The Mighty Mehrangarh - Jodhpur

Oh wow!  I’ve seen the picture of Mehrangarh in books but to wake up in the morning with the mighty fort towering over us is almost too much to take in.

We negotiate a tuk tuk (or auto rickshaw) to take us to Mehrangarh with a short stop at Jaswant Thada on the way.  Jaswant Thada is a white marble mausoleum built in 1899 and dedicated to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II.  

The well manicured lawns and gardens provide a peaceful spot to start our sight seeing and provide good views of the fort and the blue city below.  Inside, the marble is so fine that despite being 15cm thick, the sun shines through the translucent stone giving the interior walls a warm pink glow.

We hop back on the tuk tuk and head for Mehrangarh.  The place is vast but with the aid of an excellent audio tour we spend an afternoon enjoying the history of the fort.  At the main gate we see the marks where cannon balls struck in 1808.  

Once through the gate a steep climb with a right angled turn designed to stop elephants getting up to charging speed brings us to the first of a number of delightful courtyards.

In many of the little cubby holes in the walls, drummers, flautist and singers lurk ready to burst into action at the approach of western tourists in the hope of securing some baksheesh.  Unfortunately, their efforts fall on deaf, tone deaf ears.

Wandering in and out of the maharaja’s living spaces we again marvel at the quality and opulence of the decorative work on view including the amazing filigree silver, wood work and the quality of the stone carving.

The maharaja formed a Trust to secure the running and conservation of Mehrangarh and with help of funding from around the world, the fort is being restored to its former glory.  One of the first tasks once the Trust took over was to clear the large volumes of bat excrement from the halls and courtyards - tons of bat poop was sold to the local farmers as fertilizer so you could say the Trust started green and helped the community.

As usual, our visit was accompanied by the touristing Indians zooming through the fort as if they were on fire pausing only for photo operchancitys along the way.

From the top of the fort we walked the ramparts and enjoyed the views over the city below.  Jodhpur is called the Blue City because many of its houses are painted in various hues of pale blue.  Originally adopted by Brahmins, nowadays many locals have adopted blue because it is thought that the colour repels insects.  The jumble of blue cubes tumbling away from the fort into the distance is an amazing sight although our pictures do not do the sight justice.

At the south western end of the ramparts is the small Chamundia Devi temple.  It’s a peaceful spot but later on we find out that in 2008 over 240 people were crushed to death in a stampede in the narrow approach to the temple during the festival of Nine Nights.

Our tour of the spectacular Mehrangarh did not disappoint and afterwards we relax in the shadow of the fort enjoying light refreshments and decent food.

After a good night’s sleep we head into the bustling market area around the clock tower.  All life takes place on the streets, cows roam freely, dogs sleep under motorbikes and everyone is going somewhere. The market is getting into full swing and the fruit and veg sellers are doing a brisk trade.

As we walked down one aisle we watch as a guy who we can only presume is a market official being driven through the market on the back of a truck.  As he reaches each rope holding up tarpaulins that provide shade to the stall holders and shoppers alike, the market man uses a sharp knife to cut through each rope bringing the covers flapping down on the stalls.

Later, the chap must be on another mission as suddenly there is panic amongst the shopkeepers who rush to bring in their wares from the street and the aisles – everything is chucked into the shop and suddenly the aisles are empty and clear.  Presumably there is a stiff penalty for over-stepping the boundaries of your premises or stall.  As soon as it starts, the panic subsides and the shopkeepers begin to bring out their goods again.

We’re used to seeing misspelt signs but the following sign has got us stumped.  Does anyone have an idea what are LAYsWAPERS?

At the Krishna Bookshop we chat to Alison and Lucy from New Zealand.  Mother and daughter are browsing the hundreds of books on display and have already visited so many places in India and are making for Goa for a well deserved rest before heading home after Christmas.

Krishna’s is one of a number of interesting book shops that we’ve visited and we feel a little guilty that the Kindles we carry are having a big impact on these shops and you have to wonder for their future.