the dargah has a reputation of granting people's wishes. The path leading to the dargah had the typical air of a holy town. Shopkeepers clamoured loudly asking people to buy their ware, children badgered people selling holy threads, photos, rosaries, flowers and various other offerings etc.

We expected the dargah to be heavily crowded since it was a Friday but we were surprised to find a moderate crowd there and people from all walks of life too! The Saint has a huge following and people come here from all over seeking solace and invoking his blessings.

On entering we first washed our feet and then made our way to the dargah. The dargah was teeming with people all just wishing to lay their eyes on the dargah. It was a huge push and shove process and no sooner we entered than we were pushed out by the swelling crowd. Outside a group was singing Kawalis and it created a surreal feeling then. Now I felt the sacredness of the place; watching people in a trance, some praying with a contended calmness and some praying with an intensity that seemed to radiate energy that went into creating the holy atmosphere. It was peaceful and I felt my eyes turn moist...After being there I felt that it will not matter whether my wish will be gratified or not, I was just glad to experience that feeling wash over me.

We made our way back to the bus and were informed that we can't make it to Pushkar since the other group had already left from there. A slight bitterness crept in but the after effects of the Kawalis lingered and bitterness was diluted to nothingness.

Our faithful bus was waiting for us and now we were off to the place I wanted to see the most-JAIPUR!!!!!!

The Rajasthan Chronicles-Day 4 (Desert National Park)

Woke up very early in the chilling cold. We had to leave early for Desert National Park. Gulped down a quick breakfast and then we were off. We reached the Park and had to wait for an hour for permission to enter the Park. We spent time admiring one goofy camel who was very pleased to pose for us and who showed us it's horrible teeth from all directions. What a treat! It was one useless conceited camel. I guess our visit brightened it's miserable life :)

We got permission to enter just the periphery of the park. A couple of friends and me broke off from the main group. We decided to explore the park on our own. We had an excellent time spotting Variable Wheatears, Isabelline Wheatear, Green Beaeater,  Lesser Grey Shrike. Rufous Tailed Lark and one bird which we think is a Bustard! At one point while I was photographing a Wheatear, the Wheatear did something stunning. It looked at us over it's back, then flew straight at us, then stopped at around 4 feet in front of us, flapped it's wings in mid-air for around 15 seconds and then flew away towards our right. It was simply amazing to look at the bird from such close quarters. We both were so astonished that neither of us could remember to capture this sight. We just gazed with our mouths hung open stupidly. But now we think that's okay. Somethings are best left committed to the photographic mind than the camera; we somehow like to remember it better this way.

While leaving we were party to another fabulous sight. A chinkara bounded out of nowhere straight towards us. When it spotted us in hovered frightfully in the grass staring at us at a distancde of 100m. We too halted in our tracks. The chinkara moved it's head from side to side-it was evident that it was unsure about what to do next. It then leaped up and bounded away towards our right still maintaining a safe distance from us. After it reached the safety of some tall grass it again stopped and stared at us, we wondered if it's heart was beating as fast as ours...

Then we had nothing much to do but travel and travel. We were now on the route to Jaipur and we were supposed to cover Pushkar and Ajmer on the way. Akaal Fossil Park seemed to have been conveniently forgotten by the tour manger. It was a dull journey and everyone popped off to sleep. I was bored and went and sat in the front with the driver. The journey took on a whole new perspective now. The driver and his partner enthusiastically pointed out various sights to me, telling me stories about villages that we were passing by. They ordered me to stay put in the front for we were now to pass a stretch where chinkaras, deer, neelgais, sambars and peacocks adorn the road on either sides. This was a treat that I surely wasn't going to miss. We passed villages with delightful names- Dudhiya, Khara, Sujasar, Bithari were just a few. Amritsar was 690 km away and the road was beautiful. This was NH-15 and I was loving every moment of it. Later we paused for a break at Pokaran and after half hour resumed the journey again. I was now joined by a couple of my friends. The drivers swore now that the promised treat lay just a few metres ahead. We rounded a bend and then we lay eyes on a huge flock of birds that I don't know-but the sight was amazing just the same. They flew all over the bus wildly flapping their wings in desperation. Next we spotted numerous lapwings, doves and chinkaras strewn all over the landscape-not too often but not too seldom either. Night was falling rapidly now, the trees formed an arch over the road and lay standing next to each other as if they were holding hands and welcoming us. One lone cyclist on he road huddled rapidly to the side when he saw the bus approaching. The trees started turning thorny and straggly when without warning a Neelgai appeared on the side of the road. It was very dark now and the Neelgai stood strangely quiet looking at us while we looked at it. It didn't move a muscle and just stood waiting for a cue. Even when the cameras flashed it didn't move and finally the driver had to make the first move of revving up the bus. The Neelgai then just turned nonchalantly and walked back into the woods. I was enjoying myself thoroughly, the wind was blowing my hair across my face and I could feel a slight chill but I didn't care. It was an incredible feeling. I knew that I would have to pay for this joy later-I fell ill terribly after this foolhardy action of mine.

