Journal - 12/17 and 12/18 in Udaipur

12/17, Wednesday, trip to Udaipur

Our flight to Mumbai was fine. When we arrived at the airport in Chennai a man came rushing up to take our bags. We protested, thinking he was looking for a tip in a situation where we could help ourselves but it turned out that he just worked for the airlines and was doing his job. He took us right to the front of every line, helped us get our bags checked through to Udaipur and went off to help the next people.

We were at the airport really early so we sat there in a not-enough-sleep stupor until it was time to board the plane. In Mumbai it took a long time to get through the aiport, but we finally found our gate. We went through security again. In India, men and women have separate lines to go through, and as you send your bags through the x-ray they stamp a tag on them. These stamps are checked again as you board the plane.

Anyhow, we sat in the security area for a long time, waiting to board little buses that would take us to the planes. Just as we were getting ready to board the bus an announcement was made and suddenly everyone in the area was boarding the buses! We got on a random one with a bunch of other people and they drove around to the front of the airport. A fellow passenger explained that the airport was being evacuated and we were being taken to the airport hotel.

However, the bus sat in front of the airport for a while and we watched all of the other people stream out of the airport. It was amazing. Our new friend on the bus said that this happens often in Mumbai. No one seemed at all nervous, no one got angry, no one panicked. Policemen with guns were running into the restaurant next door and asking everyone to leave. We waited.

Then, about half an hour later, everyone started to go back in. The buses went round the back of the airport and we went through security again and were on our plane and in the air less than an hour later than we were supposed to be. Amazing!

We got to Udaipur and walked into a small very clean airport. A guard in a kind of bright kilt stood at the door as we entered. After collecting our bags, we stepped out looking hopefully for a driver with a card bearing our names. No luck. A few drivers approached us, asking if we needed a lift, but we explained that someone should be there to meet us. They immediately began to help us, looking at the address of our homestay and asking the others. Finally, we noticed that one man had "Pahuna Haveli" written in small letters in the corner of his sign. That was where we were going but the name on his card was "Mr. Mex Ider." Realizing that that was a creative phoenetization of "MacAdam-Somer" we greeted him, sorted everything out, and were on our way.

The roads were less crowded here and the landscape was totally different. There were mountains and hills rising up everywhere, with craggy rocks and sparse vegitation. Most people here were wearing wool sweaters even though it was pretty warm outside. As we got into Udaipur the streets became narrower and very crowded. We pulled onto a street into a neighborhood and stopped outside some iron gates in front of a large house. This was Pahuna Haveli, where we'd be staying for the next two days.

Inside, the house was cool and dark, with marble floors and curtains in long windows. Our room was on the second floor and had it's own bathroom. There was a nice rug on the floor and beautiful art on the walls.

Our host, Hemant, and her family moved into this house that used to be her parents' place. It has a lot of rooms, so lends itself well to the B&B. She was really kind and gave us great suggestions for where to go in town and how to get there.

We walked down to the main road and caught a rickshaw, bargained with the driver, and got a lift into the old town of Udaipur. Our first stop was the Jagdish Temple, and the square around it was one of the busiest places I have ever seen. Several roads intersect here and traffic darts through the area wherever there is an open space. In the midst of the motorcycles and rickshaws are pedestrians moving slowly across the road, cows wandering around, and vendors lining the sides of the streets. We took a short video of it that won't fit on this site, but you can see it at www.youtube.com/notoriousfolk.

The temple was amazing. There was a boy there who was hanging around and I let him act as a guide for me. I was curious about what he would have to say. Most of it seemed to make sense, and it was fun to take a closer look at the stonework. He pointed out several levels of figures in the temple, the lowest being demons, then humans, then gods and goddesses, and also showed me that some of the carvings were from the Kama Sutra, which I hadn't noticed. I am so impressed with the significance in every detail in artwork here, whether in dance or sculpture or music or painting. It's really amazing.

