6. Jaipur Literature Festival and New Friends

The tourist guide book in the hotel in Delhi had an article on the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), called “the world’s largest free literary festival” and running January 21-25th.  I immediately put that on my list to check out, little knowing all that would come my way that weekend.

During discussion with Veena, she indicated that yes, we must go, even though it meant missing two days at Tushita Foundation.  No question, it would be a once-in-a -lifetime opportunity, nevertheless, our purpose in being in Jaipur is to be at the Foundation, so I found that allowance a most generous and gracious one.

It happened, representatives from Tushita Travel in Delhi were on a business road trip and would be in Jaipur for JLF and to visit the Foundation and, on Thursday morning, Alex, Federico and I duly met Dheeraj, Sumedha and Karthik at JLF.

Surprisingly, Jaipur had woken up to rain which required some intense reorganization of venue at the Festival because, of course, half of the venues were outside.  The result of that was, though, that we got to hear twice as many presentations as we would otherwise have.  And, what extraordinarily interesting discussions I heard on a wide variety of topics from authors who had convened from around the world.  You can check out some of the topics at www.jaipurliteraturefestival.org, but just let me say that listening to topics such as “Descent into Chaos - Pakistan on the Brink”, “Coming Out: Tales They Don’t Tell You”, “A Revolution is Brewing”, “Wanderlust and the Art of Travel Writing” in an audience in India was something else again.  I also sat in to see and hear the very distinguished Indian actress, Waheeda Jeene Do, whose incredible beauty and graceful demeanour was omnipresent, even if I didn’t understand what she was saying as she spoke in Hindi.

On Friday, we went to the Foundation as Sumedha and Karthik had not yet been.  There was playing with the children in the playground, countless pictures, lots of laughter and a badminton tourney between Jaipur and Delhi with Jaipur taking the win.  The children so love new faces, it was a delight to see.

On Saturday morning, we were unable to enter the grounds at JLF because the ex-President had just arrived, so I joined the Tushita team for a return visit to City Palace where I got to take a few more pictures.  We later met Veena, Gadjju and their son Pierre and went to their private club, Ashok Club for a coffee.  Its history is that In 1929, Late His Highness Maharaja Sawai Man Singhji-II of Jaipur , took upon himself to re-raise the Jaipur King Body Guards of the yester years and thus was born “Swai Man Guards” by 1931, the Company Strength was expended to Battalion strength . The new barracks Foundation stone was laid on 28th   February 1935 for the Jawans and an Officers Mess for the officers of the “Sawai Man Guards”. The “Sawai Man Guards saw action during World War-II and in 1947 – 1948 operations against Pakistan , earned the battle honor of “Ledigali” in Uri Sector.  Now its a private club with dining, billiards, badminton, swimming pool, some accommodation and, of course, a bar.  Associated are a Golf Club and a Polo Club.

In addition to attending the literary series, we went to the Music Festival portion on Friday and Saturday evenings and, lest I sound too repetitive, that was incredible also.  Friday night was, Sain Zahoor, a leading Sufi musician from Pakistan and Dub Colossus with traditional Ethiopian sounds, sturdy reggae rhythms and a modern dub twist.

On Saturday Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali Group performing religious Sufi music of Pakistan followed by MIDIval Punditz which is an Indian fusion group whose style revolves mostly around changer, jungle, electronica, and North Indian classical music.  For the last numbers, these two groups performed together and the crowd went crazy.

The grounds where the music festival took place had a bar and food, almost like a food fair.  Made to order at several stations prepared by professionals, attired in full chef gear.  A very pretty presentation.  The evenings were scheduled for 7 - 10 pm and true to Indian style, they began late, but they did not go late.  When they say it ends at 10 pm, it ends at 10.  The performers would have gone longer but that is just not permitted.

One last note - for the very first time in India, I saw a face in the crowd that I knew!  When we arrived back at the JLF grounds on Saturday, it was really crowded and we were making our way through to the meeting place when I recognized a face.  It was so unexpected that at  first my brain rejected the notion that it was someone I knew but it was Veena’s son, Pierre!  Imagine, in a city of 3 million that I’ve been in for less than 3 weeks, I ran into someone I knew!  Fabulous.

The absolute final note - the Jaipur Literary Festival is a free event.

All in all Maggie Muggins…..

