Life in the haveli

Part of the staff at the haveli: Chandan on the right is our cleaner and Laxmi is our cook. They were taking a "chai" break here in front of the kitchen in the morning. Some mornings we have lots of visitors and some mornings, like today, there are very few tourists and we have time to chat. But the days have started to follow a pattern: lots of things to be done in the morning; afternoons more relaxing, then very quiet evenings.  

In Bikaner, there is a camel-breeding farm that's interesting to visit around 4:00pm when the camels come home from the surrounding fields. There are litereally hundred of them and they're all in  a big hurry to chow down. There are posters explaining the differences between the many races of dromedaries, because in India all the camels have only one hump. But the most interesting part was the nursery; I actually saw a newborn camel that weighed about 40 pounds and the poor mother was being given vitamins in a huge syringe! You could buy all sorts of camel products at the farm and even taste camel milk ice cream.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It's strange to be spending Thanksgiving so far away from home. Already in France, it was sometimes difficult to cook a big dinner and invite friends, knowing that you had to get up at 7am the next morning and go to work. But here, it seems even farther removed. I tried to explain to Luxmi the cook what Thanksgiving is and she concluded: it's a religious festival. In a way she's right, even if most Americans don't consider it a religious holiday. Here in India, they have festivals every month, sometimes more than one per month. And right now, it's the wedding season, so just about every evening, there's a wedding procession passing through town. Weddings, like religious festivals, are an excuse to make a lot of noise! Trucks with loudspeakers playing Bollywood music, DJs in private houses with blaring music shared by all, a,d fireworks: every night fireworks! But I've learned to sleep through it all. Only the muezzin still wakes me up at 5:30 every morning. I'm learning the words by heart.

Mehrangarh Fort is the most impressive fort I have seen so far. Inside, there are may palaces and several courtyards.
The view from the top is outstanding, and you can spend several hours here listening to the excellent audio-guide.
In the second picture, a visitor is touching the handprints of the "satis" or the wives of maharajas who threw themselves on their husbands' funeral pyres. It was very warm and I had to stop for a rest, but I was not smoking opium, rest assured. Just sweet tobacco, before continuing the visit. After the fort, I walked along the ramparts as long as I could to a lovely Krishna temple, then walked down to Chokaleo Bagh, a quiet peaceful garden created by one of the maharanis, then all the way down to the old city at the bottom.

Tiger

I finally got to visit Jodhpur, the town I knew I was going to love because it is the "blue city" of Rajasthan. I arrived at the end of a very long day in the government bus and was greeted at my guest house by this friendly fellow. I never realized how big a tiger actually could be. And even though this one had been dead for some time and was rather faded, it was still quite scary! The next day I visited Mandore which has the beautiful chaatri, or tombsones of the maharajas and maharanis of Jodhpur. 

Mandore

A good way to start the day: very few tourists were here and it was so peaceful. I had a quiet walk through the chaatris or the tombs of the rulers of Jodhpur. The stone was red sandstone and was intricately carved. Most of the people who were supposed to be working there were playing cards. Only the women were hard at work, cleaning and sweeping. And the dogs were allowed to take their rest whereever they wanted.

sari

I know you've all been waiting to see me transformed into a real Indian lady. Well, here you have the living proof: a sari is actually a very comfortable garment! I had a great time with my new friends, Devpriya and Ritu who dressed me up like a doll, then took photos.
Now I can go out and buy myself a sari, but it takes actually quite a long time to put on. Much faster to jump into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but arguably, not so elegant. And the setting is just perfect. Now all I have to do is learn Hindi...

Sunset in Fatehpur

Hello everyone!
Just to show you how beautiful sunsets can be with a little dust in the air!
I'm still in Fatehpur and have been here for almost three weeks now, non-stop. Have been very busy, working in the haveli and trying to help a young neighbor learn French, get a visa from the French Embassy and prepare her for a language test.
I've amso managed to make a few friends which changes life here considerably.
While the staff at our haveli are friendly, they cannot always answer my questions and/or explain things.

Last night we were invited to a concert in a private home (another haveli) where we were introduced to "gazals". The singer had a beautiful voice; the electricy was cut at the beginning, and we listened to the enchanting music, sitting on the floor with bolsters at our backs, in candlelight. It was wonderful!
At midnight, we had a Rajasthani thali, or delicious supper with yoghurt soup, spinach with cheese and a sweet dish. The whole evening enhanced by interesting conversation and very welcoming people who treated us as family. My new friend, Debpriya explained that guests were Gods for Indians.
Things are definitely looking up in Fatehpur!

Hello!
Saturday night, I was talking a walk in Fatehpur with two of our overnight guests, when we saw lots of people in a courtyard who waved and invited us to come in. They were preparing for a big wedding the next day. Apparently the Hindu astrologers had informed the population that Nov 6th was a very auspicious date for marriages so there were literally hundreds in the area. Accompanied by loud music, DJs and fireworks!! For those who wanted to sleep, Nov 6th was not very auspicious.

Anyway, we had a great time, having our hands painted with henna and dancing with the locals. Only the champagne was missing!

The day after Diwali, we got up very early and here I am, drinking chai with my first Rajasthani friends. After we went to watch Atul's mother milk the buffalo or the cow; we never really knew which. You can see me and Camille, one of the interns that work with me at the Cultural Center because Alexia, the other intern, is afraid of cows! The last picture is of a cow turd puja: we saw it on our walk around the neighbourhood. A few seconds later, a cow came along and started eating the watermelon!

Diwali in Bidasir

The trip to my friend Atul's town was an event in itself. We met him in Fatehpur and took two different buses to go to Bidasir. The second bus was a local that stopped at all the villages, and in some places, they rarely see a non-Indian face and we were the stars of the day. People kept getting on and off the bus in one place just to have their pictures taken with us. We were very happy to meet Atul's family who treated us royally and we were all so happy to finally meet such a nice family. For the first and probably only time, Alexia and Camille, the two interns at the haveli and I could all travel together and it was much more fun!

Atul's sister wore her Rajasthani sari, a present from her future in-laws. The next morning, their mother came into our room wearing the same sari and wanted us to take a photo of her. The next morning, Renu painted our hands with henna and then we had to get back to Fatehpur because there were lots of visitors. It took us almost six hours to do about 90km! We ended up taking a taxi because there were very few buses because of Diwali.

My first Diwali was quite successful. In the future, I will always think of this wonderful, friendly family each time that Diwali rolls around.