We then went back and started a song singing routine in full swing. Amitabh Bachchan's songs ruled that night and it felt that the night ought to go on for ever. Half the bus joined in and we truly had an enjoyable time. I screamed so much that finally I felt my throat give away. Now I had really fallen ill. We then stopped at one stinky dhaba, had a quick dinner and were then again on our way. Reached our destination again late in the night and immediately fell onto the bed.

The Rajasthan Chronicles-Day 3 (Jaisalmer continued...)

I approached the camels with some trepidation, a memory from the past had woken up and I remembered the feeling when the camel got up after we had sat on it. I actually couldn't wait to sit on a camel again. They were to take us to Sam Sand Dunes to view the sunset in the desert. I chose one camel and sat on it. One of my friends joined me and then we were off. We were thrown in the front and then the back while the camel got up and all at once numerous screams of fright and excitement filled the air as the other camels also got up. Our camel was named Sharukh Khan and the camel's handler was Khurim Khan. When the camels started walking we were still giving out screams and sometimes out of nowhere some camel would start trotting resulting in some more louder bawls from the ones on the camel while we laughed at them and then only to start hollering when our camel started doing the same.

One of our Michael Jackson crazy friend, by some providence was sitting on a camel named Michael Jackson and couldn't quit raving about it! The camel handlers were really young and seemed to be not bigger than 12-15 years age though most of them claimed to be 16-18 years. Their small size caught them out. I was soon at ease on Sharukh Khan. He was a calm fellow and maintained a steady pace and our discomfort was negligible. I was merrily clicking pictures when out of nowhere a screech drowned all the noise. A camel was trotting very fast, our Head of Department was calmly sitting in the front, talking on the phone while behind him sat a boy who was desperately waving his hands in all directions and wailing at the top of his voice. It seemed as if the boy and his voice was scattered all over the route. Withing a blink of the eye men and camel had disappeared leaving behind just a cloud of dust. It was singularly the most funniest sight that had met our eyes in the desert. I laughed till tears poured out of my eyes. Towards the last leg Sharukh Khan started a good run and our camel ride ended with satisfaction. Again while the camel knelt down, we were instructed by Khurim Khan to lean back to ease the getting down process.

After getting down we were badgered to provide bakshish by the camel handlers but we had been told previously that they had been provided with their share of cash beforehand and so not to fall prey to their money-extorting tactics. The sand dunes rose up magnificently and we started climbing one particularly steep one. All the sand entered our shoes, pulling us down but we trudged on and on reaching the summit we were rewarded with the sight of even more sand dunes in the distance. We started playing on the dunes with all of running down the steep one and then diving into the sand. Everyone was in high spirits and the gaiety was contagious. Posing for photographs, running in the sand, finding beetles, admiring their patterns in the sand, watching the ripples in the sand and the shifting sand ahh...It was the most relaxing evening. We had nothing to do but wait for the sun to set.

While we waited, a group of kids surrounded us, begging us to see them dance and sing. They would break into a impromtu song and dance routine and then demand money from us. They tried it on the people there and some were followed by their fathers carrying a tambourine and the jew's harp. The music washed over me It was sad to see the kids do this but the kids bounded about joyously from one unsuspecting tourist to another.

The sunset was one truly rewarding experience. Brilliant orange, red, yellow- my favourite colours all throwing up new hues and shades with every passing second. At one point the sun was divided into 2 parts. The upper part had shades of yellow and the lower part had shaded of orange. As the sunset a silence befell the desert as everybody stood transfixed looking at the sun. It was a rare moment and time stood still. I felt that I could sit there forever watching the sand under the stars and listen to the music that tugged the heart strings.  And then the sun set but it left behind a myriad of colours right from purple, pink, red and the promise of truly a brighter and beautiful tomorrow. A song came up to my mind but only this was a tequila sunset.

