Day Two, Jaipur: Frescos & Magical Nights

After a highly satisfying first day, the following day rolled out on a much calmer and lower enthusiasm level. Our zest to go out explore was in a impulsive yet controlled  manner. We had gotten used to the city, its roads, its buildings, its people. They now painted a familiar picture in us, and that awful gut wrenching feeling of stepping into the unknown was gone.

For breakfast we opted for corn flakes, and some bread and butter, to the large, hot kachoris we had from the roadside stall yesterday. I polished off three bowls of cornflakes to compensate for its absence in the last few months of idlis, upmas and baths. There was absolutely no regrets after the third bowl. Just a full tummy, and a large smile on my face.

A little before lunch, we decided to head to Nahargarh Fort for two reasons. One - we had viewed it from the terrace the day before, and two - because it had caught our eye, on those easy-to-read tourist maps.
It took us an hour's drive through the city, and then up the winding roads of the dry hill to reach the fort. It was a sunday wintry afternoon, which meant more people, more cars, more vendors.

The fort stood out bright and yellow-y in its brown, dry surroundings. The entire palace was covered in beautiful floral paintings, as though to make up for the lack of flora and fauna on the way up to the fort.

Where Amber Fort was magnificent and embodying, the compact Nahargarh fort made up delightfully colourful rooms, some even in greens, blues and greys.

All these rooms provided a breathtaking view of the city below. You could view the small rectangular roofs of the houses, crammed together, and in between a few, sprung out wispy green tree covers. 

The best part was the terrace,

After winding in and out of uncountable rooms, a small, narrow staircase took us up here!

The palace finally made sense, and also the wandering as well! It is combined of a set of courtyards, each connecting to four adjoining rooms, and they in turn lead to another courtyard. Multiply this a number of times, and you get a symmetrical plan of the palace.

Kites still fluttered in the sky, and music still blared out, creating the impression of a concert.

After a scrumptious punjabi thaali for lunch, it was work time for a while, and we all huddled together on our laptops in the pink walled common room. Soon night fell, and our host encouraged us to take a break, and come set afloat a lantern. 
Well we were on a break, so what the heck? 
So, Sitara, Swathi and I ran up to the terrace. 
Walking through the door itself, our eyes fell upon million tiny little orange dots glimmering against the dark blue sky. In between them, there were periodic bursts of firecrackers. Boom and then crackle! In colours of red, green and golden, they broke the stillness of the night.

We lit lanterns as well. For the first one, we had help, but we were so tense to make sure that our one floats, we forgot to make a wish. So, we decided to light another. We had no help this time, except for the nervous quick glances we gave to the people next to us, to make sure that we were doing it right. 
rrriiippp. A long blunt cut in the centre of the lantern. 

We took out another one briskly, and with more tenderness, opened and lit it up. We slowly pulled out our hands, like a parent taking off their hands off the bicycle, when the child is learning to ride. 
It swooped down, and we swooped down faster and kept throwing it up.
It fell down again, and we threw it up again. This continued for a few seconds, until the lantern was out of our reach, and was slowly dropping down towards the street in front of us. We watched anxiously, and along with us, our neighbours from our terrace, with whom we had danced yesterday morning.
A sudden gust of wind, and the lantern floated higher and higher, and our eyes plastered to all its little movements. We had forgotten to make a wish yet again.

Standing on the terrace that night, necks cranked up, and eyes momentarily following the lantern's flow up the sky can termed as nothing less than magical. 

A perfect end to the day.

**BONUS
We vacated the college premises early in the morning, after a long, fun, tiring five days of the convention. My train was late in the evening, so I granted myself another half a day of touring.

I joined two of my juniors, and I had another visit to Amber Fort. The same bus, the same route, but this time with more ease and confidence. It was in between morning and noon, so it was bright, but there was still a nip in the air. There were lesser crowds, and no tour guide feeding us information at strategic points.

Then we headed to the famous Literature fest. It was packed, and pricey, but I was so glad to be here! 

I got a mere three hours to spend in the fest, but I was just happy with the thought that I atleast got to spend that much. Being surrounded by books, and discussions of literary works was a new and wonderful experience for me. To be amidst like minded people, sharing the common love is in itself a beautiful affair.

