Day 149, Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, Rajasthan [Tuesday 29th April 2008]
Previous day: Day 148, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan [Monday 28th April 2008]
Next day: Day 150, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan [Wednesday 30th April 2008]
After scrambled eggs and tea we walk up past the fort to the Jaswant Thada Mausoleum of the maharajas of Jodhpur. Outside, the tiles scorch our feet. Inside the mausoleum it's cool. A pair of thrones are scattered with flower petals. Portraits of the maharaja's line the walls.
A man selling drinks by the gate tells us "No college, no knowledge. No wife, no life!"
We get a rickshaw over to the current maharaja's palace, a vast, bland sandstone building that resembles a European government's offices. The eagles carved into the roof are reminiscent of early 20th century fascist architecture.
In the small museum the most interesting item is the menu from a party thrown by the Maharaja at Christmas for British forces during world war two. One soldier wrote home, "...and we all got white breast meat from the turkey, no leg, wing or dark meat!"
In the afternoon we go to a 'heritage hotel' and pay Rs 500 each to use their pool. The price includes a free cold drink.
Later that night we go to the fort to have dinner. The restaurant is on top of the fort, but is badly situated and there are no views to speak of. It's also quite empty, and the lack of ambience, and the Rs 600 each for a thali means we leave shortly after arriving, and eat at our hotel instead.
We get the overnight train to Jaisalmer. There's an argumentative man who won't get off our seat. He has no seat allocated on his ticket, and when we ask him to move he just keeps saying, "After some time." Eventually he leaves and for a while we speak to the woman in the opposite bunk, a 70 year old who talks very quietly. I can just make out what she's saying, but unfortunately she finds it very hard to understand our accents. She says she has been to London "thrice". She lives in Bikaner and is going to Delhi to see her sister, who is ill. She's a friendly lady, and offers us some food — homemade cakes. But, as so often when talking with Indians, the confusingly different 'shared language' of English and their imperfect understanding of our speaking dialect makes conversation necessarily superficial and quite wearying. Detailed descriptions, opinions, asides are all reduced to absolute basics in an effort to make yourself understood. Occasionally you will get a nugget of insight or self-awareness, such as now, when the lady says, "In London people are very nice, not like here, everyone is selfish, no one helps each other."
Generally you will talk about place names — where are you going, where have you been — and how much you spend or how much things cost. You will encounter varying levels of ignorance — 'why would you go to Bikaner, there is nothing there' (except a 15th century fort and palace) — presumptuousness — about how much money you have, your character, interests and destination — and disinterest. Indians like to categorise you into their strictly stratified view of the world. Only then, it seems, can they talk to you in an appropriate manner. So — questions about marital status, your 'childrens', your job. Luckily we both work in IT, and industry widely recognised and highly regarded in India, and the revelation of ths fact usually generates and impressed acknowledgment.
Next day: Day 150, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan [Wednesday 30th April 2008]
Previous day: Day 148, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan [Monday 28th April 2008]