Hello all
Welcome to the latest installment of my blog. I am writing this post from an internet cafe in the city of Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The city itself is stunning, especially when viewed from it's central attraction; the enormous hill fort of Jodhpur. The fort itself rises above the city, perched atop cliffs, with the only route up being a steep hill climb on the east side of the fort. It is not surprising to discover that despite numerous attempts the walls of the fort were never breached. However despite the beauty of the imperious red sandstone fort itself, rising from the relatively unattractive desert scrub landscape of Eastern Rajasthan; the true beauty of this bastion is the views it offers of the surrounding city. The vast majority of the houses are painted blue, which contrasts beautifully with the landscape. However the city is not just appealing to look at from above; walking through the labyrinth of streets you encounter many of the sights, sounds and aromas (admittedly not all pleasant) of a living Indian city. Be it strolling through a bazaar, down a back alley, or weaving your way through a herd of cows that has decided to take up residence on a main street for the afternoon. One of the most unusual features about India is the presence of stray cows throughout cities. Apparently they cannot be forcibly moved for religious reasons (basically, cows are like Jesus), so instead they are often found in shops or blocking roads. A group of builders on a building site near where I am staying in the city were greatly frustrated this morning to discover that a cow had decided to use the site as a resting place, forcing the builders to have to abandon work until it moved from the only working entrance to the site.
However, I have only actually been in Jodhpur for a couple of days, my first stop was Mumbai. Mumbai was a very interesting city. The city is vast and home to millions of people, the majority living in abject poverty. However the centre of the city where I was based looks more like the centre of Manchester than the rest of India. The buildings are largely in the Georgian or Victorian style o British architecture and line broad, clean streets. This is because Mumbai was the main port used by the British to ship goods from India (one of the main monuments in Mumbai is a giant arch on the seafront known as teh 'Gateway to India') and as such was subject to great development by the British in the 19th century. This results in Mumbai now being India's most cosmoplitan city. It is the home of Bollywood and by Indian standards, a vibrant bar scene. However, this is nor what I came to India to see. and it lacks the charm of the other cities I have visited.
My other stop before Jodhpur was the city of Udaipur. It is a beautiful town built upon a lake in Southern Rajasthan and is full of temples and palaces. However the defining image of the town is the spectacular Lake Palace. Built in the centre of the lake, it rises from the water in bright white marble which reflects of the lake to create a stunning mirror image. It's beauty has not gone unnoticed and the town and palace was used as a location in the James Bond film Octopussy.
Anyway I best be off. Ronight I am taking an overnight train to Jaisalmer, a desert oasis town in Eastern Rajasthan. I will speak to you all soon.
Phil
No comments:
Post a Comment