Trip To Rajasthan-Ranthambore

Day 3 and 4-Ranthambore
Wildlife had always attracted me.That is one reason Kunal included Ranthambore in my itinerary. I reached Ranthambore by 3 pm.That was where Narendra was to give a last drop to me and head back to Jodhpur.
Well I reached Ranthambore Regency where my booking was done and checked in. The lunch which was a buffet was  served at the hall was closes at 3:30 pm.So I freshened up and had  my lunch.Kunal had arranged for 2 safaris ,one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. I could have gone in the same day I checked in as the safari starts at 3:30 pm. But I decided to relax that day and informed the reception I would do the safaris tomorrow.i was tired and retired to my room ,a very nice and pleasant room and watched some tv since they served us dinner which starts at 7 pm to 10 pm.After having dinner I slept off early as the morning safari starts at 5:30 am. I asked for a wakeup call though I am used to waking up early.I was up and ready by 5:30 am where they served us tea and biscuits and when the entire group arrived ,we boarded the canter which was supposed to take us to the wildlife sanctuary. Canters are like army trucks which can seat some 20 people. But the tops of the trucks are open .One can opt for open jeeps or canters.Jeeps are much more costly.
 Ranthambore National Park is one of the largest national parks in northern India. It is situated in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 110 km northeast of Kota and 160 km southeast of Jaipur, Ranthambhore was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 by the Government of India and was declared one of the Project Tiger reserves in 1973. Ranthambore became a national park in 1980. In 1984, the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary, and in 1991 the tiger reserve was enlarged to include the Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries.
Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary is known for its tigers and is one of the best places in India to see these majestic predators in the jungle. Tigers can be easily spotted even during the daytime. A good time to visit Ranthambore National Park is in November and May when the nature of the dry deciduous forests makes sightings common.
Well we reached the santuary by 6am .Each canter and jeeps are accompanied by one naturalist who will show us inside the santuary.We reached the entrance where the naturalist took permission for entering and we made our way in. The core park area has been divided into several zones and the safari vehicles go on one of those zones. Since there is a good chance of not sighting a tiger in one outing, people usually take more than one ride.In fact I felt lucky as the very first turning of the forest, the naturalist made us listen to the warning sounds of Sambar deer which we sighted after some 5-10 minutes on the opposite side of the hills. Everybody was excited that they might sight the tiger.After screening up and down the hill we were able to see the leopard just a few hundred metres from the 2 sambar deers.We waited to see whether it will attack the deers or not. But I think it was not hungry as it quietly walked away from the deers. That was the first and last of the carnivorous animals of the cat family that we all saw. After that, the safari which is of  almost 2 hours took us all around the forest but we did not see any tiger but we were able to see the pug marks of the tiger right in front of our vehicle. In between we were able to see the spotted deers and peacocks and baboons which were in abundance. The naturalist stopped the vehicle in between so that we could click some pictures of the deers and the peacocks and the baboons.In fact a peacock came right in front of our vehicle and spread its beautiful wings.We waited and watched till it danced and took a 360 degree turn and then walked away. A beautiful sight.We also saw the Antelope ie the Nilgai which is one of the largest Asian antelope. The mature male appears ox-like and is also known as the blue bull. A blue bull is called a nil gai or nilgai in India, from nil meaning blue and gai meaning a bovine animal (literally 'cow').We finally made our way back to the resort and reached by 9:30 am.I had breakfast and there other groups were talking that they were able to see the tiger.
I was hoping to see the tiger in my afternoon safari .The weather being hot, it is natural for animals to come out near the water bodies. I went back to my room took bath and relaxed. Lunch was served at 1 pm but I was not hungry as I had breakfast late.so I had little. Soon after it was time for us to go for our 2^nd round of safari. By 3:15 pm everybody had assembled and we all left once again by 3:30 pm.This time there was a different naturalist who made us all sign one paper saying we would be solely responsible for ourselves  in case  anything happens. Once we had signed we all entered the santuary. This time also we were not able to see the tiger.The weather was very very hot.I had taken a stole to cover my head.We sighted the usual animals that we saw in the morning and in addition a baby crocodile relaxing on the rock near a pond and a mongoose.In fact the naturalist stopped at 2-3 different places in between and we kept watch for some 15-20 minutes in each place as the forest authorities had told the the tiger had gone that way since morning.We were there in the santuary till 5:30 pm  and then we headed back.I was disappointed.We reached our resort at 6 pm .I took a head bath as the forest track was a dusty track .
I Relaxed for a while till I was called for dinner.I befriended a British old man who was on a 2^nd vist to Ranthambore with his son. He told me that yesterday they were able to see the entire tiger family. I became more disappointed.We had dinner together  and then took leave from my new friend and retired early as I was to checkout early morning by 6:30 am.
My train to Delhi was at 7 am. The kitchen staff had packed breakfast for me on the way which was in my package .The hotel arranged for a car to take me to the station and see me off. I had requested Kunal to arrange for somebody who could help me find the platform and train to avoid any last minute confusion.I took leave from Ranthambore. The train arrived at 7:30 am.The car driver helped  me keep the luggage inside the train and went away.The train was there maximum for 10 minutes at the station and started moving towards Delhi. I came back to Delhi with a lot of wonderful experiences of my Rajasthan trip.

