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| Scintillating Rajasthan |
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My latest visit to Ajmer and Pushkar had a lot in store for us than usual. I was accompanied by the untouchables Manan and Robin along with a very good friend Kaku (Kartikey Sharma). It all started from Delhi. We decided to leave at night and to set the mood we had some beers, and our next destination was ISBT Delhi (we tried the train but all in vain as no seats were available as our trip was not pre-planned). The only train journey we had was in the metro till Kashmiri gate (Bus station). On reaching, we found out that there is no bus service to Ajmer at night of either state. Seeing us strolling on the platform where one is supposed to get the bus to Jaipur and Ajmer we were approached by a bulky man with a fair complexion. He asked us where were we heading to and told us that he could arrange for our travel. He took us to a office of a traveling agent who charged ₨350/- for each seat in a bus that was heading to Ajmer. The bus was supposed to leave at 10:00PM from Fatehpuri or the old Delhi railway station. We reached at around 9:30PM at Fatehpuri and there was this whole fleet of semi-sleeper/semi-deluxe buses lined up to leave for different places with luggage stacked over them as high as the bus was itself making it look like a double decker bus. The luggage had everything from a needle to a television. The bus which was supposed to leave at 10:00PM left at around 12:30AM as it was being turned into a “double decker”. The driver was so sleepy that he was sleeping on the drivers seat and he just woke up and started driving the bus. It was a relief as the bus rolled out of Delhi. The normal rout to Jaipur is N.H.8 but these buses take a different route to Jaipur once they cross Gurgaon as the toll on N.H.8 lessens the margin of profit for the buses, even the State transport buses follow the same rout. Rest of the night we were all asleep and I realized that the nights in the deserts are quite cold. The morning was all together a different experience with a totally different flora all around. The most part being dominated by the camel color. We were welcomed by a bright orange sun showing the massive walls of ancient times which encircles the Jaipur city. We were still 18Kms from Jaipur but could easily make out that the city is full of palaces, forts and temples. We were not to break our journey as our destination was yet 148Kms away. We passed through the entire Jaipur city seeing the rich heritage of ancient India. The area around the Hawa Mahal is painted pink and thus the city is known as the ‘Pink city of India’. The Hawa Mahal is itself a big structural marvel, housing around 500 or more shops with the pink color dominating the scene. Jaipur is a big city and it took us around an hour to cross it. It took us around 6 hours to cover a distance of 272Kms from Delhi. After Jaipur the buses follow the N.H.8 till Ajmer. The topography and scenery varies from place to place but it remains fairly constant throughout. The region beyond Jaipur is hot and semi-deserted with very few trees and green vegetation. The prominence of the camel color is made indifferent only by the colorful clothing of the traditional Rajasthani people especially the women. The men usually are seen dressed in white dhoti-kurta with a bright lehariya turban. Providing a contrast to men, Rajasthani women present the true essence of life, dressed in a bright color (red, green, pink, yellow) ghagra-choli or a saree with lots of ornaments like jhumka, nathani,necklace and a number of bangles made of ivory and lakh, there are a few more but I can only name these. Truly the women there fill the environment with color which the god’s has deprived the landscape off. We were about to reach Ajmer and the arravali hills started along the road 30Kms short of Ajmer. At 11:00AM we were there, it was scorching hot so we decided to head to Pushkar directly. Ajmer is like an oasis and is quite a big city. Pushkar lies on the other side of the arravali hills. To reach Pushkar, one has to cross these hills, which are locally known as the Nag (snake) hill as we move on a serpentine road. Pushkar is a small holy city and is more deserted. The arravali hills divide the semi-desert and desert area. It is famous for its lake, Brahma temple said to be the only temple in the world dedicated to the deity and the Pushkar (camel) fair. The life in the city is very much related to the Pushkar Lake. Mythology mentions that the ancient lake was formed when a lotus flower fell in the valley from the hands of Brahma. The lake is surrounded by 52 ghats and the area constitutes more than 1000 temples. Our first aim on reaching Pushkar was to satisfy our growling stomachs. Rajasthani food is generally spicy. Specialty of the state is dal, batti–churma but spices are an inevitable part of the diet. The food was delicious and with our tummies full and a journey of 400Kms behind us we needed rest, so we went through the market to find a hotel. We were amazed to see such a huge, colorful and vibrant market in a place like Pushkar . There were more foreigners than Indians. Later when we got our hotel (The same hotel in which David Coleman Headley stayed), we came to know from the manager that the Pushkar fair was about to start in two weeks time. The reason for the presence of a large number of foreigners was the fair. We took rest for an hour or two and later left to explore Pushkar. The idea was to have something, to get rid of the heat. We asked for the wine shop from the manager and came to know that Pushkar is a liquor free city and we will have to go 4Kms to another neighboring village to get it. We just rushed through the market to reach there. At the end of the market came a place, with a large number of camels. This place was for camel safaris and after sorting out a deal with the camel handler to take us to the wine shop and back.
