Rajasthan: A Sojourn at the Kings' Land

Keshariya Baalam...Ayo Rey... Padharo Maarey Desh!

I must admit that I had essentialised Rajasthan even before I had visited the largest state of India, with an approximate land area of 342239 square kilometres. It is tenth of the Indian states in terms of population - in 2011, there are approximately sixty nine million people living in the state with a population density of around two hundred and one souls per square kilometre of land.

I had always been fascinated having had read about the land of the valorous Rajputs, like millions of other Bengalis do, I am sure, in Abanindranath Tagore's Raaj Kahini (Kolkata: Signet, 1956; Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, 1986). Often, after my All India Secondary School Examinations were over, I would roll on my bed, with a 1991 copy of Raaj Kahini in my hand, and read and reread the exploits of Shiladitya, Bappaditya, Hammir, Maharana Pratap Singha, and Sangram Singha, to name a few. It was in that period - in 1995 - that I came to nurse a deep desire to visit Rajasthan. As I grew up, my desires were accentuated after I had secured from Kolkata's Books Way (I would be ever thankful to Mr. Saladdin for the favour) a two-volume Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, originally published in 1829 and 1832, by James Tod (1782-1835), who served in Rajasthan as an East India Company lieutenant-colonel in the 1810s and 1820s. Tod's form of the English language, to say very politely, is indecipherable, but I remained as unputdownable as ever.

I began to seriously plan a tour to Rajasthan with my wife Sreeparna Roy (Chattopadhyay) in the second half of 2009. It was to be a short affair, I was sure from the beginning - for winter recess at my college was a short session - and I knew we could not afford the luxury of inching in the Kings' Land by train. Aeroplanes operated by IndiGo appeared to be the most suitable mode of transport. I must admit that we had meticulously planned everything well ahead in time - months before. Myself and Sreeparna, courtesy Arzoo.com and I.R.C.T.C. Limited, had booked Kolkata-Jaipur return air tickets and tickets for a train-journey from Jaipur to Jaisalmer, and back. As far as the post-tour estimates are concerned, out tickets cost us INR 18302 in all, out of which INR 16494 was paid for air-fare and INR 1808 for train-fare (including Balurghat-Kolkata return-trip reservation charges). The train journey was to occur by ordinary sleeper class because the A.C. options had already been exhausted. Apparently thousands were bent on travelling by the 14059 Delhi-Jaisalmer Express, which leaves Jaipur three minutes before midnight and enters the desert town half an hour before noon on the next day. It halts at the towns of Asalpur Jobner, Phulera, Nawa, Makrana, Degana, Merta, Gotan, Raika Bagh, Jodhpur, Marwar Mathanya, Osiyan, Marwar Lohwat, Phalodi, Ramdevra, Pokran, Ashapura Gomat, and Shribdrya Lathi, before finally stopping at Jaisalmer after a 921-kilometre-journey from the Indian capital and 576 kilometres from Jaipur.

At this point, please let me warn you that if you are planning to visit Rajasthan in December-January - because it is understood to be the so-called 'season time' - please ensure that you have pre-booked your hotels, for it often costs you dearly at both Jaipur and Jaisalmer when you try to grab a hotel-room-key after a tiring winter journey. We had done it beforehand, and our deluxe rooms at Jaisalmer and Jaipur, between 25 December and 29 December 2009 cost us a total of INR 11437 (including the two-day-charges of INR 2158 for Hotel Bani Park Palace). We put up at Room Number 102 at Hotel Golden City {Near 1st Fort Gate, Opposite S.B.I. (Jaisalmer-branch) Building, Jaisalmer - 345001, Phone: (02992) 251664, Fax: (02992)254565, Mobile: 094141 49464, Website: http://www.hotelgoldencity.com}, while at Jaipur, we resided for two and a half-days on a top floor (air-cooled)-room of Hotel Bani Park Palace {D-160, Kabir Marg, Bani Park, Near Collectorate Circle, Jaipur - 16, Phone: (0141) 2208053, 2204188, Mobile: 098290 51477, Website: http://www.baniparkhoteljaipur.com}. For our transit short-time-without-booking stays at Jaipur, we chose Room Number 402, and, later, Room Number 403, of Hotel Mother India {Fateh Singh Market, Opposite Hotel Rajputana Sheraton Five Star, Near Jaipur Railway Station, Jaipur - 302 006

