A Grim Furry Tale - Bikaner

We made two stops on our 350 km journey from Jaisalmer to Bikener.  The first was planned – at the windswept desert village of Ramdevra where we stop to visit the important temple dedicated to Ramdev.  Hukum, our driver explains that more than 10,000 pilgrims gather at the temple every September, walking from all over Rajasthan.  As the pilgrims approach their goal they cast off their shoes and we see thousands of shoes at the side of the road from about ten miles from the temple.

Once they get close to the holy shrine they have to queue to get in, not a concept that I thought the Indians would readily cope with judging by our experiences

Struggling to find the entrance and hounded by dodgy people hovering outside asking for donations and brandishing receipt books we decide not to bother. Instead, we head back through the market selling huge amounts of tat and meet up with Hukum outside some food stalls.

Having a local with us means we can try some of the street food and chai – it’s cheap and it’s good, particularly the chai.  The chai wallah pours milk and a little water together in a saucepan containing masala tea leaves to which he adds some crushed ginger and a big helping of sugar.  The mixture comes rapidly to the boil and is then strained into small glasses – it’s accompanied by freshly made samosas and chili pakoras.  

Oliver Reed is alive and well and working as a chai wallah's assistant

Delicious, but John goes one step too far and accepts the challenge to eat a green, deep fried chili. Give him his due – he scoffs the lot like a man in front of the locals but he ends up with a comical bout of hiccups.

Our next stop is on the road to Phalodi – along the roadside we see tents and buses, accompanied by blaring music and with hundreds of decorated camels moping around.  

We stop to investigate and it’s obvious that the crowds haven’t arrived yet as there is a lot of activity to erect tents, put up lighting and generally make things ready.  There must be at least a 100 big accommodation tents and a large marquee acting as a temple from which the music emanates.

We park up and explore. This is clearly a well organized event with a massive mobile kitchen set up, portaloos, lighting and sound systems all at the side of the road in a field in the middle of the desert - fascinating and confusing.

Does my hump look big in this?

We arrive at our hotel in Bikaner – the Laxmi Niwas Palace is a real palace although when we arrive it’s been taken over by Indian film luvvies who are shooting some epic.  John heads off in search of the loo only to draw the wrath of some movie jobsworth who shouts ‘quiet on the set’ and indicates that he should stop – undeterred, he continues so if you’re ever watching a Bollywood Blockbuster and you see a chap hurrying across in the background you’ll know who it was and where he was going.

The hotel is a converted palace and is as beautiful as all the palaces we have visited, only this time we are staying for two nights.  I only booked it 2 days ago and got a good deal which is probably down to the film crew.

We’ve got a suite with a dining room for entertaining, a sitting room,  bathroom and a large elegant bedroom.  It’s very regal.  Better still there’s a billiards room and a real bar – the first we’ve seen on this trip.

The walls of both the billiards room and the bar are festooned with old photographs and the remains of enough wild animals to stock a large zoo.

Half a lager and a rhino chaser

I know that things were different in the Thirties but the sight of more than a dozen large tiger pelts gathering dust on the walls leaves us in despair.

There’s well kept gardens where peacocks roam and an outdoor swimming pool although it isn’t warm enough to enjoy.  The restaurant has ornately painted walls and ceilings and shimmering chandeliers which provide a splendid backdrop to some excellent food, including the local delicacy Lal Maas which has John saying a few Hail Marys.

Apart from breaking the journey to Jaipur, the main reason for coming to Bikaner was to visit the Karni Mata Temple at Deshnok.  It’s known as the rat temple for reasons that are all too obvious.  We take off our shoes and John buys some Prasad, holy food offerings as he doesn’t want a reoccurrence of the monkey god incident.

Through a beautifully ornate silver door we enter the temple

 – it’s full of rats – everywhere.  The smell of rats’ urine is overpowering and we’re walking about in our socks.  The rats know that they are safe and that we are likely to have food so they are brazen as they come to greet us.  It’s supposed to bring good fortune if a white kaba runs over your feet – for us it’s only the brown vermin I’m afraid. 

Rats pop out of holes in the wall 

or scrabble to feed from huge bowls of milk or corn.  

The locals don’t seem to notice the rats or the smell and everywhere rats sit or climb or scurry. The little shrine at the center of the temple has people praying, or picking up rat’s excrement and rubbing it in their faces or eating Prasad picked from the floor.  Prasad covered in rat saliva is said to be luck but we’ll take their word for it.  One guy lies flat out on the floor praying and kissing the ground whilst rats scurry over him. 

Back at the car we remove our smelly rat socks and leave them in the car park before heading off to our next stop.

We visit  the Bhandasar temple but it is difficult to remember anything because the priest who gives us a short tour has bright red and strange facial hair and few clothes although collars and cuffs luckily cannot be checked.  After paying him off with a small donation we enjoy looking at the fantastic Muriel’s on the walls and ceilings but can’t look at each other or the priest for fear of dissolving into fits of laughter.

We head for the obligatory fort but on the way we visit the market in search of the strangely addictive chai and jalebis.  Jalebis are a sweet that are said to be delicious and I’ve wanted to see them cooked and try them since we arrived in India.  Jalebis are proper Scottish food which would give deep fried Mars bars a run for their money. Swirls of batter are cooked in boiling oil until nicely brown, drained then dunked into hot sweet sugar syrup.  10 rupees gets us a bag  of the hot sweet and despite pangs of guilt, I have to say that they are fantastic.

It’s deep fried heaven and everything costs 10p so we end up trying all kinds of goodies from spicy pasty like envelopes, bhujiyas and samosas, and washed down with the lovely street chai which tastes strongly of ginger and is very refreshing .

At the fort we fight with the locals to buy our tickets. I ask for audio gear so the man (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Russ Mayer – the Sparks keyboard player)  closes the ticket office and sorts out the head sets oblivious to the growing queue waiting to get in.

This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us - Hang on where's my keyboard?

The fort is similar to others we have looked around but is a little more shabby in places.  The number sequencing to the audio guide doesn’t really match up with the exhibits but it’s interesting and doesn’t matter too much.  

Downstairs theres a DH9 biplane in the armoury and the personal items loaned by the Maharaja are  very well preserved and reveal a fascinating history of loyalty and assistance to the British in many wars. We’re surprised to learn that the Maharajah of Bikaner was a signatory to the Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War.

When we come out of the fort our feet are a little achy so we go to Glops for a late lunch.  We’re greeted by Mr Movember, a chap with the biggest tache we’ve seen.  He proudly unfurls his pride and joy and stands to attention by my side for the obligatory photo.

Lucy has her fancy tickled by Mr Movember

And this is our last blog before Christmas so where ever you are have a splendid day.