Armani In India? - Sweating It Out in Jodhpur

We awoke this morning from our hotel, the Ratan Vilas.  It is a really nice property with spacious rooms, nice seated courtyards, and a pool.  It is definitely a good bargain when compared to the ultra-expensive top hotel in Jodhpur, the Umaid Bhawan Palace operated by the Taj Group.  In contrast to the Jas Vilas, the staff at Ratan Vilas are much more distant creating less of a bed and breakfast-like atmosphere.  Nevertheless, they are extremely polite and accommodating.  We had a buffet breakfast and checked out.  Since we will be coming there after our trip to Jaisalmer, we stored two of our suitcases for when we come back.  Hopefully, they will still be there in a few days.

Prior to coming to Jodhpur, we had been told that the Mehrangarh Fort is a must-see attraction.  In fact, some people had told us it is the ONLY thing worth seeing in Jodhpur.  The fortress, sitting atop a plateau 400 ft above the city, is the largest one in all of Rajasthan.  We met up with our new driver, Padam Singh who took us up the long, winding road to the fort.

View of the Mehrangarh Fort from afar

The Majarajah of Jodhpur has really done an excellent job of converting the place into a tourist-friendly attraction.  An informative audio tour is included in the price of the admission.  Without a guide, we were able to see the entire fortress at our own leisurely pace.  Because the state of Jodhpur has a violent history, a total of seven gates were built for added protection.

Beautiful murals flanked the first gate to the fort.

The high walls of the castle have loomed over attackers and tourists alike.

Mehrangarh Fort has seen many sieges and battles during the tumultuous history of Rajasthan.

"Witch" or "Which?" A little proofreading never hurts.

Cannonball indentions in the walls of one gate, the Dedh Kamgra Pol.

The narrow corridor of one of the seven gates

A fragment of a door shows the 
violent history of the fortress.

A small cannon guards the 
rear of Mehrangarh Fort.

We then proceeded up a long, steep incline flanked by high fortress walls (alternatively, they have an elevator if needed).  It is easy to see why the Mehrangarh Fort was never conquered.

This passage ended in the Loha Pol, the final gate to the city.  

High ramparts allowed the defenders to fire down on any attackers.

This door with large iron spikes would be intimidating to attackers.

Above us, small swallows whipped back and forth, chirping continuously.  Looking up, we could see a large nests of them within the ceiling of the Loha Pol.

Who wants some birds nest soup?

One of the remarkable sites that cannot be missed are the colored handprints next to one of the main gates.  These were from the many wives of one of the previous rulers Man Singh.  When he died in the mid 19th century, his wives performed the sati ritual.  They all stepped in a large fire, and without a word, burned themselves to death.  Fortunately, this ancient Indian practice has long been banned.  But then again, how can the law punish you if you do it?

Handprints from Rajput concubines who perished from sati

Sadly, many of the handprints come from very small hands, as 
it was not uncommon for rulers to marry teenage princesses.

Once safely inside the fortress, the architecture becomes much more ostentatious.

 We enterred through the Suraj Pol into the main courtyard of the palace where the main exhibits were on display.

Sitting inconspicuously in the corner of the courtyard is the white marble
Shringar Chowk, the coronation throne of the Jodhpur rulers.

Hookah on display.  According to the audio tour,
opium is an integral part of the culture in this area.

On display is a large collection of howdah's, seats that were mounted on elephants.  These look much more comfortable than the ones they used at the Amber Fort

Inside the Palki Khana are many palanquins (litters) which were used to carry royalty.

There were some palanquins that adhere to the concept of purdah (the concealing of women from men).  Female nobility riding inside the litter could peek out of the curtains or screens, but onlookers were not able to gaze upon them.

This elaborate palanquin dates back to the 18th century.

It is completely covered in gold.

Since the Rajputs are of the warrior caste, armaments and armor are an important aspect of their history.

A small cannon

Sword belonging to the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great

The hilts of these ceremonial swords...

...are ornately decorated.

The Katar (punch dagger) inflicts devastating damage 
by springing open once an enemy is stabbed.

Firearm with an axe stock

Decorative armor plate

After leaving the armoury, we walked over to the Sheesha Mahal (Hall of Mirrors).

The next area was the Phool Mahal (Dancing Hall) which was built in the mid 18th century.  In the past, it was mainly used for parties and celebrations.  It is the most opulent room in the fort with pillars and a ceiling gilded with gold.

We then visited the Takhat Mahal which was built in the mid 1800's by the last Maharaja of Jodhpur who lived in the castle.  He used this room to entertain his 30 wives.  It is decorated with paintings on eclectic subjects ranging from Hindu gods to European ladies.

The last area on the tour included the Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace).  It is one of the oldest rooms in the fort dating back to the 16th century.  It was primarily used as a hall of public audiences.

Rocking cradle in the Jhanki Mahal (Peeping Palace), so named for the screens that
allowed the Maharaja's wives to observe the courtyard below without being seen.

After finishing the tour of the interior, we climbed up to the ramparts of Meharangarh Fort to get a better view of why Jodhpur is called the "Blue City."