, Phone: (0141) 2363414, 2214316}. They charge you INR 600 for an ordinary double-bedded room a night, and we were pleased by its amenities. Most importantly, you will have to spend a mere INR 30 for reaching the railway station by rickshaw. To reach this hotel from Jaipur Sanganer Airport, we had to travel approximately 14 kilometres, and the Jaipur Airport Taxi Operators' Association charged us INR 320 for a pre-booked Ambassador ride.

I am giving you all the information so that you can make your preparations before travelling to Rajasthan. One note of caution though - do not board the Delhi-Jaisalmer Express unless you have got an A.C. booking - what we did not have! Otherwise, it will take the air out of your lungs once the train will begin chugging into the areas around Jaisalmer through dense clouds of dust and sand!

Our real adventure began when our IndiGo Flight 6E-208 touched the runway of Jaipur International Airport, Sanganer, a little over 8 miles from the heart of Jaipur. It was five-minutes-to-five in the late afternoon, Christmas Eve, 2009, and we did not particularly enjoy the 2-hour-and-15-minute non-stop flight from Kolkata. We came out of the second terminal and the first thing I noticed was that there was no transmission-signal on my Nokia N-72 handset, with a B.S.N.L.-Excel S.I.M. card inside! It was the same for my Vodafone connection, fitted to Motorola C-140. Sreeparna was also perplexed. It took a little over three to four minutes for us to get the transmission-signals back. Thereafter, we reached for prepaid taxis outside the airport.

Here, please allow me to break my narrative and warn you about one thing - I booked my flights and hotels through Arzoo.com. Countless others, I fancy, will prefer sites like MakeMyTrip.com, and so on. But be sure to confirm from the hotels about your reservations before reaching there. We were for a nasty surprise when, some days before our journey, I rang up the receptionist of Hotel Bani Park Palace only to learn that they had no reservations for us! What followed was a series of frantic phone calls to Arzoo.com's Mumbai office at (022) 67134444. My travel agent, Mr. Rupakartha Majumder of Mohini Tea House {Moktarpara Road, Balurghat (Mobile: 094749 52932)}, directed me to the main booking agent, Mr. Ranjan Biswas of Computer Zone {North Stationpara,Fulia Colony, Post Office: Fulia - 741 402, District: Nadia, Phone: (03473) 235371, Mobile: 097325 41482}, who continued assuring me that everything would be all right! I was inconsolable unless Arzoo.com let me know that everything had been put in order!

The Jaipur Airport-taxi driver, I fancied a septuagenarian, was a good soul, who obviously took pity on us, watching me twitching my neck every now and then in anxiety lest something should go wrong. We were supposed to catch the Jaipur-Jaisalmer train near midnight, and therefore, it was necessary that we temporarily lodged somewhere. The old taxi-driver took us to Hotel Mother India, smiling to see me watching him and the hotel receptionist with unabashed suspicion! I soon realised my mistake. Ignoring his protestations, I tipped him, and went to the third floor to take rest! Mother India serves you food on order, and for the first time, myself and Sreeparna, after we had conveyed about journey-experiences in details to our respective parents, busied ourselves with real Rajasthani khana, concluding with sour curd. We immediately noticed that food is quite costly in the state. They charged us INR 240 for what seemed to us a very frugal early-evening meal! Little did we know then that two breads each would be the main source of carbohydrate for us until two in the afternoon next day!

We went to the railway station by rickshaw around 10:30 p.m. It was really cold - we did not think that Rajasthan could be that chilly - and as we approached midnight, the activities around the station lessened to almost naught!

The accompanying photograph of the almost-deserted station was taken by me just at midnight. We were half covered with light quilts - shaking in chill but satisfied that the railway charts had shown that the R.A.C.-ticket we had been bearing had been changed to a Confirmed status.

