Hattie on Tour

We have fallen in love with Jaisalmer and just can’t seem to tear ourselves away.  So we will stay another couple of days.  In the meantime we do a little research into our next destination – Bikaner.  There is only one train a day to Bikaner which leaves at 23:40 and arrives at 4am and offers only sleeper class cariages (the cheapest and most basic of sleeper acccommodation with no AC).  The website Seat61 describes sleeper class as suitable for the ‘adventurous backpacker’ and having witnessed the melee which accompanies boarding sleeper class carriages we feel that we probably don’t fall into that category.  The bus is unlikely tobe a comfortable, pleasant or safe experience either having seen the dilapidated state of most of them and the generally poor condition of the roads.  So we set about pricing a taxi to take us the 330 kms.  There is surprising variation in the prices quoted;  from 5000 to 2600 rupees and we can’t fathom why apart from the fact we are tourists and some seem to charge for the return journey.  We also make enquiries about a camel safari which we are thinking of doing before we leave.  A two-day safari in the desert with a night on the dunes, all food and water included is around 1,100 rupees (14 pounds) each which seems more than reasonable.

After lunch we visit the Saleem-ki-Haveli.   The third of the major havelis in Jaisalmer is most impressive from the ouside with an elaborately carved exterior and a cantilevered top floor.  The plain and unrenovated interiors are made up for by a thoroughly informative tour conduced by the current owner.  The low doorways served a number of puposes:  to force visitors to bow as a display of respect;  to keep the rooms cool and;  to limit entry to one person at a time making defence easier when under attack.  The steep steps which are a common feature of all old buildings in Rajasthan were designed to make attack more difficult and steps of uneven depth made mounting stairs more hazardous for attackers  Deep spaces between the ceilings and floors allowed noise of intruders to alert the sleeping inhabitants.  No cement was used in the construction (although its use is widespread in the renovation of many of the buildings in Jaisalmer unfortunately and the cack-handed application of grey mortar pointing on golden sandstone is a travesty).  Instead a combination of metal pins and interlocking masonary held the structures together.  Some of the carved stone flowers on the exterior can be unscrewed for use as decoration at festivals, ingenious in a land where flowers are in short supply.  Inevitably, there is a shop at the end of the tour, but on this occasion selling very good replica artifacts at reasonable prices, so we buy a scorpion padlock which, as with most pieces, as a number of additional uses including as a hook and a door knocker.

We are getting known around the bazaar and fort and people seem to keep track of our comings and goings noting where we shop and expecting us to patronise their shop as well.  Invitations to take chai from people with whom we’ve done business or simply browsed their shop are increasing which makes walking down the street a sociable, if time-consuming business.

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.

Jaisalmer is definitely an appealing and enchanting city and here we are beginning to get into the rhythm of India at last, so we have decided to stay another couple of nights at least.  People here still want us to come into their shops but the sales patter is much more laid back  It is possible to saunter the streets with the minimum of hassle.  There are long conversations to be had over a cup of chai and at the end of it all it’s possible to leave without ill-feeling having bought nothing.  Bartering is a way of life here, although it is not clear to what extent it is driven by tourists expectations.  Shopkeepers know that foreigners want to get a discount so they inflate their prices accordingly.  A game of bluff and double bluff ensues and if all goes well, the tourist gets a purchase at a discounted price and the shopkeeper makes a greater or lesser profit depending on the tenacity and shrewdness of the buyer.  So everyone is happy.

We return to collect the altered kurtah which now fits perfectly and are subject to some friendly banter and a half-serious attempt to sell us more clothes.  Surely we would like a turban?  so easy to tie from an enormous length of cloth.  At which point we get a demonstration of how simple it is to assemble.  Doesn’t it look magnificent on Andy?  What a wonderful present for someone back home!  We resist the temptation and come away with nothing more than a couple of photos leaving amidst laughter and smiles.

We are getting used to the fact that the ATMs and the electricity work sporadically, and we have a hunt on today to find an ATM that is working as our cash is running low.  There are three ATMs in Jaisalmer and the first, in Ghandi Chowk, is down.  We eventually find a working ATM a bit further out of the centre with a queue of people out of the door.   Indians think nothing of queue jumping particularly where foreigners are concerned and so it’s necessary to stand up close to the person in front if you don’t want to lose your place.  Eventually with cash in our pocket we go in search of somewhere to have lunch and come upon Shanti Restaurant, a small place on the fort wall with a fabulous view out over the desert.  We are just preparing to order when our friend of yesterday, Desert, appears to greet us.  Word has reached him that we are close by his shop and he has come for no other reason than to say hello.