While walking back to our bus I spied a thin boy wearing a superman t-shirt sitting upon a camel. I muttered something about superman not needing a camel to transport himself. my voice carried over to that superman and he swiftly flexed his muscles grinning down at me :)

Our stay for the night had been arranged in the tents a little away from the dunes. The evening came alive with camp-fire, sufi music, tiras, rajasthani dances dressed in the most wonderful colour. I felt more so alive experiencing this huge treasure trove of culture unfolding in front of our eyes. The bhavai was stunning as usual and so was dama dam mast kalandar and kesariya balama. The men wielding the tiras won everybody's hearts with their dexterity and skill and the jugalbandi between them and the dhol was captivating. A dutch lady sat next to me and she kept up a steady dance sitting and she seemed totally entranced by the music. We got talking and I learned that she was professional dancer and she was in India to explore the folk dances. She was adept at belly dancing, tango, latin american, ballet and many more dances. She nearly emptied her wallet on the musicians and dancers giving away plenty of notes. When the ghoomar begun we were pulled up to join in. Faster the beats demanded and faster we swayed to keep us the rhythm. We danced and danced and couldn't stop our feet. The fast beats made us lose all our control. Finally it was time for dinner and a rustic meal had been prepared. The traditional thali with dal bhati churma. We were so tired that we just gulped it down. Meanwhile our class singer had taken over the mike and was now regaling the audience. When she sung tujhse naaraz nahi zindagi my heart broke. It was simply beautiful.

Next we attended a meeting with the tour manager who was still expressing his reluctance to take us to Desert National Park. He was firmly put down by the teachers and the HOD showed his disapproval. the tour manger kept saying that we don't have permission to visit the park while a student said that no one can deny permission to students who want to visit the park. The student had her contacts with certain people in the park who assured her that we were welcome to visit it. We decided to visit the park inspite of the tour manger's misgivings. The cold was now starting to creep into my skin and we were shivering once again.

After the meeting we got ready to sleep but we were still in the mood for some merrymaking. Our tent was stone cold and dully lit. So, we crept up to the room occupied by the other half of our group and exchanged bits of the usual juicy gossip. Their room was more cozy than ours and within 15 minutes I could feel sleep over-powering me. We slid back into our rooms and slept by 1 a.m. It was blissful and we slept contented.

The Rajasthan Chronicles-Day 3 (Jaisalmer)

Awoke within a few hours, got dressed really quickly while a couple of my friends were singing useless parodies of songs. For the first time since the trip begun our group was the first to be present for breakfast-we had fast become notorious for being the late-comers.

Breakfast was to be served up in the terrace and we sat there playing on the swing until I spotted a shop with a computer in it. I desperately needed to clear my memory card to accommodate newer pictures. I ran down to the shop with a pen drive and sent another friend to get his memory card reader. But alas! the friend had packed the memory card reader deep in his luggage which was now entrenched atop the bus. Hopes dashed I started leaving the shop when the shopkeeper produced his memory card reader and offered to transfer the pictures into the pen drive. Elated, my friends and me watched him start the transfer process only to then read a message saying that the pen drive was full. He tried repeatedly but luck wasn't on my side. I left the shop in a downcast mood and got myself some breakfast. The rest of our class had nearly finished their breakfastD. ( So much for being first to get ready :) )During breakfast inspiration struck and I realised I could transfer the pictures onto a DVD. I hurried to the shop and finally my work was done. I could once more wield my camera. Yipee!!

There seemed to be a certain amount of friction in the air that day amongst certain students. When we halted at Sonar Killa, some students refused to get down stating that they wished to visit Desert National Park. The tour manger was giving us a choice between Desert National Park and Akaal Fossil park. This was a new development of which my group was not aware of. His logic was that Sonar Killa would take all afternoon to visit so one of the 2 parks had to be scrapped while the students vehemently stated that they would prefer skipping Sonar Killa rather than missing the National Parks. It was wrong of the tour manger to give us a choice but since our group was curious about Sonar Killa we got down and made way.

Sonar Killa turned out to be a lovely experience, something that I had only read about in novels and then later had let my imagination to take me to such haunts.  It was built in yellow sandstone and 1/4th of the population still resides in this Killa. It is a walled city with numerous by lanes meandering through from all directions. How I ached to run down all the lanes and explore all the shops that sold such strange and antique items. It was a place in which it would have been a grand adventure to get lost in. Mazes upon mazes, cobbled alleys, small temples, a large tree in the courtyard where the oldies sat and spoke about the daily ventures and who gazed at us with unconcealed curiosity. We were allowed to explore just one part of the fort and that too was a labyrinth of complex passageways, with innumerable steps, turns and doors. So many feet must have traipsed that path, many a queen must have walked floating in her own fairy world. She must have gazed down at her city with so much pride and now from her seat we could look down at the entire city and we spied hills rising up in the distance, windmills and rows of houses. At one spot there was a replica of the fort placed on a stone table and stone seats around it. It was like an open-air war room. I was tremendously glad to have got the opportunity to visit this place, I kept scurrying about here and there looking for newer marvels to sigh at. It was certainly one of the highlights of the tour for me.