Delhi-Jaisalmer Express inched in around 12:30 a.m. We had been running frantically, our luggage slowing us, as we were not sure to which platform was it going to enter. There was a dangerous crowd in the sleeper compartments - and we were mystified where our goddamned S-4 could be! It was detected, written in chalk! But no sooner had I pushed my way in, cursing and fighting, than the train began to move! Sreeparna was outside on the platform! It was a miracle, aided by gods and goddesses, that the train came to a halt, and my wife jumped in, her suitcases in hand! We recovered our berths after bombarding the cosily-seated but obviously-infuriated commuters! A Marwari family-head offered me a berth next to Sreeparna, in exchange of mine, which, apparently, was in midst of his family members'! Nothing exceptional occurred on the way, except for the fact that I shouted at the top of my lungs to two standing passengers who, around 03:00 a.m., had busied themselves discussing their pre-marital love-life and post-marital woes just near my head!

This photograph was taken by me when I woke up early next morning, and Sreeparna was still sleeping! We were then somewhere between Raika Bagh and Marwar Mathanya. We were fully awake between Phalodi and Ramdevra. There were spots of sand all around, and the shapes and sizes of the trees lining up the railway tracks were changing fast. I was beginning to guess if that was what Jaisalmer would look like. We were low on food, and the train was showing no sign of stopping. I was afraid of getting down the train and losing my compartment, for Delhi-Jaisalmer Express was really a long one!

We reached Pokran around 10:20 a.m. I was straining my neck, after I had got down and brought in supplies of tea, cakes, packets of chips, and so on, to see as much of the 'historic town' as possible. It was here in 1998 that nuclear devices were tested underground.

I could not, however, see much. The areas were protected by barb-wire, and hundreds of military men in fatigues were moving around. Nevertheless, I took some photographs, one of which you can see uploaded here, and, after the train left, I concentrated on watching how the vegetation was changing rapidly. Camels could be seen eating from shrubs and there was sand all around. The 'scenery' did not change much until we chugged in Jaisalmer around 01:00 p.m., much later than the time we were expected. The Jaisalmer Station-photograph in the beginning of this blog was taken shortly after we had landed. A vehicle from Hotel Golden City was waiting for us at the railway station, and off we went.

I must admit, again, that though I was thrilled at the amenities offered by Hotel Golden City, the behaviour of the owner and his attendants did not go down well with me. I remained mum, though. It was a new state and I did not want to antagonise people. Myself and Sreeparna were trying to decide when we should visit the Golden Fort next day when the owner called me out and offered me a desert safari at the rate of INR 3850 for two. The package, which was supposed to be offered by M/s. Time Travel (Beside B.P. Tank, Jaisalmer - 345 001, Rajasthan, Phone: 02992-251664, 254565, 255276, E-Mail: timetravelindia@hotmail.com, Website: http://www.timetravel.fslife.co.uk), included round trips for two to Hotel Golden City's desert camp, camel ride, and meals. However, when a dilapidated-looking blackish Mahindra Scorpio finally came to pick us up, it was around 04: 45 p.m. and I had lost much of my interest in watching the desert. Sreeparna was unputdownable though, and did not mind my sullen looks as a number of kalakars boarded our M.U.V. on the way. As far as I remember, one of them was Buta Khan, attached to Hotel Golden City's desert camp, and another was his nephew. One of the two dancers was Ms. Santosh, the other I have forgotten. I did not have the least idea that this motley crowd of entertainers would enthrall us for the rest of the memorable evening.

After a considerable period of journey, during which the 'caretaker' Munna Bhai spoke to these gullible people about partition, borders, and going near to the Pakistani part of the border and watching the soldiers there (which we soon discovered to be falsities), we were finally on the desert. An uncertain red glow spread all around as the sun was about to go down. Our young camel was named "Biloo" and I found in his face a concentrated expression of hatred of mankind and lethargy at moving around on hot sand. However, when we two boarded on him, I began to feel a bit of Rajput myself, imagining marauders rushing across the desert to me and myself ready to confront them with my camera! The sunset was splendid, mesmerising! You would never want to return to civilisation...not in a jiffy! I madly shot away scenes and our camel-owner, who later charged us INR 50 as 'tips', helped to shoot our photograph on his "Biloo".

