Rajaon ka Sthan

I've been listening to a wonderful song since the past week- Mark Knopfler's -Me and the Wanderlust. It's fitting because the wanderlust bug has bitten really hard now. Packing up my bags for a 2 week tour of Rajasthan-The land of the Kings.

Home to one of the oldest people in India-The Bhils, somewhere there is a tiger if you are lucky enough to spot one, and someplace else the desert can swallow you in as you gaze mesmerised at the sifting sand dunes, the women who really know about colour all the more because of the bare and barren landscape, where the men dress in pristine white and turbans of varied hues adorn their heads, where the palaces in all their grandeur tell stories of centuries gone by, where the killas repeat tales of glory and sing praises venerating their heroes... and then the legends of the Rajputs...

Rajasthan seems to have offer all that a traveler craves for- Romance in Udaipur, Adventure with the wild-life, tempting cuisine to tickle the taste-buds, shopping for the love of art, royalty everywhere and brazen toughness also everywhere.

On previous occasions I have thought Rajasthan to be a dull, drab and boring state with nothing in it except sand and IIT classes. Hovever, since the time I have started reading about it I have been floating at higher heights, dumb-founded at the richness it offers. So spectacular, so splendid.

Our Rajasthan expedition starts with Jodhpur-the Blue City and then Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Abhaneri, Bharatpur, Ranthambore, Ajmer, Pushkar and ends with Udaipur-the Venice of the East. My scrapbook is ready, my bags are packed and I just have to get on that bus.

Bidding an au revoir with Knopfler's Wanderlust :-

Big black cloud
On a yellow plain
Sure enough it
Looks like rain
Packin' up all our
Faith and trust
Me and the wanderlust

Open window
Empty bed and chair
Who's that callin'
Ain't nobody there
I look behind me
And I see there's just
Me and the wanderlust

Dead of night
I had a dream
Sky was bright yes and the
Fields were green
I was down the road
In a cloud of dust
Me and the wanderlust

And I'm on the edge
Of an endless fall
Sure enough
He's come to call
Got to go now
Get on that bus
Me and the wanderlust

La langue française

Yesterday I got a chance to better my French-speaking skills. 4 students from France have joined my department for 6 months as part of an exchange program. We got talking and I made a pact with Audrey-She would help me practice La langue française if I taught her Hindi.

After our lectures got over we spent time in the canteen where a couple of them were treated with idli-sambhar. They ate it with quite some relish and le fil kept wanting to talk about cars. On returning back to our department, ma classe de française started in earnest. Audrey kept throwing les questions at me. It took me a very very long time to get used to her accent and her speed. The French are known to speak rapidly and I had to keep begging her to speak lentement. I was listening and speaking French after nearly 3 months and all les conjugaisons des verbes had taken leave from my mind and for my life I couldn't remember le mot pour 'forget'.
Later I redeemed myself by impressing Audrey by with my knowledge about l'histoire et la geographie de la France.

When it came my turn to teach Audrey Hindi, she proved quite adept at picking it up. I taught her numbers, how to bargain by saying 'Kya bhaiya, kitna mehenga hai!'. And in the meanwhile Tomas was conducting his French lesson for the boys of our class. It was a sight to watch the boys learn how to say 'Au Revoir'. He was teaching them how to pronounce 'Revoir' and in the end all the managed to say is 'Oh Rava'.

And this is what I said when Eric and Americk asked me whether I prefer German or French.
"Je pense que la launge est trés romantique et belle. Je l'aime beaucoup." They were delighted and Tomas started at the word 'romantique'. Bien sûr, il est un fil méchant!!!