Trip To Rajasthan-Jaipur and Pushkar

Day 2-Jaipur

Kunal had booked a cab for me. The Driver Narendra was his office driver only.So he was the one who will take me to Jaipur,Pushkar and then Ranthambore.I took leave of the Rathores-Kunal ,Nishi and Shashank. From now on I would be travelling alone and I was thrilled and a little  scared too.From Jodhpur, Jaipur is some 5 hours journey.On the way Narendra was telling his story –how he became a driver from being a servant and now has his own cab.In between he also showed me the 2 of the vegetables that are used for making the sabzi that  I was talking about in my previous blog.it was growing in  the bushes on both sides along the roads.On the way I made a stop to  Pushkar  which is a town in the Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. According to the Hindu scripture Padma Purana, Brahma saw the jhantu Vajranabha (Vajranash in another version) trying to kill his children and harassing people. He immediately slew the demon with his weapon, the lotus-flower. In this process, the lotus petals fell on the ground at three places, creating three lakes: the Pushkar Lake or Jyeshta Pushkar (greatest or first Pushkar), the Madya Pushkar (middle Pushkar) Lake, and Kanishta Pushkar (lowest or youngest Pushkar) lake. When Brahma came down to the earth, he named the place where the flower ("pushpa") fell from Brahma's hand ("kar") as "Pushkar".
Brahma then decided to perform a yajna (fire-sacrifice) at the main Pushkar Lake. To perform his yajna peacefully without being attacked by the demons, he created the hills around the Pushkar — Ratnagiri in the south, Nilgiri in the north, Sanchoora in the west and Suryagiri in the east — and positioned gods there to protect the yajna performance. However, while performing the yajna, his wife Savitri (or Sarasvati in some versions) could not be present at the designated time to perform the essential part of the yajna as she was waiting for her companion goddesses Lakshmi, Parvati and Indrani. So Brahma married Gurjar girl, Gayatri and completed the yajna with his new consort sitting beside him, holding the pot of amrita (elixir of life) on her head and giving ahuti (offering to the sacrificial fire).
When Savitri finally arrived at the venue she found Gayatri sitting next to Brahma which was her rightful place. Agitated, she cursed Brahma that he would be never worshipped, but then reduced the curse permitting his worship in Pushkar. Savitri also cursed Indra to be easily defeated in battles, Vishnu to suffer the separation from his wife as a human, the fire-god Agni who was offered the yajna to be all-devouring and the priests officiating the yajna to be poor. Endowed by the powers of yajna, Gayatri diluted Savitri's curse, blessing Pushkar to be the king of pilgrimages, Indra would always retain his heaven, Vishnu would be born as the human Rama and finally unite with his consort and the priests would become scholars and be venerated. Thus, the Pushkar temple is regarded the only temple dedicated to Brahma. Savitri, thereafter, moved into the Ratnagiri hill and became a part of it by emerging as a spring known as the Savitri Jharna (stream); a temple in her honour exists here.

There is very strict security in and around the temple. People visiting the temple cannot take take big purses and mobiles inside. They need to keep it in the locker facilty given to them Hence I was not able to take even one snap of the temple. So I prayed and came back. Actually the plan was also to see Ajmer, Durgah but time did not permit and I had to reach Jaipur too. So I  left for Jaipur. By now I was hungry and had the lunch which Nishi had packed for me. After chatting with Narendra for sometime I dozed off.So by 2: 45 pm I reached Jaipur,The Pink City. Kunal had booked Radoli house for me.Radoli is one of old haveli’s converted into a hotel. I told Narendra to have lunch as he still had not had lunch and told him to meet me at the hotel in half an hour. After freshening up I went off to see first City Palace ,Jaipur. The palace and Jantar Manter closes by 5 pm. So I had total 2 hours.One hour to see City Palace and the other hour to see Jantar Mantar. It was 3:30 pm when I reached City Palace. I made a tour in the Palace.City Palace, Jaipur, which includes the Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal palaces which includes Diwan-I-Khas and Diwan-I-Aam and other buildings, is a palace complex in Jaipur, the capital of the Rajasthan state, India. It was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of the Kachwaha Rajput clan. The Chandra Mahal palace now houses a museum but the greatest part of it is still a royal residence. The palace complex, which is located northeast of the centre of the grid patterned Jaipur city, incorporates an impressive and vast array of courtyards, gardens and buildings. The palace was built between 1729 and 1732, initially by Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber. He planned and built the outer walls, and later additions were made by successive rulers right up to the 20th century. The credit for the urban layout of the city and its structures is attributed to two architects namely, Vidyadar Bhattacharya, the chief architect in the royal court and Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, apart from the Sawai himself who was a keen architectural enthusiast. The architects achieved a fusion of the Shilpa Shastra of Indian architecture with Rajput, Mughal and European styles of architecture.