After the 'safari', we went to the hotel's makeshift desert-camp only to see that lights had already been lit and a small and open 'fireplace' ignited. Mr. Khan and his associates were producing the Rajasthani tunes on their musical instruments, and the song "Kesariya baalam ... ayo rey ... padharo mare desh!", a traditional Rajput welcome-song, caught my fancy! It was followed a couple of hours of songs and dances during which Ms. Santosh and her female companion demonstrated us incredible antics and dancing stunts.

Afterwards, we had hearty meals with traditional Rajasthani khana, served in the buffet system, and myself and Sreeparna returned to our hotel deep in the night, around 12:00 a.m. On the way, our Scorpio had stopped for over 20 minutes at a deserted spot, and we two were sitting in the M.U.V., shaking in cold and apprehension, until Munna bhai returned after ushering Ms. Santosh and her companions to their own houses. When we woke up in the next morning, we were relaxed enough for another big day, as my photograph before our room makes it obvious:

We started for a walking-tour to the Jaisalmer Fort around 09:00 a.m. Built on the Trikuta Hills, the yellow-sand-stone fort, founded in A.D. 1156 by the Rajput ruler, Rawal Jaiswal, is one of the larger forts of the world!

It was grievously attacked and 'mutilated' twice - in the 13th century by Ala-ud-din Khilji and in 1541 by the Mughal emperor, Humayun. Sadly, postmodern tourists remember Jaisalmer and its famous 'quila' (that is, fort) not because of the self-sacrifices of the valorous Rajputs but because of the 1974 Feluda-film, "Sonar Kella", by Satyajit Ray. In 2010-11, approximately a quarter of Jaisalmer's population lives in the fort.

Among the attractions of the Jaisalmer Fort are its four massive gateways, a Jain temple, a Laxminath temple, a number of havelis and above all, the Raaj Mahal - the house of the royals. At one of the gates, we met the officious Giriraj Harsh, an experienced tourist guide, who could speak in four languages - Rajasthani, Hindi, Italian, and English, and quite conscious about his brahminical background. His office is at the shop, Souvenir de Rajasthan (Inside 1st Fort Gate, Jaisalmer), and to contact him, one could dial 094147 62036 or (02992) 254344 (E-Mail: rajharsh99@yahoo.co.in). He charged us INR 250 for a guided tour of the fort, which, sadly for us, ended rather abruptly.

To be honest, I could not bring myself to appreciate the Golden Fort! It had been changed into a sprawling business centre, with the fort-rooms converted into luxurious hotels. Mr. Harsh was showing us the rooms for the royals, but I was thinking of going back to hotel. It was hard to see and withstand the commercialisation of history! Everywhere were we expected to offer money , and even when we were going to enter the Jain Temple, I was really concerned about the fact that they charged INR 70 per single still-picture camera. The interior of the temple, built in the 'Dilwara'-style around 12th century, was, however, brilliant, and we were wholly satisfied. The temple remains open until 12 noon every day for visitors.

Returning, we purchased some small gift-items for our parents and relatives, including a film-roll, sandstone utensils, shawls, decorated Rajasthani handbags, camera-and-binoculars'-bags, cycle-key-rings, and leather-sandals, totalling INR 3430. We were rather disappointed later that the leather-bags, apparently made from skin improperly tanned, quickly got spoiled.