I did some shopping in there and ended up with puppets and a bag which i did not have the heart to leave behind so pretty was it. I finally left with gnawing sensation- I was craving to explore the place thoroughly while I was also glad to have visited a place of which I, previously, would only dream of.

We went back to the hotel for lunch and then checked out. Once again we were back on the road, this time making our way to desert country-Sam Sand Dunes. After lunch everyone was sleepy and everybody's meter went down slowly one by one. Eventually just me and friend were left awake. The time passed somehow and after a couple of hours we could mark out the change in the scenery. The soil was much more arid and sandy, the vegetation sparse and scattered and air was dryer. And then the suddenly we were on a road with sand on either sides and the camels made their way in the distant. The thrill at spotting the first camels was soon replaced when they became plenty and then later seeing a caravan held no new novelty for us. After a long time we drew up and the first thing that caught my eye was a row of 15 camels sitting (which looked like squatting) with their backs to us. The sight got out a chuckle from me- these camels were to be our ride into the desert!!!

(to be continued)

The Rajasthan Chronicles-Day 2 (Jodhpur)

We woke up refreshed from a good night sleep. But the biting cold had followed us to Jodhpur too. I awoke at 5 and couldn't stop my teeth from chattering like mice! After a sumptuous breakfast of parathas we set off. A day in the blue city.

Our first stop was Umaid Bhawan. It is sprawled over an area of 1 sq.km and built in Indo-Sarcenic architecture. It was built for the welfare of people during times of drought and famine. 3000 artisans toiled to make this marvelous piece of splendour in Chittar Sandstone. It houses 347 rooms and a part of it opened to the public. The rest has been converted into a hotel run by the Taj Group where the minimum entry fee is Rs 3000. The Maharaja's family still occupies a part of the palace. I was surrounded by clouds of delight when I first saw the palace. It was simply majestic and one could feel the grandeur that hung about the museum. The artifacts took me to another world where being royal and regal was the done thing. Exquisite pieces of glass bowls, vases, dinner sets in the most wondrous colours only got out squeals of excitement out of me. Dinner rooms and living rooms that had been recreated there were quite a sight. Out on the lawns 4 vintage cars had been put up on display-a Packard, Morris, Overland and a Buick. A pleasant visit to Jodhpur's royal heritage.

After lunch we checked out of our hotel and set off for Mehrangarh fort. Finally a breath-taking view of the blue city unfolded before our eyes. The houses here are painted blue to keep the temperature cool during the scorching summer heat.  Merangarh fort is among the largest forts and was built in 1459. One has to pass 7 gates to reach the fort and each gate marks various battles. The haunting sound from the Ravan Harta greeted us when we entered the fort. The melancholic melody pulled a veil over my eyes and I was back again wandering in another place, another time. It tugged the heart-strings and I was mesmerised, not a muscle moved. A shout from our teacher broke the spell and I scurried over to join the group. Here at one of the gates another sight greeted me. A faster rhythm was being played and one student lost control and started dancing which was promptly taken up by the rest and then finally the whole group. Definitely enjoyed this impromptu dancing session. The guide then begun his ranter but I was least interested. I was more keen on seeing the place and eventually I ended up seeing this fort only through my camera- a clicking frenzy overcame me and I couldn't stop clicking pictures. The architecture is so intricate and the lattice work so perfect it seemed unreal. The hands that worked, carved, chipped and moulded the stone must have possessed magic to create such stunning works of art.

The fort had marvelous palenquins made out of silver on display-some shaped like animals and some with intriguing designs. An old man sat outside one of the rooms displaying how to use the hookah caught my fancy. He was continuously asked by the tourists to pose with the hookah-he seemed pleased with all the attention that was being showered on him. The curio shop in the fort seemed a costly affair but had very pretty jewellery, kurtis and stoles. While leaving the fort the Ravan Harta again beckoned and this time we spent a quarter of an hour listening to the music. But this time the man played filmy songs and I didn't find it charming.

We halted next at Jaswant Thada but didn't visit as we were running short of time. Instead the bird-watching gang ran off to the banks of a stream and exclaimed in delight over birds whose names I cannot remember. They had their eyes glue to the binoculars and shouted over some coots and moorhens. Sir had to drag us away from the spot.

