Jaunt to Jodhpur (28-29 Dec 2015)

Dedicated to my grandsons Ashwin, Rishi and Rohan

RAJASTHAN CALLING  -  Part 5

Jaunt to Jodhpur (28-29 Dec 2015)

When we talk of Rajasthan, two things stand out  First, the cities are named after the kings who built them - Udaipur, by Udai Singh; Jodhpur, by Jodha Singh, Jaipur, by Jai Singh, and Jaisalmer, by Rawal Jaisal.
Second, each city has a color associated with it. Udaipur is called the White City, owing to the white buildings and houses. Jodhpur, the Blue City, due to the vivid blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort. Jaisalmer, the Golden City owing to the yellow sandstone and the yellow sand used in almost all architecture of the city. And, Jaipur, the Pink City, because of the color of the stone exclusively used for the construction of all the structure.

We drove to the famous Shrinath temple, of Lord Krishna.  The divine form of Shrinathji is said to be self-manifested. The idol of the Lord Krishna was being transferred to a safer place from Govardhan to protect it from Mughal ruler Aurangzeb who was on a destruction spree. When the idol reached the spot at village Sihad or Sinhad, the wheels of bullock cart in which the idol was being transported sank axle-deep in mud and could not be moved any farther. The accompanying priests realised that the particular place was the Lord's chosen spot and accordingly, a temple was built there in 1672. We had a good darshan although we had to labour hard.

We made an impromptu stopover at two historical places, viz., Haldighati, and Kumbal Garh Fort on the way. The Battle of Haldighati was fought between Maharana Pratap and Akbar's forces led by Man Singh I. Maharana Pratap's horse Chetak jumped a 21 ft wide river in order to save its master, but was fatally wounded. Maharana Pratap erected a small monument for his horse at the place where Chetak fell. Chetak was believed to be a 9 ft high Arabian horse. A fifteen-minute documentary depicts very well the battle. In addition, visitors pass through a dark cave-like area (a la Disneyland) to witness re-enactment of the whole battle with sound effects and light. It was one of the best places we visited.

Next it was to Kumbal Garh Fort. It was where Rana Pratap was born and brought up. Surrounding the fort, it has the longest wall which is next only to the Great Wall of China. It required a lot of climbing, hence some of us preferred not to venture beyond a point, and helped ourselves with snacks from the nearest shop, as the others toiled their way.

By the time we checked into our hotel in Jodhpur it was 5.30 in the evening. Mandore Guest House looked like a farm house with several small huts built in it with all modern facilities. We had a candle-light dinner at their restaurant before we called it a day.

Next morning it was the turn of Mehran Garh Fort, Jaswant Thada and Umaid Bhawan palace. The Mehrangarh fort was built in 1460 and is  410 ft above the city. It is one of the most well-stocked museums in Rajasthan. The Jaswant Thada was built in 1899 in memory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh. The mausoleum is built out of intricately carved sheets of marble. Umaid Bhawan Palace is one of the world's largest private residences. A part of the palace is managed by Taj Hotels. Named after Maharaja Umaid Singh, this edifice has 347 rooms.  A part of the palace also houses a museum. All well worth a visit.

By now Gungun and Mannu had become a little restive, muttering, ‘fort, Fort, and FORT’. Ashutosh got the hint, and announced. “Well, how many of you would like to go to a movie - Bajirao Mastani?” All of us raised our hands. And there we were in the theatre watching the movie - though king, queen, warrior, battle, all over again.

We went to bed early so as to leave at 7 next morning and reach Jaisalmer in time to be picked up from our hotel for the camel ride, etc.

(Next: Off to Jaisalmer - the Golden city, sunset city or the Indo-Pak border)