We could hardly wait for our next destination - Jaipur. We had heard so much about the city of which I have had already a glimpse, and I must confess, I wanted to see the place for production of the famous "Jaipur Foot" which had given the ace-dancer Sudha Chandran the power to charm world with her moves. We started from Jaisalmer by 14060 Jaisalmer-Delhi Express at afternoon, and it was around 05:00 a.m. on the next morning - 27 December 2009 - that we alighted, yawning furiously and in a perceptibly bad mood. We could have quarreled at the slightest pretext. Having had taken up temporary lodging at Hotel Mother India (Fateh Singh Market, Near Railway Station, Jaipur) again, I quickly got a shave, and later, myself and Sreeparna hired an auto-rickshaw for INR 50 and went to the hotel-room we had booked: Hotel Bani Park Palace. For such smalltime and lengthy movements in Jaipur, you can also contact (though we had not) Jaipur Tour Point, P. No. 605, Jaimahal Palace, Behind Santosh Nagar, Ajmer Road, Hasanpurs-C, Jaipur, mobile number(s): 090013 93914 (Mr. Kishor, according to the visiting-card they thurst in our hands while we were tightly-packed in the auto-rickshaw), and 093512 04588, 097998 66534 (Mr. Rafik). One kilometre away from Jaipur Railway Station and two kilometres from Jaipur Central Bus-stand, Hotel Bani Park Palace is a budget heritage hotel, restored from a hundred-year-old bungalow. We got accommodation on the top-floor. The hotel also maintains a beautiful vegetarian restaurant - Restaurant Niharika, with the phone number (0141) 2204188 - and we were pleased to visit it as often as we liked. The food served there seemed to be moderately-priced. To give you an idea - referring to the food-stuff myself and Sreeparna had there on 27 and 28 December 2009 - they charged us INR 10 for a cup of milk-mixed tea. A plate full of vegetable pakodas cost INR 40. A plate of butter-toast INR 25; a plate of motor paneer INR 55; a plate full of vegetable fried-rice INR 55; a piece of handmade bread INR 8; a plate of palang paneer INR 65, and so on. The restaurant maintained a hoonkah there, and we were dreaming of having a puff or two on it. We rested for the whole day, venturing out at night to Sinhal Trades, a departmental store (Phone: 0141-2200569) on Kabir Marg, in the vicinity of our hotel, to purchase a red-coloured travelling-bag for INR 120. We also feasted on potato chips and non-chilled soft drinks.

28 December 2009 was our touring-day for Jaipur. We hired a green-yellow-coloured autorickshaw (registration number R.J.-14/ P.B.-2244) from near out hotel, and Mr. Yousuf Khan, a benevolent and helpful soul, was destined to take us against a payment of INR 640 all around the capital-city of Rajasthan, founded in the eastern part of the state in November 1727 by King Sawai Jai Singh II (1688-1743), who began his rule as a Mughal-collaborator but later expanded his kingdom annexing lands from them. Wikipedia has a fine entry on the ruler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_Singh_II). The city has an area of approximately 200 square kilometres, and is inhabited by (in early-2012) approximately 3.2 million people.

As we were gradually leaving the new part of the town and entering, after crossing a huge decorated gate

into what Mr. Khan identified as the 'old' and 'pink' part, we could notice Muharram 'tazia'-s being readied to be taken out. Mr. Khan accelerated. We watched the surroundings - buildings and even business establishments had to be compulsorily painted in pink colour.

The December-day was flooding in sunlight, and we were in the height of elation. We raced towards Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum or City Palace and formally began our tour of Jaipur spots, after paying an entrance fee of INR 20 per head. For each of our two still-photography-cameras, the museum authority charged us INR 25. The City Palace was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of the Kachwaha Rajput clan, and was built between A.D. 1729 and A.D. 1732.

We liked the City Palace. To be precise, we were mesmerised by it.

There are two entrances to the palace for commoners - the Virendra Pol and the Udai Pol - while the Tripolia Gate is reserved for members of the Jaipur royal family. We entered the area through Virendra Pol and visited the Mubarak Mahal, built with a combination of Rajput, Mughal, and European architectural styles. The Mahal houses a museum, and a fine repository of variety of textiles. One may wonder at the sizes of the dresses worn by King Sawai Madhosingh I, the ruler of Jaipur between 1751 and 1768, who weighed around two hundred and fifty kilograms and had one hundred and eight wives.

