Day 9: Jodhpur, Meherangarh Fort
Trip Start
Sep 21, 2006
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10
228
Trip End
Jun 01, 2007
Jodhpur,
India
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Today, rather than steaming off in some vague direction, I join the group as Binu leads us through Sardar Market to the Meherangarh fort that towers over the city.
It's incredibly busy with locals ascending the steep path for a weekend celebration of Navratha. Stalls sell temple offerings of marigolds, coconuts, saffron-tinsel headbands and incense sticks. A path from the fort to the Hindu temple is littered with spilt coconut milk and shells. I visit the fair and savour kulfi ice cream.
Built from 1459, under the orders of Rao Jodha (for whom Jodhpur is named), this red sandstone edifice seems hewn from the very rock it stands upon. To move in, the Rao first had to evict the rock's resident hermit. The enraged hermit placed a curse of drought upon the rock, a curse only lifted by the sacrifice of one brave man who offered to be placed within the fort's foundations
01 Meherangarh Fort
. He is commorated beside the entrance. The gate is approached at an angle and the door are spiked to deter elephant charges. Scars of many battles dent the walls. Ahead is a cast of tiny, vermillion handprints. These are the marks of the 15 widows of Maharaja Man Singh who threw themselves into a fire in the act of sati upon their husband's death.
Within the fort are numerous courtyards surrounded by elegant, latticed balconies where women in purdah could gaze upon visitors. The museum bears immaculate examples of Rajput weaponry, royal cots and palanquins (including one bequeathed by Agra's Shah Jehan who first named the Rao, Maharaja). Several rooms are preserved in all their decorated grandeur - mirror tiles, images of the ruling dynasty, multi-coloured glass spheres and woven furnishings.
The present Maharaja, without the powers of his forbears, is installed in the Royal Palace and hotel on the horizon. He now concerns himself with the preservation and renervation of Meherangarh. Renervation first took place with the proceeds of sales of bat guava scooped up from within the complex.
The view from the north balconies looks towards the blue-washed homes, the 10-km-long defensive wall that surrounds the city and, a short walk away, the Jaswant Thada memorial
02 Palace guard
. This is where I head next. It's a peaceful spot beside a lake where turtles swim and stray dogs wash. The peace is broken only by birdsong and busking folk musicians who strike up as soon as tourists approach. Jaswant Thada is a translucent marble memorial to the Maharaja Jaswant Singh II, built in 1899. It is now the final resting place of all following Jodhpur maharajas.After a quick change at the hotel, I'm sweating within seconds through my clean Ganesh T-shirt. This is the most intense the heat has been on this tour. In paltry shade, I park myself beside the Sardar Market gate for a masala omelette at the stall (recommended by Lonely Planet, as most food stalls and hotels seem to proclaim). Eating seems to be an obsession on this trip. Next, I'm indulging in a thick vanilla lassi by the other gate. This creamy confection is not gulped but eaten with a spoon. As the only westerner in the back room, I gather a lot of stares.
Almost every kid in India, and especially here in Jodhpur, thinks it highly amusing to shout "helloo" as white faces pass by. It wears.
Tonight the rest of the group catch up and go to Priya where I ate last night. I have no reservations about revisiting here to sample something else new. The dosas are especially mouth-watering.
Comments
A very short widowhood!!!
'These are the marks of the 15 widows of Maharaja Man Singh who threw themselves into a fire in the act of sati upon their husband's death.'
What lemmings!! I'm hoping he had further wives who weren't so spineless, although perhaps like that poor old lady here recently, these ones were given a push by male relatives...