Walk Softly and Carry a Monkey Stick

Headed out from Udaipur for a jaunt in the country- or rather, a trip to Mt Abu. Great view out the window, proving the old axiom about the journey, not just the destination. Gradually, the touristy shops of Udaipur gave way to local markets, selling objects of actual use to Indian people. Men pushing rickshaws and singing their broomselling or chai-vending jingles passing little tire shops and mechanic shops, with men in turbans sipping chai in circles and chatting. Past camel-carts and rickshaws, weaving around copulating cows and even past a saffron-turbaned man washing his elephant on the side of the road. One memorable sight was a multistory glass and steel hotel going up on the outskirts of town, at least ten or fifteen stories high, but a construction scaffolding that was entirely made of bamboo! I cant believe I missed the picture. Eventually we passed under the sign leaving Udaipur reading "Thank you, please come again!" and we were headed deeper into the countryside. Nothing much for a while but children playing cricket and cement walls, whose only purpose seems to be providing space for signs advertising cement, and the occasional ad for English classes (guaranteed 100% call center placement!!) We pulled up to a roadside dhaba and had some of the best samosas of my life for breakfast, eating on the morning's newspaper before hitting the road again.

Past more shanty towns of trash bag houses and humans sleeping in filth and rooting through garbage, past roadside mini-mosques where Muslim truck drivers stopped to offer prayers. Eventually we came to some sort of freeway under construction- with construction seemingly by hand (and head, given that people were carrying cement and asphault in bowls atop their heads). We'd get up to speed for about three minutes, then suddenly the road would end, drive down some one-lane dirt roads for a few minutes, then back onto the highway, then back off again moments later and on and on for at least an hour. It was as if instead of building the road beginning at point A and working toward point B, they were just letting each village build their own
section. Which, maybe they were, given that just getting people to work must be extremely difficult. Even when the highway was decent for a few minutes, the Indian people seemed to want to drive on both sides of the divide, in both directions, typically in the middle of the lanes.
Eventually we would our way up into the mountains, and the scenery was drastically changed and more green and lush from mostly desert Rajasthan. The views over the valley were spectacular, even with all the fog and haze, and eventually we made it to the little town of Mt. Abu in our little taxi.
We found a decent enough though overpriced hotel overlooking the lake, and set out to explore what the area is best known for- the 1000 year old Jain temples, carved to incredible intricacy in marble. Photography was not allowed, but it will be hard to forget the incredible detail in the enormous temples, the ceilings in particular were almost alive, dripping with elaborate designs that were almost so thin light came through, in the shapes of gods and demons, but also just sea-anenome-like organic shapes. As usual, words cant do it justice, so I will try to import some pictures from elsewhere to demonstrate. The Jain temples are also incredible serene, and just lovely places to sit and escape the chaos and filth of India for a while. After the temples, we wandered around Mt. Abu where there were tons of Indian tourists (a popular honeymoon spot) and almost no westerners. We were photographed like crazy. One girl was frantically whispering to her father, who came and asked us in English where we were from and could the daughter be in a picture with us. We said USA, and the girl looked ecstatic, she was then literally shaking with excitement while her dad took the picture, and was kind enough to thank us for our trouble. The town, as I described, was a funny combo of mostly Indian tourists and honeymooners, and was really tacky in a very Indian way. For example, a cute lake with bright colored pedal swan boats, and a larger dinner boat named "the Titanic" in a fit of bad judgment or perhaps cultural misunderstanding. (What next, our plane to delhi is called the Hindenberg?) The food in town thankfully, was excellent, got the local thali, and there were some great hikes around.
We also stopped by the Brahma Kumari museum, a sort of cult with branches all over the world with a truly bizarre museum with amazing life-sized dioramas of various vices and members that dressed exactly like the movementarians from The Simpsons.
Next day we were up and headed to Ranakpur, site of more Jain temples. Sadly, no stop at the cafe coffee day we passed (the Indian coffee chain that inexplicably doesnt open until 10am!). The road was beautiful, winding through small villages with just a small market, sometimes nothing but a municipal water pump where women and children were gathered, filling their water canteens to carry back to their homes balanced on their heads. In the smaller towns, many of the Hindu women even cover their faces with a veil. Ranakpur was similar in style to the Dilwara temples at Mt. Abu, though grander in scale with less intricate, though still impressive carving. A few pilgrims were there, wearing their pilgrim clothing and walking softly, covering their mouths with a cloth so as not to accidentally breathe in and hurt any living creature. Impressive and beautiful, the place and the ceremonies we observed.

From Ranakpur it was through more incredible countryside and small tribal villages by one-lane road- somehow reminiscent of Italy or southern Spain, hilly and a little bit dry, and huts with brick roofs that probably gave it that Mediterannean vibe. Much of the time I leaned out the window trying to capture the perfect photo of a village scene, or at least village woman with the giant nosering. Mostly came up empty handed. From there it was on to Kumbargarh fort, a decent enough fort and palace complex, distinguished from others mostly by the fact that the views were not overlooking smoggy cities, but just rural landscape, other mountains and green valleys below. Home again to Udaipur, more chaotic and western touristy, but still far calmer than the rest of India thus far...

Tomorrow, more on Udaipur, Tuesday's cooking lesson and other observations...

(Pictures, as usual, not mine)