Unfortunately, there is no consensus on why the locals paint their houses blue.

Several large cannons of different age and size are still positioned on the ramparts.

It was too hot and too far for us to walk the extra 200 foot to the Chamunda Devi Temple, nestled at one end of the fortress walls.

The Chamunda Devi Temple the site of a tragic stampede in 2008 that killed 249 Indian pilgrims.

As we were leaving, we encountered this couple and their baby near the exit to the fort.  While he played music, she sang a Rajasthani tune.  I guess I am not a big fan of traditional Indian music, because I thought she sounded like a wailing banshee.  I gave them 10 rupees, hoping it would quiet her down.  Unfortunately, I think it just encouraged her, so she wailed even louder.

They may not sound great, but at least they are carving out an honest living.

There are a couple of things worth mentioning.  First, there are zip lines here operated by a British company called the Flying Fox.  I had run across their website months before while researching the fort.  We were considering doing it as it looks fun.  However, in the end we decided to forego the activity.  I cannot imagine spending the two hours it would take in the intense Jodhpur sun.  I think the zip lines are probably more popular in the cooler months.

Second, when we purchased our tickets to the Mehragarth Fort, we also paid ~ 60 rupees/person to visit the palace gardens.  Try as we might, we couldn't find it.  Only as we were leaving did we realize that the entrance is in the rear of the fort, near the Flying Fox zip lines.  By that time, we were too hot and tired to really care about seeing it.

Finally, we got asked again by some random locals to take pictures with them.  This was the third time so far in India that we have gotten this odd request.  In all of our travels, nobody has ever wanted to photograph us.  I guess it is only fair that some of the locals may want a picture of us, when I keep snapping shots of them.  However, it makes me feel really self-conscious.  Is there something they know that I don't?  Is my fly unzipped?  Do I have a huge zit on my face?  Is there toilet paper stuck to my shoe?

After leaving the top attraction in Jodhpur, we stopped briefly at the Jaswant Thada, a white marble cenotaph built a century ago.  We had to take off our shoes to visit the temple.

At this point, nothing in white marble will give my pulse a rise anymore.  If I had never seen the Taj Mahal, then maybe I would have been more impressed with this work.  On the bright side, the white marble does seem to have a cooling effect on the inside temple.

Poopy pigeons + bare feet

= big mess

The altar inside the Jaswant Thada

There's a good view of the back side of Mehrangarth Fort from the Jaswant Thada.

Although there's a nice layer of slime on the lake, it is still teeming with fish.

We ate lunch at a restaurant called On the Rocks.  There is a nice, shaded outdoor eating area that was filled with tourist.  Despite the heat, the temperature is actually manageable in the shade.  Even though we ordered way too much food, it was so good we actually finished it off.  The only problem with the restaurant is that the tree that provides shade continuously sheds leaves onto your table and sometimes into your food.

We picked the lesser of two evils--leaves over direct sunlight.

The kesar and pista (saffron and cardamom) shake
was like ambrosia on the hot, sweltering day.

Chicken kathia roll

Gobi matar (cauliflower and peas)

Awadhi gosht korma (mutton with yogurt and Lucknow masala)

Kashmiri pulao (rice pilaf with dry fruits)

We then visited the Umaid Bhawan Palace, or really just a small fraction of it.  The palace is the newest of the main Rajasthani forts, having been built in the early 20th century.  The majority is used as a hotel.  The royal family uses another small fraction as their residence, and the last amount is open to the public as a museum.  For 50 Rs/ person, we saw displays which just seemed like a big tribute to the royal family.  As Harshwerdhan explained to us, the Majarajah of Jodhpur and his family have helped the locals both politically, serving in the Parliament, as well as economically, providing jobs for the poor. Unlike their counterpart in Jaipur, it seems that the royal family of Jodhpur are bigger celebrities to their people.  From our unbiased perspective, all the memorabilia of model airplanes, polo equipment, antique cars, and old knickknacks were not very interesting.

I did, however, enjoy seeing how the actual rooms compare to the original blueprints on display.  A fun fact that they reveal is that the original furniture for the fort was lost when the ship from England carrying it was sunk by a German U-boat in World War I.  Serves them right, trying to build such an extravagant palace during a time of war.  I do have to admit that the front lawn of the palace looks impressive.  However, it was roped off to keep unsavory elements like me away.

The majority of the Umaid Bhawan Palace is now a five-star Taj Group hotel.

Guests to the hotel are brought to the lobby in an uncovered horse-drawn carriage.

We took a quick tour of the Clock Tower and surrounding Sadar Market.  The sun was becoming too unbearable to walk around in such an unshaded area.

Before coming to Jodhpur, we came across a store called the Maharani Art Emporium.  A quick Google search will show several posts either extolling their great products or debunking their many "lies."  Not surprisingly,  Harshwerdhan brought us there during our tour of the market. The salesman gave us the usual spiel that all their textiles are hand-made by women in local tribes.  He then proceeded to throw out bed cover after bed cover, extolling their great handiwork and feel.  The traditional stuff didn't look any better than anything you can find elsewhere in Rajasthan.  Ten minutes into his presentation I was beginning to worry that he hadn't started dropping names of famous fashion houses.  Maybe we looked so low rent and dirty that we were not worth the effort.  It was relieving to finally hear him mention that he is exporting his modern (and better looking) textiles to Armani, Hermes, Etro, and Kenzo.  Yay, we still got it!

