It was the last day of our sightseeing trip
through Rajasthan. We were through the fertile and sterile land of this
colourful state that brought alive the yester years of ambitious rulers, their
comfortable citadels accommodating all their conjugal partners and their desires,
anxious military hoardings, massive forts and protective stone walls devoid of
any of our technological and communicative devices. Today we are breathless
about power cuts, network problems, recharging failures, computer crashes and
what not. But people of those days never seemed to have complained about all
these human failures.
The bright day began with
the customary visit to Birla Mandir, at the foot of a huge hill. Contrary to
the locations we had visited all these six days, this pristine white marble
temple for Goddess Laxmi and Lord Narayan
was built in 1988 by the industrial tycoons well known in India. There
wasn’t any entrance fee. After a brief sojourn around the courtyard and
photo poses, we moved to the old walled pink city. The buildings were all in
pink to please a British King who had visited the city in 1727 when the city was ruled by Jaisingh II. The city palace attracted many
tourists from all over India and abroad. As usual an English speaking guide led
us inside stopping now and then to explain a historical tale to half listening tourists.
The overpriced entry fee went to the descendant of royal family. They say that
a particular flag’s position in the mast publicly declared the presence or
absence of the royalty. A pair of huge
silver pots drew many of us around them. The king whose habit was to drink
water from the holy Ganges was constrained to travel abroad and hence his forethought
of carrying these silver pots filled with the holy water. The royal family
members were habituated to eat in silver dinner wares which protected
them from poisonous adulteration. The silver containers would change their
colour if the contents are poisonous, we were told. Soon we were driven to the
Amber Fort, built in the sixteenth century by Raja Man Singh. The narrow roads leading to the fort could
accommodate only small vehicles and hence we had to hire jeeps from the parking
lot. Having visited forts almost all six
days and learned about the whimsical preferences of the rulers, we quickly went
around the vast courtyards and halls. Nobody should miss the Sheesh Mahal or
the mirror palace built with beautiful precious stones and glass. The walls and
the ceiling were all painted with floral decorations. One wondered how much of
effort and wealth were spent those days
to accomplish such display of art and
wonder. It is said that without architecture we cannot remember. This tour helped me to remember indeed, the ambitions of yester rulers, their private and public life, their contributions and service. Long walks since morning left us
tired and hungry and most of us wanted to taste Rajasthan cuisine. A hotel at
the foot of the fort had food enough to cater to our taste and with memories of
our tourism hungry journey we were heading towards the capital to board the
flight back home.
It was the last day of our sightseeing trip
through Rajasthan. We were through the fertile and sterile land of this
colourful state that brought alive the yester years of ambitious rulers, their
comfortable citadels accommodating all their conjugal partners and their desires,
anxious military hoardings, massive forts and protective stone walls devoid of
any of our technological and communicative devices. Today we are breathless
about power cuts, network problems, recharging failures, computer crashes and
what not. But people of those days never seemed to have complained about all
these human failures. 
The bright day began with
the customary visit to Birla Mandir, at the foot of a huge hill. Contrary to
the locations we had visited all these six days, this pristine white marble
temple for Goddess Laxmi and Lord Narayan
was built in 1988 by the industrial tycoons well known in India. There
wasn’t any entrance fee. After a brief sojourn around the courtyard and
photo poses, we moved to the old walled pink city. The buildings were all in
pink to please a British King who had visited the city in 1727 when the city was ruled by Jaisingh II. The city palace attracted many
tourists from all over India and abroad. As usual an English speaking guide led
us inside stopping now and then to explain a historical tale to half listening tourists.
The overpriced entry fee went to the descendant of royal family. They say that
a particular flag’s position in the mast publicly declared the presence or
absence of the royalty. A pair of huge
silver pots drew many of us around them. The king whose habit was to drink
water from the holy Ganges was constrained to travel abroad and hence his forethought
of carrying these silver pots filled with the holy water. The royal family
members were habituated to eat in silver dinner wares which protected
them from poisonous adulteration. The silver containers would change their
colour if the contents are poisonous, we were told. Soon we were driven to the
Amber Fort, built in the sixteenth century by Raja Man Singh. The narrow roads leading to the fort could
accommodate only small vehicles and hence we had to hire jeeps from the parking
lot. Having visited forts almost all six
days and learned about the whimsical preferences of the rulers, we quickly went
around the vast courtyards and halls. Nobody should miss the Sheesh Mahal or
the mirror palace built with beautiful precious stones and glass. The walls and
the ceiling were all painted with floral decorations. One wondered how much of
effort and wealth were spent those days