One would also like to visit the Chandra Mahal, in the western section of the City Palace Complex. It is a seven-storeyed-building, with specific names for each floor: the Sukh Niwas, the Ranga Mandir, the Pitam Niwas, the Chabi Niwas, the Shri Niwas, and the Mukut Mahal. Visitors can only visit the displays on the ground floor. There a museum is located, which displays carpets and manuscripts belonging to the royal family. A marvellous Peacock Gate welcomes you to the Mahal. We heard that in this palace, King Sawai Ishwari Singh (period of rule: 1743-50), son of King Sawai Jai Singh II, committed suicide through a self-inflicted snake-bite as the Marathas advanced threateningly towards his kingdom. His twenty-one wives also committed the act of self-immolation (the 'Jauhar' or 'Sati') soon after this. The City Palace Jaipur website (http://msmsmuseum.com/frmCmsPage.aspx?ID=4) offers an excellent account of the Jaipur rulers.

We next visited the Diwan-i-Khas, the private audience hall of the rulers of Jaipur.

It is located between the Art Gallery of the palace-complex and the armoury, where numerous iron and brass cannons are put on display, and where myself and Sreeparna took different snapshots. Two one-and-a-half-metre silver urn-like-containers - the 'Gangajelies' - adorn the Diwan-i-Khas.

We found a decorated Christmas tree still standing between the urn-like-containers. We also found some miniature models of the whole city of Jaipur. We stood before a large portrait of King Sawai Jai Singh II and took photographs, and ditto before displays of bows and arrows and guns displayed in wall-hanging glass-almirahs.

After appreciating the large number of royal carriages on display at a near-by 'garage', we moved, next, to Diwan-i-Aam or Sabha Niwas, the 'Hall of Public Audience'. I had, in 2005, seen the interiors of the Coochbehar Palace, the residence of Maharani Gayatri Devi (1919-2009), the third Maharani of Jaipur between 1939 and 1970. The Coochbehar Palace's 'durbar hall' is nothing compared to this Sabha Niwas, still looking as if the king is going to arrive at any moment to begin his counsel. Photography inside the Sabha Niwas being strictly prohibited, I am uploading here a photograph of the same from internet.

We went straight to the Jantar Mantar from City Palace. Built by King Jai Singh between 1727 and 1734, the Jantar Mantar is actually a collection of architectural astronomical instruments. This Jaipur Observatory consists of fourteen geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, and tracking locations of different stars. The Samrat Yantra, the largest instrument in the observatory, is actually a 90-feet-high sundial. Virendra Sharma has had, in 1995, published an informative book, Sawai Jai Singh and his Astronomy, which focuses on the construction and operation of the Jantar Mantar. Coming out from the observatory in a hurry, we raced towards a Rajasthani Shopping Mall, named Rajasthan Traditional Designing Corporation (40-A, Gupta Garden, Ground Floor, Amer Road, Behind Brahampuri Police Station, Jaipur - 302 002, Phone: 0141-2672042). One of the owners 'reportedly' had a Bengalee 'bhabi' (sister-in-law), and he could even speak in broken-Bengali. We purchased from his shop some Kota sarees, tops, some small clothing items, and a few mementos, paying a total bill of INR 2100. We, however, later discovered that the Kota sarees were not up-to-the-mark, and the wearers perspired profusely.

Our next destination was the Man Sagar Lake

, 4 kilometres north of Jaipur on National Highway 8, where we wanted to see the Jal Mahal ('Water Palace')

. It lies between Jaipur and the historic city of Amber. The lake has an water-area of 300 acres and at its deepest point, it is 15 feet deep. The Aravalli hills lie in the north of the lake. The Jal Mahal Palace combines Rajput and Mughal styles of architecture. Built in red sandstone, it is a five-storied-building out of which four floors remain under water when the lake is full, and the top floor is exposed.

Opposite to the lake, at Gaitore, several cenotaphs have had been erected over cremation platforms of some of the Kachwaha rulers of Jaipur: Jai Singh II, Pratap Singh, and Madho Singh II among them.

We did not see the Nahargarh Fort on the Aravalli hills. Now in ruins, it was built in 1734 by King Sawai Jai Singh II. It served as a hunting-residence for the Jaipur kings. We rather allowed Mr. Khan to take us towards Amer Fort, often pronounced as 'Amber Fort', 11 kilometres away from Jaipur.