After viewing the Palace I entered Jantar Mantar which is next to the Palace. The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Sawai Jai Singh who was a Rajput king. The title of (King) and Sawai was bestowed on him by Emperor Mohammad Shah. Jai Singh II of Amber built his new capital of Jaipur between 1727 and 1734. It is also located in Ujjain and Mathura.
It is modeled after the one that he had built at the Mughal capital of Delhi. He had constructed a total of five such facilities at different locations, including the ones at Delhi and Jaipur. The Jaipur observatory is the largest and best preserved of these. It has been inscribed on the World Heritage List as "an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period.I wish I had taken the help of a local guide to explain me the instruments but I had little time and I had to go back to the hotel too. It was already 6 pm.I purchased a few souverniers and then proceeded back to the hotel .On the way I clichked some snaps of Hawa Mahal.I reached hotel by 6:30 pm and sent Narendra .But I told him to come early as I had to checkout the next day at 7:30 am.The plan was to checkout at 8 am am and on the way visit Amir Fort and Jal Mahal and then proceed towards Ranthambore.I had breakfast at the hotel before checking out and Narendra took me to Amir Fort.On the way we stopped at Hawa Mahal and I took some snaps of mine.We reached Amir Fort By 8:30-9 am.This time I arranged for a guide who could take me around.
Amer Palace is located in Amer, 11 kilometres from Jaipur, Rajasthan state, India. It is the principal tourist attractions in the Jaipur area, located high on a hill. Amer Palace (Hindi: आमेर क़िला, also spelled and pronounced as Amber) is located in Amer, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Jaipur, Rajasthan state, India. It is the principal tourist attractions in the Jaipur area, located high on a hill. Amer Fort was built by Raja Man Singh I. Amer Fort is known for its artistic style of Hindu elements. With its large ramparts, series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks the Maota Lake, at its forefront.
The aesthetic ambiance of the palace is seen within its walls on a four level layout plan (each with a courtyard) in a well turned out opulent palace complex built with red sandstone and marble consisting of the Diwan-e-Aam or the "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-e-Khas or the "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace) or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas where a cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over the water cascade within the palace. Hence, the Amer Fort is also popularly known as the Amer Palace. The palace was lived in by the Rajput Maharajas and their families. At the entrance to the palace near the fort’s Ganesh Gate, there is also a temple dedicated to Sila Devi, a goddess of the Chaitanya cult which was given to Raja Man Singh when he had defeated the Raja of Jessore, Bengal in 1604. (Jessore is now in Bangladesh).I also visited Sila Devi Temple inside the Fort Premises. On the right side of the Jaleb Chowk there is a small but an elegant temple called the Sila Devi (an incarnation of Kali or Durga) temple. The entrance to the temple is through silver sheet covered double leaf gate with raised relief. The main deity inside the sanctum is flanked by two lions made in silver. The legend attributed to the installation of this deity is that Maharaja Man Singh sought blessings of Kali for victory in the battle against the Raja of Jessore in Bengal. The goddess instructed the Raja, in a dream, to retrieve her image from the sea bed and install and worship it. The Raja, after he won the battle of Bengal in 1604, retrieved the idol from the sea and installed it in the temple and called it as Sila Devi as it was carved out of one single piece of a stone slab. At the entrance to the temple, there is also a carving of Lord Ganesha, which is made out of a single piece of coral stone.
Another version of the Sila Devi installation is that Raja Man Singh, after defeating the Raja of Jessore, received a gift of a black stone slab which was credited with link to the Mahabharata epic story in which Kansa had killed older siblings of Lord Krishna on this stone. In exchange for this gift Man Singh returned the kingdom he had won to the Raja of Bengal. This stone was then used to carve the image of Durga Mahishasuramardini who had slain the demon king Mahishasura, and installed it in the fort temple as Sila Devi. The Sila Devi was worshiped from then onwards as the lineage deity of the Rajput family of Jaipur. However, their family deity continued to be Jamva Mata of Ramgarh.
Another practice that is associated with this temple is the religious rites of animal sacrifice during the festival days of Navrathri (Nine days festival celebrated twice in a year). The practice was to sacrifice a buffalo and also goats on the eighth day of the festival in front of the temple, which would be done in the presence of the royal family, watched by a large gathering of devotees. This practice was banned under law from 1975, where after the sacrifice is being held within the palace grounds in Jaipur, strictly as a private event with only the close kin of the royal family watching the event. However, the practice of animal sacrifice has been totally stopped at the temple premises and offerings made to the goddess are only of the vegetarian type. The guide told me that during Navratri two times Pooja is done one by the local Brahmins and the other one was by Bengali Brahmins and Prasad given is both veg and non veg .One jug has ganga jal offered and the other jug has wine given as Prasad. After  seeing the fort the guide took me to the Jaipur Handicrafts Emporium where they showed how colours are made from original gem stones and block printing done using the colours. It was already 11 pm. And time for me to bid farewell to Jaipur. On the way I stopped near Jal Mahal and took some snaps and proceeded toward Ranthambore.

