I was surprised when my gang reached out with the idea of a trip to the Pink City that enticed me from childhood. I boarded the flight to my 1st pitstop – Delhi, where I was supposed to meet the rest of my crew. Delhi – a city that startled me each time I visited, exposing yet another face of its that I have never seen is always one of my favourite places for a pitstop. The journey to my dream destination started by road from Delhi. Though Delhi to Jaipur was just a 5 hr journey, we took nearly 7 hours. The extra 2 hours was the result of the enthusiastic foodaholic in me. As and when I see a Dhaba or a haldirams I would be reminded of the grumbly feeling in my tummy, urging me to fall in for the cravings.
The feel of Rajasthan came when we started seeing camels on the road and the people draped in vivid colors of fabrics and the big moonchhi vala uncles – like seen in movies!
The journey was tiring but the excitement of a new place & the scrumptious lip smacking food kept me going. We reached Jaipur by noon and decided to loafer around rest of the day. We planned to dedicate one day for sightseeing and to cover maximum places in one go.
The day started off with a visit to – Ambar fort. Though I had seen a few forts & palaces, this one was different. The elongated wall marking the territory of the region was an indicator to the approaching fort. The first glimpse was of a structure that stood on top of a hill. The closer we got, the details started appearing – an absolutely perfect architecture with a history of 1000+ years, yet in this era no construction to match its perfection.
There are 2 options to reach the top of the hill -one walk all the way up, two – hire an elephant for a ride!
The colourfully ornamented elephants would have been a good option, considering that none of us have ever had an elephant ride. But the tired & sad look in the animal’s eye discouraged me from taking the ride. We stood by the humongous animal, patted & petted it and started walking towards the fort. No words can describe what I saw there, the place was constructed with such perfection that you will question the existing technology. The colour variations on the walls back in the days was the result of vegetable dye, later of course replaced by paint.
I walked and walked hypnotized by the charm of the place untill came to a section of the palace, named the Sheersh Mahal- a mahal of mirrors! A treat to eye, like a beautifully crafted crystal. The wall & sealing covered with mirrors, big, small & minute in size. The pattern that embellished the walls and the effect it had when light fell on it! I was awestruck when I saw this beauty.
Each chamber in the mahal had a story – our guide predominantly emphasised on the reason for the multiple chambers of the fort to one simple explanation. The king had many wife’s and each needed a chamber! The king kept adding a new wing to the fort to make sure all his wife’s had ample facilities!!!
My friends and I enjoyed the highly overrated story by the guide and gave him our undivided attention – though my brain kept whispering ‘there is more to it’!
Mesmerized by the beauty of the place we moved on to the next destination in line, Chand Baori.
The place is filled with steps, steps and more steps and at the end of those mighty steps was a pool of water. I was curious to know why a well needed these many steps. The curiosity was put to ease when the guide explained that this one well was the source of water to a whole city, multiple steps made sure that many can use the well at the same time. Though there was nothing breath taking like Ambar fort at Chand Baori, I wanted to spend some time there, the place had a serene beauty. The more I looked around the more I travelled back in time, imagining women in groups, chit chatting at steps, filling their vessels and walking all the way back home.
Our next stop was Jal mahal. A peaceful looking palace in the middle of a lake. Sadly, the place could be viewed only from a distance as the entry was restricted, reason being, mankind is too curious to exploit anything beautiful.
By this time, my gang and I had gone silent. Its not because we were tired, but because we were mesmerized by imagining the life people had back in the days.
The last item in our agenda was dinner. Reservation was made at Chokhi dhani– a village set up with food and fun. I walked into the resort having nothing but food in mind – I was in for a surprise. Ram Ram! An uncle greeted us at the top of his voice! Seeing the startled expression on my face a lady near me explained that that’s how people greet over there, and you are supposed to return the greeting. The energy level on a scale of 1 to 10 had dipped to 3, but this greeting boosted it back up.
The door opened to a place resembling a country fair set in the 70’s with small booths every were.
We were met to explore the place until dinner time which starts later in the evening. The 1st thing that caught my attention was the platform on which 2 beautiful ladies decked in traditional Rajasthani dress set up for a ‘Goomar’ performance. The dance started with a blast of energy to which the crowd was pulled into. There was not one person who did not join to the rhythmic beats.
Later, I walked into a hut which resembled the ones you see in villages. As the whole place is a planned set up, I was expecting it to be empty and was shocked to see an old lady there by the fire making rotties. On seeing us she gave us a warm welcome smile and offered a rottie and butter. Those who have not tasted it would say that I am exaggerating, but there is not enough words to explain the incomparable taste of the rottie!
Still licking my figures, I explored the rest of the place. The place was soo huge that completing a tour of area was equivalent to work out for 2 days! The place even had a dairy farm inside. I browsed through the game stalls, sat on the giant wheel, saw the puppet show, visited the magician who played his little tricks and completely lost track of time.
After covering as much area as humanly possible, I moved to the dining area. We were made to sit on the floor. The plate that was brought to us was thrice the size of the one I have seen. First, they served us daal baati churma, then a katori filled with butter followed by Kalmi Vada accompanied by Bajara ki roti with lehsun chutney and then – I lost track of items!!!! By the time I was more than full and was planning to get up. The host noticed this, came to me and said the main course is yet to be served! When I polite refused he lovingly scolded me!!! I sat back and started hogging to things I don’t have a name for. The plate which I thought was over sized now looked packed! Though I cannot list down all the things, don’t miss out on – Pyaaz ki Kachiori, Mohan Thaal, Guji, Kalakand, Mava Kachori, Ghevar & Malpua.
The process of having food took 2 hours as we were slow eaters and more because the host was in no hurry and wanted us to at least taste all the items they had prepared, including a generous glass of lassi.
After hogging on the food, all we could do was somehow manage to get back to the hotel and hit the bed. My mind still stuck in the chambers of the fort, I drifted off to sleep.
I hit the snooze button here as the rest of the trip require more words & space! However, just THE one day made me realize that I belong to a country with rich heritage, varied culture & loving people. Amidst all the indifference & issues, we still have a group of people who believe in ‘atithi devo bhava’, who is eager to walk you through their life & culture, if you let them take the lead and says : Padharo mhare des – Welcome to my land.
Simple Minds 
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