The Amateur Photographer: October 2013

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Jaipur Rendezvous

I wake up at dawn with a sore throat, risen body temperature and nausea. Plan for the day...roadtrip to Jaipur from Delhi. I had almost given up, only when my friend comes in with a life savior, steaming cup of tea. Few gulps down and I am already prepped up. I pop few antibiotics and ready to go!

My friend picks us up from Dwarka and the three of us head towards our destination. After last few days of scorching heat, the downpour comes as a respite. Only later, that we realize, we are stuck in an unending traffic in Gurgaon along with the vehicles playing water sports in the water clogged lanes.

We cross Haryana, where all that we could view was, vast stretches of sugarcane fields and heavy vehicles. Out of nowhere, what did we spot? A shopping mall, housing ostentatious brands right in the middle of nowhere. Obviously, we letup and fed ourselves a good brunch at Rathna Sagar.

The friend being a Punjabi, Honey Singh all the way. I can now boast of added vocabulary to "my" punjabi after listening to the punjabi folk ballads (Read: preponderant heartbroken songs).

We reach Jaipur in the evening and pause at the Jal Mahal Palace. The Man Sagar lake, situated to the north of Jaipur city, lies between Amer, the historic city and Jaipur, the provincial headquarters of Rajasthan. The lake is infested with fishes that feast on the fodder thrown in by the tourists.

This palace used to be the summer retreat for the royalties. Natural air contioning I say!

Jal Mahal Palace in the midst of Man Sagar Lake.

Chokhi Dhaani:

We check in to our hotel (Hotel Glitz) and lethargy dies out at the view from the balcony. Circumsphered with the Aravalli mountains, the city's charm manifolds as the innumerable soaring kites dot the sunset sky.

Dinner has to be authentic rajasthani cuisine. What better place than Chokhi Dhani. This place surmises the heritage, culture, cuisine, music and entertainment of Rajasthan. The night couldnt have been better, with candle lit dinner and live folk music and dance in the backdrop. The attendants in their ethnic attire appear with dollops of ghee and refilling our plate with Dal Baati churma, Bajre ki roti, Kadi Chawal, dahi bada, matka kulfi and what not. The venue rivets the guests with engaing activities like camel ride, elephant ride, magic show, kathputli show, fortune tellers, desi massage, hookah, folk dance and the list goes on...

The rajasthani thali....no dearth of ghee at all.

Kathputli show with live music. A rare experience

The balancing act.

Its called "biescope" in local language....For Rs 5 one can view a 5 min show. Slideshow of the bygone era. Wish PPTs remained the same.

Guests being served the authentic food the authentic way. #Happy Faces#

Amer Fort:

Next day we visit the much acclaimed Amer Fort. To all the bollywood buffs, this is where movies like Jodha Akbar, Veer, Bol Bachhan and Mirch were shot.

The impregnable fort built by king Man Singh, also the birth place of princess Jodha (who was married to the Mughal mogul, Akbar) exudes ace workmanship and architecture of the Rajput era.

I guess the pictures would do the rest of the narration.

Fort atop the forested mountain. No surprise it had never been attacked or usurped.

Window to the outside world for the ladies in the fort. Any mode of communication was through the transgenders employed to serve the royal ladies. Interesting!

The place where the king addressed political issues. I wonder how was the news telecasted, if at all it did.

Entrance to the Fort. Also the scene where Akbar enters the premises of Amer to woo Jodha. (I love bollywood!)

Pillar pillar, and the wall....You never made the Fort fall!

Kesar garden: Unfortunately kesar never bloomed owing to the heat of Rajastham.

Borrowed Pic: Panoramic view of the fort

Folk dance in full swing!

Direct from the souvenir shop:

Not to mention I was feeling like a princess myself for a while, the 2 hour long traffic on the highway came as a reality check. Sigh!

I go back with a sneak peek of Rajasthan that ushered its warm hospitality on us, that would be cherished forever. Promising myself the next visit to the dessert lands of Jodhpur and Bikaner, I bid adieu with the song running in my mind, "Kesariya balam aavo re....padhaaro maare des".

Friday 25 October 2013

Let's meet the cowherd prince - Krishna

Mathura without Krishna is like Bethlehem without Jesus.

Mathura, Vrindavan and Gokul are the parts of Brajbhumi through which runs the historical Yamuna river.

Krishna was born in a prison cell in Mathura. His father Vasudev aided by goddess Yogamaya brought him out of Mathura, across the raging river Yamuna into the house of Nanda in Gokula. Krishna spent his early childhood here and revealed His divinity. His uncle Kansa's murderous attempts lead Krishna to leave Gokula and move to Nandgaon, a more secure home high up on a hill. From here the young Krishna, the cowherd boy would wander into the Vrindavan forests to play with His friends and dally with Radha, His consort. Vrindavan, is a transcendental world, a place of Krishna's lila.

Every square inch of Brajbhoomi has a spiritual history to be told.

My trip to Delhi kickstarted with the visit to Mathura with three of my other close friends. We started early morning and the drive through the direct route 'Yamuna Expressway' was stimulating in itself. 150km drive at 150kmph...phew!! We got busted on the cctv though....that is another story altogether.

We reached Mathura's main temple and hired a guide. He could narrate anecdotes of Krishna at breakneck speed and conclude with a loud chant "Radhe Radhe". And we echoed :)

First visit was to the 'Garbhgriha' temple. The actual place of birth of the Almighty. The cell in which He was born, still exists with the actual slab of red stone. One cant believe at first sight that it actually exists! Adorned with God's picture, the ambience is simply Krishnafied.

The Temple co-exists with a mosque and a large part of "The Cell" is buried under the walls of the mosque. The Mughals intended to uproot the holy shrine and build a place for Allah. All said and done, thankfully the other half of the cell still exists!

Main entrance to the Krishna Janmabhoomi

Krishna's birthplace co exists with the mosque. One India...

We headed towards Gokuldham. There exists this temple where "bhoomi" where Krishna as a toddler, ate mud. When scorned at by His mother, he opens his mouth. He showed her the universe in his mouth. The Temple priest offers a tinge of mud as prasad and the devotees crawl inside the temple on their knees, as the idol is of baby Krishna known a "Laddoo Gopal" is worshipped here.

Laddoo Gopal

After cradling (jhoola) the Laddoo Gopal, we head towards Vrindavan, where Krishna spent his adolescent days romancing and creating spellbinding miracles.The relatively small town is flanked with 5000 temples, each boasting of a miraculous history of its own.

One of the main temples is the "Baanke Bihari" temple. It has the most fascinating episode I have ever heard of. Once, a staunch devotee of Krishna visited this temple and the sight of the idol mesmerised her into a state of trance. The utmost devotion of her made the idol vanish from the spot and the God walked out and followed her. Discovering which, the old lady hid the idol into a trunk to not let go of her God. The priests of the temple dreamt of the captured God and brought Him back. Since then, there are curtains placed near the idol which distract the view of the devotees to prevent the God following us out....Goosebumps all over!