Trip to Rajasthan- Jodhpur

Day 1-Jodhpur

This is in continuation to my previous blog about Delhi. My Rajasthan trip  started from 3rd Apr,2014 to 6th Apr,2014.In fact the best thing about my trip to Delhi and Rajasthan is that it has been my first independent travelling till date and I had a blast. Till now I had been travelling in groups both small and big . And now after this recent trip I have the confidence in travelling alone too.

I had been thinking of seeing Rajasthan since last 2 years and I has also planned it along with Suma and Mrudula and one of my Jodhpur friend had made the itinerary and sent it too but my other friends were not free we had to cancel it. But then from that time onwards it was always there in the back of my mind. And also Yash who had made the itinerary was also calling me to visit in between but I could not find time. Now that I was in Delhi  and Jaipur is just 5 hours journey from there I just could not resist from going there. So I contacted my other IITTM friend Kunal and asked him to make me an itinerary so that I could enjoy the maximum. I had given him a list of places that I wanted to see and the number of days were less so finally I agreed on the itinerary to see Jodhpur, Jaipur , Pushkar and Ranthambore  as the distance between the 4 places were less and they were all on the way.

So it was decided that we, i.e me and Kunal will leave on 2nd evening to Jodhpur. Jodhpur first because that’s where Kunal stayed with his family and he had booked the train tickets for both of us for  5:30 pm evening. It was an overnight journey and we were supposed to reach Jodhpur at 5 am in the morning. We took the train from Nizammudin station in Old Delhi. He was already in  Delhi 2-3 days in advance for his official work .I was very ,very excited. Kunal and me chatted for so long remembering old days and it was almost 10:30 pm. Kunal slept off easily but I was unable to sleep in the train as It has been some 8 long years since I travelled in train.I would wake up every half and hour . When the train entered the Jodhpur station .  I woke up Kunal who was still fast asleep and we got down quickly. From there we went to his house which is some 15-20 minutes in auto. His wife ,Nishi and son, Shashank were fully awake to greet us. Shashank who is in 7th class was very excited to meet me as Kunal had told me the previous day ,greeted me by touching my feet. I was totally taken aback as I am not used to such greetings .I had actually come at a time when Navratri celebrations were going on and 3rd Apr was the 4th day of Navratri. So Nishi was up early and made us tea. It was an excellent tea she had made. And usually I limit myself to only one cup in the morning but when she offered me another cup I did not refuse at all. Pee ke mazaa aa gaya.So while we were sipping tea Kunal told me the day’s itinerary. We were to see Umaid Bhawan Palace,then Mehrangarh Fort,visit Durga temple which is in the fort ,then move on to Jaswant Thada which is near Mehrangarh.Shashank also took leave that day from school and accompanied us. Nishi was suppose to join us in Mehrangarh.

