Bharatpur
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2007
1
201
220
Trip End
Jun 17, 2009
Bharatpur,
Rajasthan,
India
Friday, November 21, 2008
Breakfast was a cup of spicy chai (tea), with a spicy (what else) potato pancake and a slice of bread. There's becoming a risk of losing the "You'll lose weight" bet with Norah's brother, Donald, here!
An hour and a half up the line, heading back north westerly and we are joined by Bhupendra, who left us yesterday to go to his niece's wedding. The weddings in India have between three and five days celebrations, depending on finances and last night was a social celebration, before the final night's wedding ceremony.
The sun has slowly beaten through and burnt off the mist, leaving a hot, sunny day. It is nearly eleven am when we reach 'Baratphur' and transfer to buses. On the way to the hotel Bhupendra stops off at his house and we are all invited in to meet his parents and have a cup of tea. You don't get that with Shearings (an English coach company) do you?
Then it's on to a smart hotel set in the country, definitely a step up, with landscaped gardens and a swimming pool. We enjoy a buffet lunch and then climb back into the buses for the afternoon visit.
The 'Keoladeo Ghana National Park' is a 52 sq km mixed woodland site, set aside as a bird sanctuary for local and migratory birds. Parking at the gate, we took cycle rickshaw rides into the park and then started to walk along a single track road, with woods on either side. Before long we spotted a magnificent dusky eagle owl, sitting on a nest high on a tree branch, with other smaller birds flitting through the trees so fast that we couldn't identify them. A couple of spotted owls were asleep up in one tree and a big bee's nest was hanging under a branch in another.
The fields on the side of the road became small ponds and then big lakes, where painted storks, grey herons and cormorants were wheeling around or perched in the trees. The bright pink colours on the storks were quite striking. Kingfishers waited on tree branches, an Indian (black and white) robin searched through the undergrowth, white storks, brown shrike, white ibis, black headed ibis, egrets, jungle babbler, coots, moorhens, rose-ringed parakeets and a nightjar and probably more. I even watched a small mouse come out and forage for food just a metre away from me. A very interesting afternoon.
We arrived back at the hotel just before 5pm. Ready for an easy night? Don't you believe it - remember the wedding Bhupendra went to? Well, we were all invited to the final night and had to be back out on the bus in twenty minutes.
A (very) quick wash and change and we set off in the dusk with a fabulous sunset. The route takes us through small villages, some of them seemingly without electricity, where people sit round electric lamps or open fires and a barber gives a haircut by candlelight. The road is being widened and we regularly bounce around a new, unsurfaced section.
At 7.45 we arrive in the small wedding town and pass the bridegroom's procession as it assembles, the groom in traditional Indian dress sitting on a horse. Reaching the large restaurant, where the festivities are being held, we are immediately the centre of attraction, as they see few westerners out here.
Bhupendra has laid on another surprise - there are saris waiting for all the girls, following their traditional wedding guest make-up of henna ink decorations on their hands. The transformation complete, we go down into the courtyard to welcome the groom's procession, complete with fireworks and bangers, all taken in its stride by the horse.
During the commotion people, particularly teenagers, come up and talk to us, curious about the western life. The conversation inevitably moves onto cricket, where India are leading England 3 - 0 in a series of international matches.
Then we go for some food in the garden, where the breads and pappodums are being cooked fresh on charcoal ovens. More questions and everyone wants to have their picture taken with us. Whilst we are eating, the wedding ceremony is taking place inside and at 11 pm we all go into the meeting hall and congratulate the groom. This was a traditional arranged marriage and the only contact the couple had had beforehand was a photo of each other.
The Groom sits unsmiling and dignified whilst everyone takes photos of him. Then the very nervous looking bride and her attendants walk down the room and join the groom for photos. We present them with a wedding gift of 101 rupees (a lucky number) (given to her - another woman with her hands on the money already!) and then there is a garland of flowers exchange. She has to throw hers over his head, whilst he second guesses and tries to jump out of the way but she 'wins'. He then places his garland over her head and the formalities are completed.
It is now 1215am and we set off back for the hotel. The roads are quieter but there are a lot of trucks about carrying bulk road building materials. On the road under construction we have to keep swopping carriageways, the normal side is on the left as in the UK and at one crossover to the opposite side there is a truck parked against the central reservation and two other trucks side by side, headlights full on and horns blaring, coming straight at us. Thankfully one moves at the last minute and we get through. A few lesser incidents and we finally make it back and are in bed for 2.45am. It's been a long but interesting day.