Later as we are browsing a shop a man invites us to look round his 800-year-old haveli.  The house has been in his family for 10 generations and is in need of serious and no doubt very expensive, restoration.  He is attempting to raise money to fund the work from donations and by selling artifacts (most probably reproductions, although it is hard to tell).  The tour is a fascinating insight into some o the architectural features:  a pair of horses heads either side of the door lintel symbolise power and strength;  a carving of Ganesh over the centre of the doorway, good luck.   Door frames are low for a number of reasons:  so that those entering must bow as a sign of respect;  to keep the room cool;  to restrict entry in times of attack and make defence easier. 

Historically, water has always been a scarce resource within the city and every drop of water was collected and recycled four times:  the same water being used for showering, washing laundry, for cleaning and watering plants, for instance.  Even today tap water in the fort is available for only half-an-hour each day (and some days not at all) so people living here must draw as much water as they need for a day or two during that half-an-hour and keep it stored in urns.  It rather brings home, just how much we take for granted.

We end our meander round the ort with a drink on the roof terrace of a small hotel that is right next to the magnificent Jain temples and almost within touching distance of the impressively carved domes.  It’s not often that such a spectacular roof can be viewed at such close quarters.

We are liking Jaisalmer very much.  It’s quiet, relaxed and relatively hassle-free.  Traffic is minimal, the desert people even more colourful, if that is possible, as well as warm and friendly with a genuineness that makes them far less aggressive in the bazaars.  It’s also staggeringly beautiful.  Around every twist and turn are sandstone architectural masterpieces, finely carved in the most exquisitely intricate detail with cantilevered balconies, delicate Jali screens and oriel windows.  A feast for the eyes and the soul.

But Jaisalmer’s citadel is under threat from a combination of over-crowding and poor drainage which are causing it to sink into the hill on which it stands.  There is considerable restoration work going on both in the walled city and the fort itself, much of it under the auspices of NGOs including the UK-based Jaisalmer in Jeopardy foundation.  There is also a uncharacteristic amount of new building in progress;  all in the traditional style so that it blends almost reasonably well with the old.

While the authorities attempt to grapple with a solution to the drainage problem, Lonely Planet in its smug, self-righteousness has decided not to recommend any hotels or restaurants inside the fort in its latest edition.  The corollary of this misguided stance is that visitor numbers are down, businesses are struggling and the livelihoods of the three hundred families who live in the fort are put at risk.  Meanwhile, in a staggering display of hypocrisy and double standards LP has seen fit to break its stated policy and include the up market Hotel Kila Bhawan which is built into the fort wall.  Now, why might that be, I wonder?

The Jaisalmer Fort was established in 1156 by Maharawal Jaisai on the advice of Essai, a mendicant, thereby fulfilling Lord Krishna’s prophecy that his descendants would rule here one day.  The Bhatis have ruled Jaisalmer ever since and the Maharaja Palace complex is a fine example of their architecture and art.  The fort is entered through a series of enormous gates eventually leading to a large courtyard over-looked by the elegant seven-storey sandstone palace with its fabulously carved exterior, balconies, impossibly intricate jalis and oriel windows to mention just a few of the architectural features of this stunning building.  Inside there is an excellent museum displaying numerous artefacts, fabulous views and lavishly ornamented interiors, much of it in pristine condition.

After visiting the palace we take a brief stroll around the fort stopping to browse one or two of the shops that sprinkle the narrow alleyways.  In one small square we admire some lovely Muslim bedspreads and get chatting to the shopkeeper who invites inside for a cup of Chai and to look at the interior of the restored single storey building which has been finished in the traditional style with a cow dung plaster.  We sit and talk for what must be an hour or so about families, travel, business and lots more besides.  Desert, as he likes to be called, is a genuinely nice man who no doubt hopes to sell us something in the long run but seems in no hurry to do so.

We take one of the silk Kurtahs I bought yesterday back to the shop, because it has a couple of small holes in it.  We have become best friends with the two men who run the shop and when they can’t find a replacement in the same size they volunteer to alter a larger one at no charge.  Somehow along the way they manage to sell me another hand-embroidered kurtah and there is much laughing and joking in the process.