After visiting the temple we wandered around and visited a few shops, including a puppet shop where they had hundreds of marionettes. The owner did a demo for us in the back, and he was really skillful at making them dance while he whistled. Then we found our way to some steps down to the water of Pichola Lake where the sun was setting. As it got dark we went looking for Bagore-ki-Haveli, which is a big old house that was turned into a museum. There was going to be a dance demo there and we wanted to go, but we couldn't find the place. Other vendors kept asking us to come into their shops, and we kept saying, "Maybe tomorrow." A young man came up to us and started following us, asking where we were from and if he could walk with us and practice his English. We explained that we were in a hurry and he said he'd look for us another day, but when we wandered by again he asked us where we were going and led us there. His name is Naresh, and we ended up running into him again many times!

The dance demo was wonderful - they showed several kinds of Rajasthani dance, a puppet show, and of course a live band which was wonderful. The puppeteer was the same guy who had visited earlier in the day, and he did a funny skit with a "magician" puppet, making it dance around and then pop off it's head and toss it from hand to hand in time with the music. Some women came out and did a dance with pots of fire on their heads. And two middle-aged woman came out did a rhythmic dance with chimes - they held other chimes on strings in their hands and twirled them around, first clapping them together in time with the music, then hitting chimes on their shins, arms, shoulders, and heads. It was amazing! But the most exciting dance was when one of the women came out and danced with clay pots balanced on her head, first one, then three, then six, then ten! As she continued to dance and add more pots they brought out a metal bowl and she balanced by placing her feet on the rim and rocking it back and forth rhythmically. Then they brought out a big pile of what looked like thick glass, and she stepped in that in time with the music. All of the dancers wore bells on their ankles, so every step had to be right on beat.

We went back to our homestay and had dinner with the family that night. The food was excellent north Indian food, but the husband and son were very quiet and it felt rather formal. They have a very old maid who waited on the table, very different from the smiling, bubbly servants that we met in Chennai.

12/18 - Udaipur

On Thursday morning we practiced, then headed straight for Sahelyion ki Bari, a garden that was designed by the Maharani for herself and her ladies. This was a place where the women could go and not have to veil themselves. It was very pretty but a little run down. There was an inner sort of room with a big fountain inside, and behind that a small stone building that housed some kind of educational center - some maps, fun house mirrors, games and puzzles, a plastic skeleton. Very random.



After that we went to the Monsoon Palace, (Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary)was a bit of a drive out of town. On the way we went through some small villages that were very quiet - so different from the south! We passed some women on the road who were carrying enormous piles of sticks on their heads.We got to the bottom of the Monsoon Palace hill and told the driver that we wanted to walk up to the top. "Impossible," he said, and was so insistant that we let him drive us. But it was such a struggle for that little car to make it up the mountain, and it was so noisy, and we really wanted to walk, so we finally convinced him to pull over and let us out at a viewing area. It was so lovely to walk! Quiet and peaceful. There were mountains everywhere, large fields and lush valleys. We saw monkeys as we got close to the top - a whole tree full of them!









The palace is beautiful. It was supposed to be something like 13 stories tall but never got
completed, so it is only three. There is an incredible view of Udaipur from the palace, and a beautiful small garden. There were also some construction projects going on and it was fun to watch the men working. They had built ladders and platforms that were all secured with rope - no nails, and of course none of them wore helmets or gloves or any other safety devices.

When we came out our driver was there waiting for us - I guess he felt that it would be impossible for us to walk down! We asked him to stop again at the same place so we could walk a little ways on a trail that was laid out there. As we walked we passed by a group of men and women who were working on the trail, either creating it or fixing some rough spots. They were getting ready to eat lunch and
offered us some food, but we thanked them and continued on our way. Looking back at the palace was like peering into a fairy tale.