So by 9am we were all ready and after having breakfast left to see Umaid Bhawan. Kunal had booked a cab for us. Before that Kunal took me to see his house which is being constructed. After showing us around we reached Umaid Bhawan Palace is one of the most beautiful palaces that I have seen . The present owner of the Palace is Maharaja of Jodhpur Gaj Singh. The Palace is divided into three functional parts - a luxury Taj Palace Hotel (in existence since 1972), the residence of the erstwhile royal family, and a Museum focusing on the 20th century history of the Jodhpur Royal Family. The opening hours of this museum are 9 am to 5 pm. There is also a gallery showcasing the most exotic automobiles owned by the royals.Before entering the museum inside Kunal took me to see the royal family’s  Vintage collection some,15 in numbers which has been still beautifully maintained as few of them are still used by hotels for their guests at a price which is very high. Umaid Bhawan Palace was called Chittar Palace during its construction due to use of stones commonly known as Chittar in the building. Ground for the foundations of the building was broken on 18 November 1929 by Maharaja Umaid Singh and the construction work was completed in 1943..The Palace was built to provide employment to thousands of people during the time of famine.It was a good thing that Kunal accompanied as he is a tourist guide so he was able to give me a thorough information about the history of the Palace, the royal family, museum artefacts which included his palquin,clock collection,crystalware,paintings,weaponry  etc . Kunal said had I come one day before I could have witnessed the Gangaur festival in which the Gangaur devi is paraded around the whole city and then bought back to the palace. Gangaur is a celebration for married ladies and similar to Karvachauth.It was 12 noon by the time we finished Umaid Palce and then we left to pick up Nishi from her office and then proceeded towards Mehrangarh.

Mehrangarh Fort was beautiful in its own way. In fact the beauty about Rajasthan it that it has many palaces and all palaces are different and unique in their own way. But before we saw the fort we went first to see Chamundi Devi temple which is inside the fort.The temple would be open throughout the day for nine days during the festival. Once we had finished Mataji ke darshan , Nishi had to go back to the office . So Kunal dropped her back to the office and came back. Meantime me and Shashank roamed around seeing the Fort .So when Kunal came back he took us around the Fort and explained me the history of the place.

Mehrangarh Fort, located in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, is one of the largest forts in India.The fort is situated 400 feet (122 m) above the city and is enclosed by imposing thick walls. Inside its boundaries there are several palaces known for their intricate carvings and expansive courtyards. A winding road leads to and from the city below. The imprints of cannonball hits by attacking armies of Jaipur can still be seen on the second gate. To the left of the fort is the chhatri of Kirat Singh Soda, a soldier who fell on the spot defending the Mehrangarh fort.There are seven gates, which include Jayapol (meaning 'victory'), built by Maharaja Man Singh to commemorate his victories over Jaipur and Bikaner armies. Fattehpol (also meaning 'victory') gate was built by Maharaja Ajit Singh to mark the defeat of the Mughals. The palm imprints upon these still attract much attention even today.
The museum in the Mehrangarh fort is one of the most well-stocked museums in Rajasthan. In one section of the fort museum there is a selection of old royal palanquins, including the elaborate domed gilt Mahadol palanquin which was won in a battle from the Governor of Gujarat in 1730. The museum exhibits the heritage of the Rathores in arms, costumes, paintings and decorated period rooms.We saw the various rooms inside which included the Sheesh Mahal-a meditation room,Phool Mahal-for holding private durbars and Taqht Mahal-which was the sleeping rooms and the Museum. We had lunch inside the fort which was typical rajasthani cuisine and I loved it.There’s a special dish prepared by using 5 different ingredients.By the time we came out of the fort it was 4 pm.
After that Kunal took me to Jaswant Thada- which  is an architectural landmark located in Jodhpur. It is a white marble memorial built by Maharaja Sardar Singh of Jodhpur State in 1899 in memory of his father, Maharaja Jaswant Singh II. The monument, in its entirety, is built out of intricately carved sheets of marble. The Jaswant Thada is a traditional cremation ground of Jodhpur rulers.The excursion to this place took us some 40 minutes .I wanted to shop for some clothes so Kunal took me to a shop where I purchased some sarees and dress materials and we departed for home. I was really tired but I wanted to cover as many places as I had only one day and the next day I was leaving for Jaipur. Nishi was waiting for us and made us her special chai and my thakaan vanished. Kunal went out and bought Mirchi wale pakode which was a speciality there. But I could eat only half as stomach was already full as we had a late lunch and also the pakoda was too very spicy. Then after relaxing for some time Nishi took me out to buy bangles-laq bangles which is a special bangles in Rajasthan. She selected the bangles for me and then we came back home. I skipped dinner  that night .Meanwhile Kunal explained me the itinerary for the next 3 days and the accommodation  and the transport details .I slept off by  pm and I was supposed to leave Jodhpur by 8 am the next day. Nishi had got up early and prepared very nice breakfast and tea and then packed some lunch for me on the way.By 8 am the cab came to pick me up. I bid goodbye to Kunal,Nishi and Shashank.They had been a very good hosts. And I was beginning to miss Shashank as  he had given me a very good company throughout and kept me entertained  all the time and I became  his friend .He told me to send a friend request in FB. So he has become  my youngest friend.