second time around

Back in Mumbai passing time and waiting for my 2:35 in the morning flight to Johannesburg. To pick the storyline back up where I left off, my very good driver Ratan took me over some of the worlds worst road to Karauli where I stayed at the Bhanwar Vilas Palace. It was built in 1932 when the Maharaja moved out of the big palace. It is now a “heritage hotel”. It is somewhat grubby and major hassle with pigeons so feathers and bird droppings in the courtyard. It was a little weird because I was the ONLY guest! I was a little distressed at first, and wondered why they had routed me to this small town for a shabby stay. Included was a “camel cart” ride to the palace, so the young worker from the hotel Niwas and I rode on the cart the couple of kilometers to the “palace”. Absolutely amazing! He and I were the only two people there and this place is huge, built from the 14th century to the 17th, and every bit as big and wonderful as the Amber Palace of Jaipur, only I am alone instead of with 4-5 hundred other tourists. Niwas explained that because of “government corruption” all the tourist funds go to Jaipur and none to Karauli so they can’t afford to restore the palace and it does not get promoted. This is sad, as it is on the way from Jaipur to Agra, and would be an easy stop for many tourists and would definitely help the economy there. After dinner I had a nice chat with the current Maharaja and Maharani who were very cordial and pleasant.

The next day on to Agra and the Taj Mahal. It truly is a wonder of the world. None of the markings are paint, they are all inlaid stone in Marble. This time of year it is foggy and hazy in most of India, so the views are a bit hazy. I learned more than I care to know about the Mughal emperors and the palace intrigues of the 12th to 18th centuries. Outside of Agra is a place called Fatehpur Sikri which was built by Emperor Akbar in the late 15th century and then was abandoned a few years later when the water mysteriously disappeared. As a result it is in pristine condition and was very fun to see.

All over India they save and utilize the cow dung. I was told that it is considered a part of the Sacred cow, and that the goddess Lakshmi is said to be in the dung. They do plaster it on walls, add it to straw for adobe, mix it for flooring and of course burn it for fuel. Passing by all the villages there are stacks of the cow pies drying on the ground and the roofs. I am not in Kansas anymore.

After Agra I went to a small town called Orchha. Perhaps 10,000 population and a very nice hotel. I had a nice tour of the old temples and palaces from the 12th – 17th century. I tend to lose track of the fact that 17th century was 500 years ago, you know; the time of the pilgrims. My lunch that day was at a “homestay” location. Just a regular Indian family living in a one room, dirt floor house. The food was very good, and I was amazed to see the wife cooking the chapati (indian flat bread). There was a tiny fire in a clay fire-pit with a rounded clay dome on one end. She would roll out the dough and place it on the dome for 20 seconds, flip it over for 20 seconds and then toss it onto the ash covered coals and it would puff up like a ball and toast. 20 seconds of that and then smack it down on a cloth to flatten it and shake off the ash.

Another overnight train ride to Varanasi. Again very pleasant and a decent night’s sleep. In the morning my cabin mates got off in Allahabad so the last three hours I was alone. Several stops waiting and finally I thought this must be the station, but out the window was no platform, only mud and water and other tracks. I walked up a car and found everyone else was gone, so I grabbed my stuff and sure enough a car length up the train the platform started.

Varanasi is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, and perhaps the holiest city in India. Hindus believe that to die in Varanasi (Kashi to them) and have your ashes placed in the Ganges allows the soul salvation. Mother Ganga springs from the head of Shiva in the Nepalese Himalayans and flows on down through India. Sunday, New Year’s day was raining all day and the town was pretty well shut down, so after a morning of walking in the rain and mud I just relaxed the rest of the day. The next morning I visited Sarnath which is the site where Sakyamuni Buddha preached his first sermon. This is a very holy site for Buddhist. Oddly enough, there are very few Buddhists in India. The Hindus declared that Buddha was the ninth incarnation of Lord Vishnu the protector and so is just a part of the Hindu faith, not a separate path. Ain’t religion interesting?

I flew to Delhi and had one day there to run around town seeing the usual tourist sights, which were fine; old palaces, Qutub Complex, Red fort, Gandhi memorial and then flew on to the southwest coast of India, Kerala. Kerala is another different part of India. This is such a huge country that each area has its own geography, history and culture. Kerala is hot and tropical, with palms and rice fields and the famous “backwaters of Kerala”. It is an area of lakes, canals and rivers intertwined over many square miles of area. They have enormous rice fields and live on and with the water. Fort Kochi was occupied by the Portuguese in 1500’s then the Dutch and finally the British. There is a very heavy Christian influence and population in this area. They use “chinese nets” to fish, large nets suspended from a long lever which they lower into the water and then after a time raise up again to see what they have caught. They also have “Kathakali Dancing” which is a style with very heavy makeup and through eye and hand gestures and music tells the mythical stories of ancient India.

I had one night at a wonderful rebuilt farm where my room was a rice storage room and the bathroom was outside with an open air shower (but marble floors, and very nice). The next day and night was on a houseboat cruising the water. They have rebuilt old rice barges into houseboats, with coir (coconut fiber) mats and rope, using no nails. It was very relaxing, although I was a little surprised to find I was not one of many passengers on a four bedroom boat, but was by myself on a one bedroom boat. This actually was great, as being much smaller we could go down the smaller canals and I found the time alone quite pleasant. The few days in Kerala were much quieter and calmer than the rest of India, no continual honking and massive crowds. It was good to settle down and regain some calm.

At the end of the day, having just barely scratched the surface of India it is as everyone says; an incredible experience. Love it or hate it, love it and hate it, India will leave an impression. The struggle of very old and brand new finding a balance, the fabulous wealth mixed right in with the grinding poverty, the food is fire hot or super sweet, medical tourism and rotting garbage in the streets, millions of new cars and drivers and no traffic rules, profound spiritual faith and acceptance of suffering. India is something special.

Tags: Travel

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