5. City Palace and Amber Fort

As some of you know, I had been considering volunteering overseas for some time.  I had done a lot of internet research and had contacted a number of companies that are in business to match volunteers with needs, however, for one reason or another I had not yet finalized anything.  Among the reasons was the feeling I got that these businesses had become “big business”, the altruistic purpose stated notwithstanding and as well, the concept of parachuting in for a week or two somehow didn’t resonate.

It was a Wednesday evening in the latter part of November and I was on the internet researching something entirely unrelated when I stumble across Tushita Foundation.  From the first read, it stayed on my my mind.  I went to sleep with Tushita Foundation on my mind, awoke with Thursday with it on my mind where it stayed as I went about my day and Thursday night I when I went to bed, I couldn’t fall asleep.  I spent the next couple of hours, re-reading the Tushita Foundation, a journal from a past volunteer and, where in India it was located.

Jaipur, India - even the name is pretty - and here I borrow from Lonely Planet at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/rajasthan/jaipur:

Jaipur, Rajasthan’s capital, is an enthralling historical city, known as the Pink City for its ribbon of walls that extend throughout the central core and is the gateway to India’s most flamboyant state.  The city’s colourful, chaotic streets ebb and flow with a heady brew of old and new. Careening buses dodge dawdling camels, leisurely cycle-rickshaws frustrate swarms of motorbikes, and everywhere buzzing autorickshaws watch for easy prey. In the midst of this mayhem, the splendours of Jaipur’s majestic past are islands of relative calm evoking a different pace and another world. At the city’s heart, the City Palace continues to house the former royal family; the Jantar Mantar, the royal observatory, maintains a heavenly aspect; and the honeycomb Hawa Mahal gazes on the bazaar below. And just out of sight, in the arid hill country surrounding the city, is the fairy-tale grandeur of Amber Fort.

Sounds JUST like what I saw in “THE MOVIE” -and, for those of you who don’t know, THE MOVIE is  “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” which I saw a couple of years ago, Ioved everything about, not the least of which was what it showed about India and, some would say, have talked about ad nauseum since.

So, where was that movie filmed, I ask myself?  Well, picture it - its about 2 am when I sit bolt upright because THE MOVIE was filmed in that exact area of India.  If you believe in signs - that was a sure sign - it was all I could do not to wake up Pat (whose couch I was surfing that particular night) to tell her this bit of news!  

After some fitful sleep, first thing first thing Friday morning I sent an enquiry to Tushita Foundation and, happily, next thing I knew I was filling out an application for a Visa to visit India.

Turns out I’m not the only aficionado of that movie - I subsequently discover there is a web-site that gives you a “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Tour”, a copy of which I printed and schlepped across the Atlantic and other points east to Jaipur.

And there’s more magic - on the very first drive to Tushita Foundation for that warm welcome, we drive through the bustling historical centre of Jaipur, past markets, past where City Palace is, past the Water Palace, and, then, when it couldn’t possibly be more fantastic, we wind up a hillside, round a corner there, right before my eyes, on the crest of the hill sits Amber Fort.  I doubt that I could be here long enough for the pure joy that I experience on every drive to subside.

This past weekend, I was treated to a guided tour of City Palace and Amber Fort for which I am most appreciative.  I can’t pretend to do justice to these buildings but just mention a couple of points before you get to the pictures.

First the City Palace and Janta Mantar, the royal observatory - completely captivating and impressive, all the more so because it was built between 1728 and 1734, has properly been added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  I doubt that my words can do it justice, but there are some impressive pictures at http://museumsrajasthan.gov.in/mounment_Jantar-Mantar.htm.   There’s a different appreciation for importance of astrological signs and your horoscope when you hear about it from the perspective of those living in the 1700s without watches and the like.

When you get to Amber Fort, there are some options on how to get to the top - its a climb.  You can go on foot, by elephant, by camel or, in my case, in the car.   Not that I won’t do an elephant ride while I’m here (I’ve already experienced a camel ride), but I mention it because it was probably as amazing watching Revinder navigate this road as it might be going elephant.  I tell you, its impressive watching driving here.  That road up was built to be travelled on foot or by small carriage for royalty.  Its narrow, every narrow, steep, rutted, filled with people, animals and cars coming down!  Somehow it all works and everyone gets where they are going.