Our intention was to head right back to the city, but our driver suggested taking us to Shilpgram, the local craft village. We were really hungry when we got there, so were happy to see that there was a small outdoor cafe. The food was great! We were served rice with several side dishes, including a bright yellow curry, dal, and some greens. There was also a sweet lentil cake and fresh chapatis (Indian wheat tortillas), which they brought around whenever we looked ready for more.

Shilpgram was very similar to the folk village that we visited in the south, except that it was much bigger. We stopped first to watch some musicians, who were playing in a booth close to the front of the place. They were playing Rajasthani folk music and I loved it! Instruments included a bowed string instrument with lots of strings that were fingered with the side of the fingernail (sarangi), a flute, a harmonium (piano that had bellows to pump with one hand while you played), drum (dholak), jaw harp, and singing, of course. We stayed with them for a long time, then went on to visit some of the vendors and see some of the houses - different styles of traditional north Indian homes. We bought some earrings and wandered through the museum there, then came out and heard some more music. We went to investigate. There were a group














of men with instruments, but one older man and a boy were playing a kind of duel with these talking drums - we should have written down the name, but I think it was something like pakpak. You play them by holding the drum under your arm. A long gut string with a handle is attached to the head and you hold that taught with one hand and pluck the string with a pick with the other hand. Changing the tension changes the pitch. Larry tried it out and we ended up bringing one home!



As we headed back to the front of the village a large group of dancers came out and did some sort of hunting dance, one of them was dressed like an animal and one held a bow and arrow. There was also a camel sitting there, looking bored.


We found our driver and headed back to Udaipur to visit the City Palace. That is an amazing place! You enter through a huge courtyard where there used to be elephant fights, then step through a huge portcullis into the main palace. As we walked each room became more and more ornate, with glasswork, brilliant tiles, beautiful marble floors. The hallways were very narrow and many windows were covered with intricate stone latticework. One room had gorgeous peacocks in brilliant blue stone on the walls. One room had such intricate murals that you could spend hours trying to follow the stories in all of them. There was a hallway that was lined completely with bright stained-glass windows.

It was very easy to envision people living there, and I think that the Maharana did live there until the 1990s. It is now in public trust. We saw photos of the royal family and tons of paintings of elephant fights, tiger hunts, fights between elephants and tigers...I guess that used to be one of the primary sources of entertainment.

After visiting the City Palace we walked around and bought some things. At one shop I remember being so shocked by the low price he quoted us that I didn't bargain much at all, and I know that I could have gotten a much better deal. Bargaining was hard for me, mostly because we were usually negotiating such small amounts in US money and the people there really needed it. But people had a lot more respect for you if you bargained, so we did it. I know that no matter how well we did we paid way more than anyone living in India would, and the vendors must have felt good about the price they got, so it all worked out ok.

We were passing by one shop when the man in the door said, "You passed by yesterday and said you would come in today. I remember you!" So we went in and visited with him for a bit. He told us the story of Ganesh, which was interesting, and we looked at some of his work. Just as we were negotiating to by a painting on camel bone the power went out. It was really dark - no lights on at all. They brought candles and everything went on as usual.

That evening we went to a light and sound show at the City Palace that was pretty cheezy, but interesting. It recounted some of the interesting history about the place. There was one story of a woman who saved the young prince by placing her own son in his bed when the evil Uncle was looking to cut off his head and steal the kingdom for himself. There's another story of the women in the palace being beseiged and when they thought all hope of victory was lost they built a huge fire and jumped into it - better to die honorably than to become the slaves of their conquerors. Pretty intense.

We found a driver after the show and asked him to take us to the Ambrai restaurant and then back to our haveli. Our host had told us to make sure to ask the driver to wait, because she once had guests out late in the evening and all of the drivers had gone to bed, so they couldn't get home! They ended up being rescued by a young man on a motorcycle, who gave them a lift back to the place.

The restaurant was right on Lake Pichola, and we sat out on the terrace looking at the Lake Palace in all of it's splendor, and the City Palace, and felt very lucky to be where we were.