We then visited one stupid garden whose name I didn't bother jotting down because it was so stupid. The vervet monkeys came bounding down when they saw us and made rude faces at us. The garden was still under construction and I found nothing worthwhile in there.

We left the garden soon and made way to a tea stall where a dugdugi was parked. The rickshaws in Jodhpur are a very narrow affair, they have the air of being squashed from all sides. We made one of our friends become the dugdugi driver and then the real dugdugi driver made an entry and he was drunk to the boot. He gave us some more interesting ideas for posing with his dugdugi.

Tonight we had to travel all through the night to Jaisalmer. The night journey was fun and our seniors related engaging stories and then kept up the tempo by relating ghost stories. We halted at Pokaran for dinner and immediately all jokes were directed towards having radio-active waste in our food. Pokaran was even more colder than Jodhpur and as we neared the desert the cold increased. We had food at Shimla Dhaba and the hot food did manage to take away the nip for a while.

Reached Jaisalmer at 2.40 in the night and swiftly put ourselves to sleep. I was worried about my camera. My memory card was full due to my clicking frenzy at Merangarh fort. I decided to deal with the problem the next day.

The Rajasthan Chronicles-Day 1( The train journey)

Seems just like yesterday that I boarded the Pune-Jodhpur Express. I had marked out the train route and had finished fantasizing about the stations that the train would be halting at. Mum had warned me for what seemed like umpteen times, "Don't you go around doing a Jab We Met on the railway stations." I sulkily gave in and scanned the stations from the window.

The train journey was memorable.We didn't have confirmed seats and so 2/3 people shared 1 seat but we didn't even care. Sleeping was the last thing on our minds. We all were just glad to be together. We jabbered away with our neighbours - one old uncle and aunty with awesome child-like enthusiasm about our trip. They were terribly kind and considerate towards all our noise-making activities and cheering and the drop-ins by our friends who were scattered throughout the train.

We started the card games at 11.30 in the night and continued them well past 1 a.m. Most of the time was spent learning one eff-all game called 'Mendikot'. I couldn't for the life of me remember this game though I was nagged by the feeling that I have played this game before. I had 3 friends all giving me explanations and forcing me to listen to them and not to the other person. Really awful. Somehow after what seemed like ages I got the hang of the game and played it well :)

Then I decided to give my wanderings in the train a rest and found an empty berth to sleep on. And oh yes now I remember the biting cold brrrr. I was chilled to my bones and twisted and turned to find a warm spot on the cold berth. Gloves, socks, sweaters, sweat-shirts notwithstanding, the cold made me shiver all through the night.

At 3 a.m. I went to welcome a friend who was to board the train at Surat. It was jolly well good to see her- She had all the tasty grub with her :)

I then found another empty berth after that because the old one was occupied by one surly chap from Surat who cast an annoyed glance at us as soon as he saw us huddled together on one seat. A couple of my friends stayed awake and kept chattering all through the night. They kept up a non-stop chatter and this made the Surat man even more angry. He kept scolding my friends but they didn't seem to care. At around 5 a.m. I was rudely awakened by my friends with the flash of the camera. I joined in the giggling and by this time each and every member of our group was awake giggling and laughing.

The surly Surat man could take it no more and called us the most uneducated bunch of people and that we have studied just too much and so we were keeping up this noisy racket all through the night. I felt he was right. I wouldn't have liked it if I were disturbed when I wanted to sleep. After the mega-scolding he gave us we all promptly went off to sleep and strangely, it was the best sleep ever. We woke up refreshed and the surly Surat man thankfully left.

The rest of the journey was pleasant and was slightly marred by a classmate who tapped my friend on her head, put his finger into my ear and pulled another friend's nose and hugged him. Decided then and there that we have to stay away from this weirdo.

As we neared Jodhpur, we spotted plenty of doves, flamingoes, peafowl, spotted deer and chinkaras. It was a lovely welcome and so exciting to spot them foraging freely beside the tracks. The peacocks trotted with a charming gait and I was mesmerised. For the first time in my life I was seeing them in such huge numbers!!

We reached Jodhpur in the evening and were put up at Beniwal Palace. Dinner was a seedy restaurant called 'Ghar Angan Bhojnalay'. We were busy posing for photographs outside the restaurant and not so very nice men tried to act smart with us. Even while walking back to the hotel some men on bikes tried to upset us-but on hearing our ma'm scream they escaped. Learned that it's not safe to go wandering at night alone. North is really unsafe for girls-even in groups.

Reached the hotel and slept like a log.