Beautifully and cleverly designed, my favourite thing in the Fort was the glitter - you’ll see it in pictures - rooms adorned with a mosaic of mirror and glass, both beautiful and practical, for cooler nights, the rooms would be enclosed by lowering carpets, candles lit and the mirrors would keep the heat it.

p.s.  I've included a picture of a couple of tourists who wanted to have their picture taken with me.  The way they go about it could not be cuter.  I was having a picture taken and so were they - they don't interrupt you, they just move themselves a little closer to you so that you are in their picture.  They are so delighted when you indicate its okay to take your picture and when that happens, their other friends move in for the shot!

Palace

Jaipur observatory

One of four doors in courtyard - this one of peacocks

Royal Carriages - its not permitted to see the faces of Royal women

Amber Fort - taken from the car window

View from top of Amber Fort

These were offices - an early take on present day cubicles

Man-made lake to harness water for the Fort

The very knowledgeable guide

Local tourists - making me feel important!

Water Palace

4: Makar Sankrati

Wednesday, January 14th is Makar Sankranti - a Hindu harvest festival celebrated in almost all parts of India but most especially here in Rajasthan, marking the transition of the Sun into the zodiac sign of Makara rashi (Capricorn) on its celestial path.  Businesses and schools are closed and families celebrate with music, food and most especially, flying kites. 

On Tuesday, Makar Sankranti was celebrated at the Foundation in lieu of classes.  The entire afternoon was spent in the playground with many of the children (mostly boys, but some of the girls and some of the teachers) flying kites.

When Makar Sankrati was explained to me, the immediate visual in my mind was of a windy day at the beach while on vacation flying a large, somewhat elaborate and colourful kite.  Other than that, I can only recall seeing kids fly kites a day or two in the spring.  

Not so here - this is kite flying in a really big way.  The kites themselves are only about 18” x 18” made of colourful tissue paper paper - unremarkable in and of themselves, but what is remarkable, very remarkable, is the skill people here have in flying kites.  So much so that, while a windy day is great, it’s not necessary.  A couple properly placed jerks of the hand and the kite is up.  Pretty impressive.   Proficiency is important not just to successfully fly your kite but because a portion of the string has metal in it, which can slice the skin pretty easily.  Some of the boys had been practising for some weeks, to wit, lots of cuts and callouses.  There is a point to the metal though (at least one) and that is one of the goals in kite flying is to cut the strings of other kites, so there is lots of vocalization that comes with kite flying here - the sound of success when you’ve cut someone else’s kite and the sound of “dang-it” when your string gets cut.  Inevitably, there are more serious injuries than small slices to the fingers and sure enough, Thursday’s paper reported some 60 or so visits to hospital in Jaipur with kite related injuries and very sadly, one boy of approx 14 years fell to his death off a rooftop terrace.

Midway through the afternoon there was a treat -til-laddoo- which is a sweetmeat made from sesame seeds and jaggery - the importance of sesame seeds being that “it keeps body warm and also provides a good quantity of oil, which is needed as winter dried up the moist from body”.  (Who knew we should be eating more sesame seeds in the winter to counteract that incessant drying out of the skin - Note to self, especially my Edmontonian and Peace River friends!)

On Wednesday, I went for a walk and wherever there were residences, you could hear the sound of music in the air and see people on their terraces and rooftops flying kites and when you took the occasional glance to the sky, for a moment you thought the sky was filled with small birds, only to realize they were all kites.  (I did try for pictures, but the kites are small and I never really got a good picture of the littered with kites).

Later in the afternoon, around 6 pm, I began to hear fireworks which went on for a good hour or so.   I also saw little lanterns floating in the air - these were little paper hot-air balloon shaped lanterns, lit with sesame oil.

It was during my walk that I first encountered large groups of people begging.  There were about 20 or so gathered around a car where a man was throwing out kites and  when they noticed me, a reasonable number of them ran over begging.  For the first second, it was intimidating but, I didn’t feel that they were dangerous - just not willing to let a prospect go by.  I copied how I had witnessed the reaction when we are in the car and that was to keep walking and look ahead.  It was a hard moment and not the last I was to encounter on my walk.

The one thing that cannot go unnoticed in India is the overwhelming hospitality and warmth of the people.  Everywhere you go, people smile at you, say hello, hold out their hand in welcome.  And then surprisingly, you get asked to have your picture taken with them - a little taste of what its like for the beautiful and famous!!

I took lots of pictures on Tuesday - enjoy the delight in the children’s faces who, by the way, LOVE to have their picture taken!!

The children love having their picture taken and to take pictures as well

Teachers

The inspiration behind Tushita Foundation - Veena G

Teachers