We make a relatively early start leaving the hotel around 10 am in order to visit the Jain temples which close at midday. The complex of seven interlinked temples dating from the 12th to 16th centruies are a highlight of the fort; a definite must see. These gloriously carved sandstone temples are among the most beautiful we have seen. The extraodinarily intricate carving on the Chandraprabhu Temple is the most extensive. Voluptuous and sensual carvings fesoon the temple walls as well as the exterior of the shrines. This temple is dedicated to the 8th tirthankar. The images of the tirthankars or Jain prophets that adorn the temple complex all have identica facial features and are distinguished only by a symbol that is peculiar to each. The Rikhabdev Temple has a fabulously carved and painted dome depicting a ring of dancers and below them a ring of musicaians. Behind the Chandraprabhu is Parasath Temple which doesn’t open until 11 am. So we drift aound the small shops in the surrounding lanes, kicking our heels for about 20 minutes. We then complete our tour of this and Sambhavanth, Santinath and Kunthunath Temples. In each temple holy men hover openly soliciting visitors to leave donations on strategically positioned metal trays, despite the pominent signs requesting that tips are not given to the holy men but instead placed in the sealed donation boxes. Placing money in the donation boxes, however, doesn’t go down to well with the holy men.
A rickshaw driver who we spoke to when we were in the fort a couple of days ago, has spotted us at the temples and is eager to take us round the captivating havelis for which Jaisalmer is justly famed. Implicit in such a tour, of course, is the opportunity for him to earn some commission along the way. He hangs around while we visit the temples and is patiently waiting for us when we finally emerge. The havelis are on our agenda and he offers to take us for 100 rupees which will incude a visit to a textile outlet and his boss’ artifacts emporium, which sounds as though it could be quite interesting. We are expecting to see the three foremost havelis in Jaisalmer, but in fact only get to two, the Nathmal-ki-Haveli and built in he late 19th entury and a former prime minister’s house and the Patwon-ki-Haveli which was built between 1800 and 1860 by five Jain brothers. In the first we immediately get shunted into a souvenir shop and receive a cursory explanation of the architectural features before being badgered to make a purchase. Disappointingly the current owners seem far more interested in running a commercial enterpise to fund the restoration than showing visitors the building. Such a a shame. Before we know it we are back on the street having resisted the tempation to puchase any of the over-priced artifacts and having seen precious little of the interior.
The Patwon-ki-Haveli is a very different affair. Its interiors have been lavishly and lovingly restored to their former glory and furnished with some interesting period pieces. We shake off a guide who surreptitiously attaches himself to us unannounced and wander around the building soaking up the wonderful atmosphere.
The exteriors of both buildings are fine examples of haveli architecture their stepped facades resplendent with intricate carving, delicate jalis, cantilevered balconies and fabulous oriel windows overhanging the narrow alleyways below. And the amazing thing is, that this style of architecture is to be seen everywhere in the old part of Jaisalmer.
We emerge from one of the havelis to find a cow with its head in the ricksaw attempting to eat the wiring. Bits of wire lie discarded on the floor and the headlights are no longer working. An everyday hazard for a rickshaw driver, we wonder?
In between visits to the havelis we make an impromptu stop at the rickshaw driver’s home and are invited in to meet his wife and one-year-old son over a cup of chai. He lives in a narrow house arranged over several floors which he shares with his brother’s family and we are given a tour of the whole house including the ‘mandi’ shower and toilet, the kitchen and the roof terrace. The house is simple, yet well-equipped with two televisions and surprisingly a washing machine; even the middle class family we stayed with in Delhi didn’t have one of those. The water supply problem is graphically brought home by the numerous large urns of water that contain the household supply for the day.
After lunch at the Shanti Fusion restauant in the fort we pay a visit to a texile coperative which is housed a a 300-year-old haveli. The opportunity to view the interior of the building is worth patiently enduring the unfurling of bedspreads shawls, tablecloths and the like and after a short stop and a cup of chai we make our excuses and leave. Our final stop is an ‘antiques’ warehouse in another old haveli. It is an Aladin’s cave of supposedly original artifacts and collectibles froma six -key padlock to painted window frames, carved statuettes, to traditional fabric fans, Engllish glass medicine bottles, from opium jars and jewellery to daggers and much, much more besides. It’s tempting to buy something, but what? The choice is bewilderingly vast. In the end we come away with nothing.