Dark Horse Arts and Sciences

As I roam through the narrow lanes of Jodhpur with my mother, my travelling partner in this trip, the images suddenly strike me as though I have been to these lanes before. Reminiscent of even thinner lanes of my home town, Puri, the place brings back memories of driving my scooty through the intricate corridors of Puri with my best friend, Abhisek, sitting behind my back, enjoying the roller coaster. What surprises me is the almost similarity of the above two scenarios, but that’s the beauty of our beautiful country, isn’t it? It appears so diverse yet everywhere you go, you will find people and places that you would have met and encountered in your own gully.

CLOCK TOWER:

My mother and I walk through the haweli-like buildings, giving the sense of royalty and heritage. We are amazed at how the buildings still stand the test of time and must have seen kins of so many generations. As we move ahead, we come across usual chai and snack shops and hotels. In the past, I used to judge a place on how good is its coffee, how dumb I was. We stopped near a shop for a tea and coffee; tea for Maa and coffee for me. It was good to be honest, leaving a taste not so ordinary. Putting aside our cups, we move ahead to the clock tower, a beautiful, scenic market. The clock tower stands tall amidst the vibrant market, attracting people to explore its unique and heritage structure. We stroll through the market, hoping to choose to buy something for my spoiled sisters. We look for some typical Rajasthani Ghaghara that we usually don’t get to buy in Odisha. After a lot of failed attempts at different shops, we are finally able to buy some good material that would certainly keep the hunger for new dresses away for my sisters, which I am certain, would not.

THE FOODS AND FORTS:

Certainly, the Rajastanis love a glass of chaas. Now you can include me in that list. I have three or four glasses, despite the fear that it may backfire the next morning. Yet I do not fear, I conquer. I conquer the complexities of my stomach. Another item that really stayed with me since then is the ……. I forgot its name. It is made with dahi and dal mixed together. Dahi is my favorite thing or whatever you can say it, so to mix it with dal is a masterstroke for me. How can I forget its name! Please let me know if you know it. My subconscious cannot seem to break the shell of my eventual forgetfulness. Anyway, we had a great meal every time we stepped into any hotel. But I have one complaint. Sometimes, it was difficult to find any hotels for food. And some places were really expensive. Well, it’s quite reasonable since it’s a tourist destination, especially for foreigners.

Now, come to the forts. Again, we are astounded seeing the vastness of the Mahals and just the immense enormity of the forts that were built when even great great great grandmother hadn’t arrived on this planet. They somehow remind me of Padmavaat, one of my all-time favorite movies. I loved Shahid in that film. I just cannot imagine any other actor enacting a proud Rajput other than Shahid. There, in the forts, what intrigue me, are some small holes through some high-walls through which the queens used to sneak into their handsome husbands sitting in the Darbar.

BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE OF JODHPUR:

For me, whatever or however a place maybe regarding to its location or richness of history or the lack thereof, what matters to me the most is the humility and kindness of its people, without which the place seems to my soul utterly shallow and vacant. We stayed at a beautiful and serene hotel named Hotel Bawri Haweli, atop the crowded blue city, through whose lens I observe the city. The manager was really helpful, so are its staff. An autowale bhaiya, Arbaaz bhai, helps us explore most of the city with an utter sense of security. Here, I would like to put some light into one incident that has occurred time and again throughout my life whenever I have travelled to a farther place. That evening, me and my mother were walking back to our hotel, but the distance was too much a strain for our already torn out feet. We aren’t getting any autos and it’s getting late in the night. And then suddenly out of nowhere Arbaaz bhai calls us from behind as to whether we need a lift to the hotel. This may not seem an important event to the reader, yet this exact thing has happened over and over again in my travel experiences. Someone has always been there to help me in the neediest situations when I do not see any light of the tricky circumstances ahead of me. This time, be it Allah or Bhagwan or whoever you call Him, Arbaaz bhai certainly was there to carry us through the dark alleys of Jodhpur. I would always be grateful to that spiritual power who has kept me in check and protected me every time I have been held on the backfoot. Talking about beauty, how could I not speak about the immense natural beauty of the women that I came across in Jodhpur. They are somehow different from what girls are like here in Odisha. I was extremely impressed at how elder women would hold so much heavy stuff just on their heads without any support, which showcases the immense strength they possess. Even though they have reached their forties and fifties, you can still see the glimpses of the beauty they had once possessed in their youth. Tall, strong, extremely appealing in their looks, Jodhpur possesses some serious inherent beauty in its women that adds to the already vibrant atmosphere and history of the city.

So, we leave Jodhpur the very next day. That was one hell of a trip, that would imprint itself in the permanent savings chambers of my subconscious. If fate would have it, I would surely like to visit Jodhpur again and again and again.