11/12/11
We have just moved from the Oberoi Hotel to the Lake Palace in Udaipur. I am working hard to catch up, but am still a few days behind.
To find Deogarh, look on a map of India and find Udaipur first and then look a bit northerly until you find Pushkar. Deogarh is about half way between the two towns on a lesser used road.
Narrow street in Deogarh village
The drive there, on November 8, was far too interesting to sleep through. We started off traveling through small fields of cotton and vegetables and gradually climbed into increasingly hilly, semi-arid country. Then that gave way to dense green forest designated as wildlife preserve. Where were we headed? Finally we arrive at a small village beside a lake. We got off the bus at the lake edge and climbed into two WWI I troop haulers. Slowly the trucks drove up the narrow winding streets of the village to the top where there was a 400 year old palace. At the entrance, we de-trucked and checked in.
The palace in Deogarh at the top of the village
What a charming place we “discovered”. The 17th century fortress-palace was converted into a hotel a couple of decades ago and provides the village with employment and tourists to keep the townspeople busy. We felt perfectly comfortable walking around at all hours. Not only was the place charming, it was cleaner than any place we have been in India so far. Except for the trucks that delivered guests, there were no cars allowed. The only motorized traffic was scooters.
Deogarh Palace courtyard
The medieval, castle-like palace was a maze of uneven, steep, multi-sized steps leading in all directions. For the next two days we all had trouble finding our way around. Apparently, the castle was built that way to protect the occupants from unwanted intruders. There are about 60 guest rooms and a large number of small to large public rooms, many of which we stumbled upon in our search for our own room. At one point we found ourselves on the parapets and were treated to great views of the Aravalli range of mountains we had just traveled through, as well as the lake and the village below. The last maharaja to live here still owns the property and his family still visit the hotel regularly, although they no longer live there. We met the maharini on evening during cocktails. Our room was a collection of spaces and latice-screened cubicles. The small openings looked down onto the garden and courtyard. The stone walls were very thick in places and we could use our computer in only a couple of spots by a window. Clean, good bed, big bathroom, bad shower.
WWII troop carriers in new Deogarh
After a long, too long, lunch on our arrival day, we climbed back onto the stadium seating trucks for a ride over dirt roads to view birds–we did spot a kingfisher, a lap wing, a cormorant and some egrets–and visit a hamlet of the Rabari, meaning “outsider”, tribe. These people are traditional herders of camels, cattle and goats and thus need large grazing areas which causes them to be nomadic and live on the edges of towns. Many of the goats had brown on brown markings that made Daisy suggest they were dalmation goats. We also stopped at a very unusual Shiva temple built into the side of a large cave. An image of the god was set into a nitch amid old incense and much dust. At the back of the cave we found several bats hanging upside down like—well, bats. None of us were crazy about the odor in that place and we were glad to get out. We continued on to a pretty lake for sunset and were treated to tables full of appetizers, all deep fried, and a full bar—a real sundowner—provided by the castle staff.
After dinner, Mark and I walked down into the village and checked out a few shops. The speciality here is textiles. I spotted one store I liked and ended up buying place mats, napkins and table runners. He promised to make larger napkins over night and told me I could get them the next afternoon. Back in our room I tried to work on the blog, but the wifi was not working and I had to give up. Had another restless night as the room was warm and there was a lot of commotion in the courtyard until very late.
Deogarh train to nowhere
November 9 was the day we took our first Indian train ride. The old and very tired, but still functional, British train station was just outside the village. The train was just as old and tired–narrow gauged and diesel operated. There were a handful of cars with wooden bench seats. Most of them were partially full of Indians. We had no idea where the train was destined, but we got into the very last car which had only a few locals. Unfortunately, there was no passage from one car to the next so we were obliged to chat only with those few folks. We all took lots of photos of them and tried to communicate. Pretty difficult as they knew only a few words of English. The train took us up into the Aravalli mountains, across several trestles and through a couple of tunnels. The scenery was dry, mediterranean-like with grass land, scrub and some trees–somewhat like Southern California. It stopped a couple of times in the middle of nowhere and let a few people off including the locals riding in our car. We waved good bye as we pulled out of sight. After about an hour and a half it arrived at a station where we debarked. Our bus was there to meet us and brought us back to Deogarh. It was a fun experience and just long enough. Unless our program changes dramatically, it will have been the only train ride of our trip.
New clothes in a Deogarh shop
Back at the palace in time for lunch, we ate lightly and walked into town to shop. As much as I hate shopping, I felt compelled to find an Indian outfit that I could wear while we are in India and also when we get home. So when I picked up the completed napkins, I mentioned the sort of outfit I had in mind and the shopkeeper pulled out just about everything he had to try to find something that I would like. I refused to have anything made as I am not too thrilled with the one outfit that was made for me in Jaipur. Did I forget to tell you about that? Never mind. While I was trying on many things, Mark went for a motorcycle ride with the helper to pick up clothes from other shops to see if they would work. None of them worked. Finally I was ready to give up, when the shop owner insisted on going himself. He and Mark rode off while I cooled my heels. The outfit they brought back was, happily for all of us, a winner.
Then Mark decided we needed to get some money from an ATM. This time, I wanted to go for a ride, so the helper and I rode off to the ATM while the shop owner tried to sell Mark a shirt. It was a super ride. We had to go out of the old village to the newer part of town. In no time I had the money and the assistant, a young 23 year old, insisted on driving me to his house where he lives with his parents. It was a charming middle-class home. His mother and brother were sitting outdoors along with a neighbor. I refused to get off the bike, so we chatted a few minutes across the yard. Everyone in his family is well educated. His ambition is to become a shop owner in his own right. My impression was that he has a lot to learn. Anyway, it was a treat to see his home and I would have liked to visit properly, but I knew Mark was waiting, so we roared off back to the shop. Mark had refused all suggestions and was more than ready to move on. I wore the new outfit to dinner that night and received a few compliments.
Jain Temple at Ranakpur
We bid the palace staff good bye at 9am the morning of November 10 and drove for three hours through more mountainous terrain and denser forest to a spectacular Jain temple completed in 1449, after 65 years of construction, in a place called Ranakpur. The most important Jain temple in India, the all white marble complex is noted for its 29 halls supported by 1,444 pillars, each adorned with hundreds of carved figures. No two columns are alike.
Head priest and Daisy in Jain temple
It is an active Jain shrine and the head priest, sporting a tidy gray beard and dressed in yellow-orange robes, came to our group and gave us a lovely and longish blessing that sounded nice, even if it was unintelligible. We wandered around the temple for about 45 minutes and finally left. Mark thought it was the best temple we have seen in India to date.
Jainism is an offshoot of Hinduism, just as Buddhism is. Buddha and Mahavida, the 24th Founder of Jainism, were contemporaries and it is believed that they met each other once. Both belief systems came into being during the 6th century BC after much reaction to the increasingly liberal Hindu system. Jainism is ultra conservative: No killing of anything; totally vegetarian; emphasis on equality, rather than the caste system; practiced non-violence and compassion. Today Jains represent a very small percentage of society. However, this was our second Jain temple. The first was at Khajeraho, where we had a very orthodox and dogmatic guide telling us about the wonderfulness of Jainism. Anyway, this temple in Ranakpur is considered one of the 7 wonders of India and we were very impressed.
As we were all anxious to get to Udaipur and the highly rated Oberoi Hotel, we agreed to pass on the planned lunch stop and eat snacks on the bus. Having eaten three meals a day for so many days, it felt good to pass up a meal. It took another two hours before we arrived at the Oberoi around 3pm. No more long bus rides for us.
Adventures with Julia 