The Blue City of Marwar

  Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
Thursday, February 8, 2007

Jodhpur, the Blue City

Arriving at Jodhpur Bus Station with Ilkwon, we walked west towards the Blue City to the Clock Tower, heart of the city's markets. At the Clock Tower, we enjoyed a Makhania lassie, a specialty of Jodhpur made with saffron. The thick lassies topped with a small piece of fluffy cake was full of complex sugary textures and tastes. Above us, the immense Meherangarh Fort rose from a sheer sandstone cliff.

In this part of Rajasthan, periodic sandstone formations punctuate the otherwise flat and barren landscape, making strategic locations for forts. Meherangarh Fort guarded the trade routes from the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean to the south and was the centuries old

Meherangarh Fort and Old Town

palace and keep for Marwar, the "Land of Death" at the eastern edge of the Thar Desert.

Meherangarh Ramparts and Old Town

Ilkwon continued his journey to Udaipur as he'd already seen Jodhpur. I relaxed at the Gopal Guest House, run by an adorable family. At night, I talked with the man of the house about various gurus.

"As an ecologist, I thought you'd be interested in them," he said, speaking of a couple of Jain and Hindu gurus, including one woman who has not eaten or drunk for decades, allegedly.

"Doctors have verified this and all are welcome to see for themselves," he said.

He thought I would be interested because if the world ate less food, was vegetarian like the Jains, and used less water, there would be more room for the other creatures of the world. He was right, but I doubt most people would go to the extremes of this woman, more power to her.

Meherangarh Opulence

Earlier, during daylight hours, I walked to the fort high above, now renovated, complete with a mp3 audio tour, gift shops, and cafes. Rooms within the palace spoke of Rajput opulence, a warrior spirit with curved swords and rhino-hide shields, and the hidden beauty of royal women, behind their veils.

Marwar Raj Warrior

Along the ramparts, the Blue City and the surrouning plains stretched to the horizon. I descended into the Old Blue City for a rooftop dinner with a view of the fort and the blue buildings.

The next morning, after talking some more with the friendly guesthouse owners, I was on my way to the Jain temples of Ranakpur, but I had to stop once again at the clock tower, for one more Makhania saffron lassie.