Rajasthan trip synopsis

 

Written in early march 2020 as we just completed our Rajasthan trip just before lockdown one was declared by PM .

Those maskless free days of no quarantine or social distancing the only beaking the chain was the breaking of boredom by travelling footloose but today more than 7 months into a pandemic and a bout pf bad Covid personally it looks far and dream like .

Pre and post Covid will definitely tell in all our lives who lived in this era .

 

We said Goodbye to Rajasthan  hopefully to visit again .

We could manage to touch upon Jaishalmer ,Jodhpur,Mount Abu ,and Udaipur .

It shows we had not visited so many others .

Rajasthan is a big state some of its districts are as big as my Kerala .

Travelling between cities take time .

We missed Bikaner, Ajmer, Chitrogarh and Khumbalgarh to name a few .

Hundreds of towns and villages exist which need months to see .

Bikaner specially is something I need to see  .

Not only for its royal grandeur and to view a lonely outback , but becuse of a filial connection .

My grandfather, the venerable PCM Raja had stayed here for more than 5 to 6 years after a domestic fight with my grandmother incognito working under the royal family !

Being from the Maankaavu kovilakam of Kozhikode he may have done some name sounding to get a job , of course that was before India got freedom 🙄

These days it wouldnt work .

So to me Bikaner needs a long stay to introspect and maybe write more on this .

Mebbe one day.

Jaipur I had visited twice , liked it but were very short visits .

The state has 3 sectors .

Mewars of Udaipur region

Marwar of Jodphur

And Maarwaadi of Jaishalmer .

Though they share a same culture there are differences in life styles ,habits,cuisine,and art .

Both Jaishalmer and Jodphur has the desert in them ,the sands,the sun, the cactus,the shrubs,the huge distant forts while Udaipur more nearer Gujarat and surrounded by Aravalli hills is filled with lakes and is greener and cooler .

Mount Abu is an excuse of a hill station and could be categorised in the  level of Yelagiri or Yercaud not ooty or Kodaikanal .

But its Dilwara jain temples are mind blowing .

Brahmakumari foundtion to me was another  spiritual mall .

The ten days was enough to let us peep into the rich heritage and natural goodness and honesty of Rajasthanis .

No wonder, once you consider they have the blood of the noble Rajputs flowing in them to whom honour, valour, and service was divine .

The state is a tourist paradise naturally, with hundreds of palaces , thousands of havelis ,and temples ,waiting to be uncovered .

Best time to visit would be late january or November .

Late february is definitely warmer .

If one comes to Rajasthan ,food is central.

For South Indians most of their food is available in cities .

A keralite he would sorely miss meat to bite upon though available .

Fish is unheard of so the Bengali will be in trouble along with the mallu .

But isnt this an oppurtunity to delve into very rich culinary creations of Rajasthan  ?

We did and had no regrets .

I really am amused at tours declaring special south indian cook comes along .

You have to leave your baggges when u travel i meant your habits .

Baggages lighter is always better

We did carry woolen thinking it would be colder which was a burden .

Shopping is good here

textiles,specially handicrafted kurtas,sarees,folk jewelerry ,stones,curios,antiques and prices are reasonable if one avoids touristy points .

Travelling in train isnt bad at all preferably book overnight AC sleeper to save on days, or book into Palace on Wheels if you have money floating around paying not less than 1.5 L per day .

Between Jodphur to Abu road we did take a sleeper class non AC which we were worried about as in north India we had heard it would be a mess

Strangely it was not only neat with good toilets ,and more fun as more things are sold by vendors than in sanitised AC compartments .

Buses and cabs are good though we didnt travel in buses 

Roads are excellent .

Keralites please note ,its not that the rest of India is reeling in poverty .

The country has left you behind long back .

Literacy is rising ,people have money ,jobs,.

All villages are electrified and potable water is avilable .

So looking back Rajasthan,a small part of Gujarat and the largest statue in world have been eye openers .