I have to admit, he does have a pretty good pitch, albeit most of it is probably B.S.  He would say "this bed cover sells for $1,500 at Armani, but we will sell it for only $250," and so on.  Prices are non-negotiable.  Most people would consider these to be a steal because, frankly, they ARE beautiful fabrics.  But every piece of cloth in India is a superb deal when compared to the price in the U.S. or Europe.  I think that he is cleverly capitalizing on the psyche of people who think they are getting an even extra deal because they think that very same scarf is destined for a Hermes boutique.  We've heard stories of people ordering thousands of dollars of product here to be shipped home.  I can guarantee that they would not spend like this at any other tourist shop.  I have no idea whether any of the products are designed by a big-time fashion house or not, but as the Romans say caveat emptor.

We decided to base our buying decision on the quality of the products alone.  The Wife really did like the "Hermes" bed cover.  At the 15 minute mark, the salesman cued up the obligatory remark "Richard Gere bought 108 pieces here."  I tried to ask him if he had heard the gerbil rumor before The Wife punched me in the arm.  The guy even produced a thank you letter from some former American ambassador.  We ended up buying that bed cover which was probably overpriced for India, but good for us.  She just hasn't seen anybody else carrying that particular one.

At the end, he tried to sell us some Vicuna scarfs.  He told us that the Vicuna threads are imported from Peru and can be weaved even cheaper in India.  He even went on to state that Vicuna's are protected in Peru and only one Italian fashion house is licensed to produce Vicuna goods there.  I then proceeded to tell him that we were in Peru last June and the major Peruvian clothing company Kuna sells Vicuna.  It is expensive and rare but definitely on the market.  Crickets.  I do have to admit that the scarfs are extremely soft and even passed the water test.  We may have even bought one except the designs were so damn fugly.

Despite our tepid response towards shopping, we were taken to yet another touristy store, this one selling jewelry.  We did not even try to politely fake interest.  I was acting even more cranky and obnoxious than usual because it was unbearably hot and sunny.  At this point we still had several hours before we were ready to board our overnight train to Jaisalmer.

Bless him for trying so hard, Harshwerdhan kept making unhelpful suggestions.

"Do you want to see anymore stores?" he asked.
"Do we enjoy getting ripped off?" I responded.

"Do you want to see a Bollywood movie?" he inquired.
"We don't understand Hindi,"  I said flatly.

"Maybe you want to come to my house?"  he asked meekly.
"Is that an invite for a play date?" I quipped back at him.

Finally we asked him to take us back to the Ratan Vilas.  They were great at offering the use of their facilities despite having already checked out.  We decided to lounge by the pool with some lime sodas.  This was one of the best swims of my life.  All my crankiness and wickedness dissipated once the sun set.

The best antidote to the Jodhpur heat!

We grabbed dinner at On the Rocks again.  Harshwerdhan had no other suggestions for alternative restaurants.  During lunch, I had this placed pegged as a typical, nicely-decorated establishment that catered only to tourists.  I was surprised to see that half of the diners were Indian (they seemed predominately upper middle-class).  The ambiance was disturbed by the gratuitously-loud techno music at the restaurant's bar.

The chicken "On the Rocks" tastes much better than it looks.

Mixed tandoori grilled meats

Aloo bukhara (potatoes with peas in a mixed nut stuffing)

Mughlai naan

The Wife especially liked the naan as it was fairly busy with different spices.  The mixed tandoori was a carnivore's dream.  Previously full from lunch, we couldn't finish all of it.

Harshwerdhan joined us for awhile while we ate, so we got a good chance to get to know him.  He is really just a kid of 19 years of age, having done tourism for a mere six months.  It kind of explained why he just was not you typical smooth-talking tour guide.  He acts pretty nervous and repeatedly checks to see if we are happy.  He did not check his phone messages every five minutes, an annoying behavior that every other guide seemed to do.  His uncle (his boss) did seem to call him hourly, I think, to make sure he wasn't screwing up.

He had some funny and bumbling answers to some of our questions.

"Are you interested in studying at a university?"  I asked.
"No, I'm not so smart in the head," he responded sadly. 

"What are some of your favorite non-vegetarian dishes when you go out to eat?"  I inquired.
"I never eat meat outside my home.  It is unsafe,"  he replied as I was devouring the tandoori mystery meat.  

It was actually refreshing to get a chance to speak with someone who was "real".  He gave us a pretty good idea what it is like growing up in a town like Jodhpur.  No drugs (except for the occasional opium tea at ceremonies), no violent crimes, no dating anxiety (arranged marriages), no fragmented families (males never move out of the house).  Harshwerdhan and Jodhpur exemplify a simpler, more naive life.