Udaipur, affectionately referred to as the "Venice of the East," is another royal city in Rajasthan. The city borders a series of man made lakes, each with several island palaces. The desert oasis has long been a playground for the rich and powerful Rajput class who trace their linage back to over 1000 years. We came to Udaipur around the time of a couple of very important and confusing Hindu holidays, Durga Puja and Diwali. In this season of festivals, the ceremonies blend together and the whole city exists in a state of colorful and spiritual excitement. Incidentally the James Bond movie, "Octopussy," was filmed here and is shown nightly at most tourist guesthouses, restaurants, and rooftop bars. Somehow in all the excitement we managed to miss the screening each night.
Max is a caged animal. Here is a cage for the trapping and transportation of tigers. The tigers were caught in the wild and then brought to royal gaming enclosures where hunting parties would shoot at the cornered animals from the safety of their 2-story hunting platforms. A very manly activity.
As we mentioned before, there were a lot of festivities going on during this holiday season. You may have to enlarge this picture (just click on it, did you know that?) to see what's really happening. Throughout the week, toddlers to old men were setting off cheap fireworks throughout the city. It produced exclamations, equally fearful and delighted. During Durga Puja, temple groups, families, and pretty much just random bands of people bring out their Durga Goddess statute or image and process her to the lake for a ritual cleansing. Although one is never very far from the lake in any part of Udaipur, these processions last all day long, winding through the myriad of twisting alleyways. Each goddess makes a stop at the Jagdish Mandir, to the left of the square above. Seen above: stick dancers hold their instruments amidst the smoke of newly exploded fireworks, sari-clad women huddle and cover their ears as above them, a tractor bearing the Durga Goddess blasts devotional music to the full capacity of its generator.
No procession is complete without a woman balancing multiple water jugs on her head, usually topped with burning cow dung or incense.
View from the "Monsoon Palace," built on a hill overlooking Udaipur. Udaipur's main lake, Pichola is seen on the right. In order to save money, we walked 1.5 up the hill during scorching midday heat. When will we ever learn?
Night performance. This performing arts organization puts on a "Traditional Rajasthani Folk Art" sampler every night. The crowd pleaser was this woman who not only balanced 10 water jugs on her head, but danced on broken glass and stood on a pair of cups with her bare feet.
Burning Man. India style. The Ravana burnings, seen above, come at the end of the Hindu festival of Dusherra. Ravana is the ultimate villain of Hinduism, specifically because of his actions in the epic mythological tale, the Ramayana. His effigy is burned every year on the anniversary of his defeat by Rama. The Ramayana, and this burning in particular signifies the triumph of good over evil. Most cities in Northern India construct several massive Ravana structures, pack them with fireworks and set them alight. Families and individuals also make their own smaller versions, which they burn in the street. When we had asked in town if anything interesting was happening that night, we were told by many people, "oh nothing special." Later we stumbled upon this open air stadium, packed with thousands of people watching a 40-foot bonfire exploding with fireworks.
When we were leaving the Ravana burnings, Kara was feeling particularly friendly and wanted to practice her Hindi. She struck up a report with this Indian mother, seen center, and was promptly invited to come to her house for dinner. We ended up hanging out with this family for a good four hours into the night. Two of those hours were filled with the newly married couple's wedding DVD(s). While Kara was upstairs being gently ridiculed for her lack of Indian culinary skills, Max was downstairs watching TV with the men. The sitcom they were watching featured a random white girl who had been invited to stay with the Indian family. This family were really fun and if we could manage to find our way back to their house we would stop by for dinner again.
Our last day in Udaipur was spent wandering around the cenotaphs. Cenotaphs are like mausoleums, except since Hindus cremate their dead they contain no bodies. Above are cenotaphs in honor of generations of Udaipur's rulers. They are all unique and expertly carved.
Even on our miniscule budget, we were able to enjoy ourselves in this city of kings.
Next time we'll try to see Octopussy.
With Love,
Kara and Max
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