Day One, Jaipur: Exploring, The lights, and Yes to Girl Power!

Sandwiched between documentation work, and the Annual NASA convention, we got a much needed breather for two days in Jaipur. Two days of exploring, eating, sleeping, and any other necessary fun stuff that we had sacrificed in the last few months.

Prior to Jaipur, we had a forty hour train journey, we took us all through North Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and then finally Rajasthan. We majorly caught up on our sleep in these two days, and ooh-ed and ahhh-ed at the beautiful sceneries that passed all along the way.

A game of dumb charades, a horror movie, and some hopping out onto platforms in between the journey, kept us busy, and helped time to pass faster.

We arrived at Jaipur on a foggy morning on the day of Sankranthi, all wrapped up in layers and layers of clothing. It felt like we had been thrown from one extreme of the thermometer to another. We checked into Zostel, a dormitory with painted walls of men in turbans, women covered with veils, and camels (of course), a comfy common lounge, complete with pink walls, bean bags, free WiFi, books, and musical instruments. Seriously, what else could be missing.

Here's Bhumi, my talented junior and roommate, playing around with the wall art in the kitchen.

As it was Sankranthi, there was a kite festival as well, and with more than four hours in our hand before check in, we headed straight to the terrace. It was cold, and breezy, and the sun was bright, making it hard to look up to spot all the kites.Music blared out from the speakers everywhere; a different song from different directions. 
We were joined by the neighbours, each standing in their terraces, flying or getting ready to fly the kites. 

As time passed by, and it became warmer, the people around increased and the number of kites, along with them. The sky became littered with various colorful dots, soaring above us. Here, have a look!

In the afternoon, we decided to head towards Amer Fort. A single bus ride and we were there. We drove through fort walls, crossed Jal Mahal, and up the dry hills, to finally get this view of the enormous fort.

The fort was located on one part of the hill, but the walls extended to the nearby hills as well, enclosing the city of old Jaipur within them.

It was a breathtaking view. The sandstone walls of the fort and the lake, glimmered in golden hues, reflecting the colour of the setting sun. And oh! Did I mention the birds?
They.were.everywhere.
Flying, pooping, swooping down. But oh God! They did make my photographs look beautiful!

We hired a tour guide, who took us around the fort, giving out more information on what movies and song sequences were shot, than about the actual fort itself.

I feel its hugely necessary and important to appoint a guide when visiting a historical place for the first time. It is helpful in understanding the whats, whys and hows of the ancient structure standing in front of us, rather than meandering around without appreciating or understanding the work of art in front of us.

For example, the frescoes were painted with vegetable dye directly on the marble. This gave a overall smooth touch to both the painted and non-painted parts, giving us no difference to the feel of the painted portion.

This art form of vegetable dyeing is still practiced today, (and has extended to cloth dyeing also) as a means of earning as well as promoting Rajasthani culture.

Another bus ride, and we got off at Jal Mahal.We walked the whole stretch of the lake, and I was particularly waiting for the sun to set, and the palace to light up!
Sadly, the palace was under restoration, so the lights hadn't been switched on.
Luckily, the fireworks started soon afterwards! 

And the whole sky was glimmering in shiny orange dots - lanterns were floating all over the sky!

Across the road, there was a baarat as well, adding the showcase of the lights, with men holding the bright chandelier style lamps, along the small stretch of the road!

Next stop was Hawa Mahal, and some shopping.

The Palace looked eerie at night, and as we walked, the streets also got emptier, and most shops were closing off as well. The buzz of the day had gone, and the silent night had slipped in. 
Closed shutters, empty roads, only the liquor shops were open, with some crowd around them.

Initially I was hesitant for all us (only) girls to go around an unknown city all by ourselves. Even with google maps, it is scary to venture out alone. But the people were very helpful. All the bus conductors made sure we got down at the right stop, and people also guided on where to go, and at what time etc etc. It helped us find and reach places quicker! 
By the end of the day, we knew Jaipur better, and became familiarised with the areas!