The road to Amer was picturesque, to say the least,

and we even saw an elephant coming down the hilly road, its 'driver' apparently lying on its back in deep slumber.

The Amer Fort , a blend of Rajput and traditional Hindu styles, was built in 1592 by the Meena king, Alan Singh Chanda, and later occupied and renovated by Jai Singh I (1611-67). The palace of King Man Singh I (period-of-rule: 1589-1614) is also located in the Amer Fort. We did not go to to the interiors of the fort, tired as we were and desperately short of time. We did some photo-shooting at a scenic location just before the fort. We did not visit the Jaigarh Fort, either, though it was located very near the Amer Fort.

It was built in 1726 by King Sawai Jai Singh III to protect the Amer Fort. The Jaigarh Fort is 3 kilometres long and a kilometre wide, and it houses the Jaivana Cannon, the largest cannon of the world. Manufactured in early-18th century, the cannon is 6.15 metres long, and weighs 50 tonnes. It has a range of 35 kilometres, and can still fire 50-kilogram-balls with a 100-kilogram-charge (though it was fired only once). Returning, we had a stop-over at Shila Devi Temple, and thereafter, Mr. Khan took us to a beautiful point by the side of the Man Sagar Lake where we had some more sessions of photography, before going back to Jaipur. We had had long digested our early-day lunch of pulao and raita, which we had for INR 150 (for two heads) from New Khandelwal Pavitra Bhojanalaya, New Ramgarh More, Amer Road, Jaipur - 302 002, an excellent eatery. On the way, we had the famous Jaipur betel leaves. The shopkeeper charged us INR 10 a piece, but never until then had I tasted any betel leaf prepared better than these Jaipuri ones. If you visit Jaipur, please try to have a taste of the Jaipur betel leaves: you will thank my blog then!

We could not stop at Hawa Mahal - the famous 'Palace of the Breeze'.

However, I took several photographs of the Hawa Mahal from Mr. Khan's green vehicle. The palace was built in 1799 by King Sawai Pratap Singh (period-of-rule: 1778-1803), and designed by the famous Rajasthani architect, Mr. Lal Chand Ustad, in the form of the crown of Lord Krishna. Rising five stories, the exteriors of the palace are akin to the honeycomb of the beehive, and its nine-hundred-and-fifty-three small windows are decorated with intricate latticework. Built of pink sandstone, the palace is situated in the heart of Jaipur’s business centre. We went straight to the Albert Hall Museum, and braving dangers of being run-over by the dangerously-speeding vehicles, we went to see the museum, only to find it closed.

Situated amid the garden of Ram Niwas Bagh, it is one of the older museums of Rajasthan, built by a colonialist military-architect, Swinton Jacob, in 1876 for the purpose of greeting the English king, Edward VII, during his visit to India. The museum exhibits a rare collection of ancient objects, including miniature paintings, carpets, metal and wood crafts, toys, dolls, arms and weapons, and an Egyptian mummy belonging to the Ptolemaic Era. The most extraordinary of them is the carpet that depicts the scene of a Persian garden with gushing streams. I must also mention that while strolling all around, we had a glimpse of the Raj Mandir Cinema, arguably one of the larger movie-theatres of the India - built in 1976 and situated on Bhagwan Das Road.

Our time was running out, and Mr. Khan was obviously dismayed that we had failed to see many of the interesting and wonderful spots around Jaipur. He had had been for long marveling at the cheapness of food products in Bengal. He was determined to give us a gift. Going out of his schedule and contract, he took us to Jaipur's Birla Temple at the base of the Moti Dungri Hill.

Dedicated to the deities of Lakshmi and Narayan, the temple of white marble was built in 1988 by the B.M.Birla Foundation. We returned to our Bani Park Palace at five in the evening, and when we boarded the Indigo flight back to Kolkata on the next morning (after paying INR 500 to the Bani Park Palace authorities as airport-dropping charges through the taxi number RJ 14G/0939), we were ready to carry along with us our memories of the trip to Rajasthan as long as we would live. We went straight to my uncle's house at Kamardanga, Howrah-4, to recall our adventure in details.