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| The Camel Safari |
We hopped into the camel cart, the name of the camel was ‘Raju’ and his handlers name was Bagha Singh. The camel, at the first touch feels like a rough carpet. After moving for just a few meters, Raju farted and we just died laughing. Bagha Singh ji very innocently told us “agar paadhega nahi to marr jaayega” if he’ll not fart he’ll die. Clarifying, he told us that Raju drinks 35 to 40 liters of water a day.He can survive for 4 – 5 days easily and many more things about himself and his camel. We reached the wine shop took beers from there. The most amazing thing was that the shop adjoining the wine shop was labeled ‘Sarkari manjoorshuda bhang ka theeka’ (A government authorized Cannabis Shop) On enquiring, we came to know that one gets the Bhang ladoos there. We decided to try them the next day. We left the place to get back to the starting point and had a beer each including Bagha Singh ji . I was amazed to see him drink beer like it was water; he was thirsty for ages, I thought. It was really an extraordinary experience to meet such a humble man. With the sun setting on the far horizon and you enjoying beer riding on the back of the ‘Ship of the Desert’, truly a fuck all experience. On our way back, we were chased by the kids of the Gujars (Gang of Ballia and his friends) asking for the bottle of beer (empty of course) When asked they told us they get a Rupee for each bottle. Later we decided to take the camel cart to our hotel. He agreed as it would have been difficult to sneak through the market carrying beers. On reaching the hotel we were overwhelmed by the experience, had our beers there. Later left to see the sacred lake at dusk. As we approached the lake through one of the 52 ghats a hyperactive holy man appeared, telling us that we needed to have a puja (prayer) performed. We refused for an obvious reason that we were drunk and just wanted to enjoy the splendor and tranquility of the place but he refused to budge. He was mean, forceful and annoying and told us that we were disrespectful and were accumulating bad karma.We simplified it for him telling him that we were drunk and will perform the puja the next day. He disappeared without uttering a word.
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| The Pushakar Lake |
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The lake was pleasant with a very relaxed atmosphere; it was really an enjoyable and memorable evening. As the darkness leaped over the lake we again decided to have something for the night. We hired the rickshaws to the wine shop, we bought a vodka for the night and those ‘Bhang ladoos’ for the next day. On our way back, we were held by the Rajasthan police just 100 meters from the wine shop (Pushkar city boundary starts from their) with a bottle of vodka and those ladoos. We were made to sit in the police jeep on the charges of smuggling drugs . It took us about two hours to negotiate with them and the amount of bribe was Rs10,ooo. The main cause of such a huge bribe was that it was a festive season and Diwali was just around the corner. (Hamara diwala nikal ke saalon ne Diwali manai) Those assholes took everything from us the vodka bottle and the ladoos. We, shameless people were not even moved by this but were laughing on our stupidity enjoying the moment. I guess the beers we had earlier were making us enjoy the moment rather than regreting it. The night was all obscure as we all fell asleep on reaching our hotel and yes we covered the distance on foot (4Kms). The next morning completing our routine, we left the hotel. Our whole budget was shaken; as the policemen were to have a Diwali with our money and we went to the lake to perform the puja . The same man appeared to take us to perform the puja. He told us that each one has to offer prayers separately and only couples can perform a combined puja, and from god knows where three more holy men appeared to make us help perform puja. Trust me they all are burglars with a sole motive of bringing out as much money as they can in the name of god. I was even wondering how a true priest or any good person for that matter can have such a blatant negative motive. Anyhow having said all this and being a Hindu, even I couldn’t refuse him anything. After the completion of the puja and satisfying our ancestors, we went to have our breakfast after which we left for Ajmer. Ajmer is surrounded by hills and lies on the edge of the arravali hills. The city symbolizes unity in diversity with an extremely secular environment and a unifying shrine. It is known for its famous Dargah Sharif, the abode of the heavenly soul of Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chisti. It is also known as the ‘Garib Nawaz’ and ‘The Madina of India’.
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| The Dargah Sharif at Ajmer |
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Men and women, young and old in countless numbers from every nook and corner of the country and abroad, of all religion and cast flock the Dargah. In the spiritual ambience of the shrine they all are just human beings and nothing else. Here too like Pushkar the holy men are greedy with a sole motive of fleecing money from the visitors. It was heartbreaking. Dargah is quite massive, with lots of small housings around the sanctum-Santorum. One can easily get confused with the number of people there and the complexity of the Dargah. There is a ‘Jannati Darwaza’ in the vicinity of the Dargah said to lead to Jannat(Heaven). It is said that the sufi saint has such a grace there that the two big handis installed there never fill up, no matter how much you pour into them. Be it money or the grain. The Dargah market is full of sweet shops ,flower shops, Chadder shop which are offered in the Dargah as offerings to the sufi saint and meat shops as eating places. There is no place for a vegetarian (like me) to eat in the whole market. The other annoying thing was that there were lot of beggars in the market . Once you come out of the Dargah they ask for money or food. As was the case with us,we were followed by a very young woman carrying a baby asking for money and food. She followed us all the way through the market. The remaining time of ours was all spent at the Anasagar lake right their in the Ajmer city as we had to catch a bus in the evening back to Delhi.All thanks to those policemen. Anasagar is a big lake, the Ajmer city is all settled around it. The lake is named after Anaji Chauchan ,once a ruler of Ajmer. The ‘Verandas’ (galleries) from where one could enjoy the view and the shade was built by Shah Jahan. It’s a nice place to keep one protected from direct sunlight. It has beautiful surroundings with lots of eating joints. I realized that Rajasthan is a place of extremes, it’s good and it’s bad, genuine and artificial. My emotional contrasts echoed everything I saw. I felt pacified, detached yet connected. As a whole I loved it, can’t wait to return.
