Going for a ride

Rocking side to side in an uneven pattern left me fearing my sideways perch. Ok, sure there is a bar in front of you, but mom and I kept hitting it and lifting it up so I didn't have much faith in its ability to keep me secured to my seat. Then the mahout asked me to shift farther back, wait - watch that your feet don't get scraped against the wall, tuck them in, but don't let them touch. Now shift forward, you're uneven. Goodness. I didn't realize that I'd have to think so hard, or use so many stomach muscles, to take the short ride up the road to the Amber fort by elephant. Since this was my first opportunity to ride an elephant I was definitely going to take advantage, and it was easier then having to walk up the hill (avoiding the elephants in the process). After all, why wouldn't you want to ride on an elephant brightly decorated with paint on the head and sometime the back end? We ended up on a smaller elephant (younger?) who quite clearly wasn't all to fond of going up hill. We kept getting passed by other elephants, but hey, that just gave us a bit more time to enjoy the experience. Maybe he's just feeling a bit sick, after all he seems to have the snuffles (I now know where the inspiration for Snuffleupagus comes from). Eeewww! He just sneezed, and I have now been baptized by an elephant. I had a hard time deciding if it was funny or just gross; I just asked mom to help me remember not to touch my leg. Oh, wait a minute. We just hit a straight away and our little elephant has put on the speed. Maybe he just doesn't like to go up hill. We're finally entering the courtyard of the Amber Fort and I can think is "We definitely got taken for a ride."

Jantar Mantar

"Oh, wow...." That was the only thought going through my head as I tried to keep my jaw from dropping down. We had just walked into Jantar Mantar, an observatory which was built between 1727 and 1734. My eyes skipped from structure to structure, absorbing the symmetry and geometry of constructions which made this such an accurate measuring tool. The name Jantar Mantar literally means calculation instrument, and the 14 large devices in this fairly small astronomical park are exactly that. There is the Vrihat Samrat Yantra, the giant sundial which proudly rises above everything else. If its sheer size and smooth lines aren't enough to impress you, how about the fact that it is accurate to 2 seconds, still accurate to this day. Just off to one side is a set of 12 similar structures. The zodiac gnomes are individually calibrated to be accurate depending on which zodiac sign is in the sky. There is the Narivalaya Yantra, a large double faced sundial. The hemisphere impressions in the ground form the Jai Praksh Yantra which shows a star's position. Other instruments' uses escaped my notice as I was drawn to the careful construction, precise rulers etched into the edges, or the sweeping lines. The large astrolabe was intriguing, especially when I realized that I could sight some of the other instruments through it if I got low enough. Okay, not exactly what it is supposed to be used for (rather a precise measurement of the degree a star has risen and its east-west inclination). I'm sure I missed out on understanding a lot about what these fantastic tools could do; regardless Jantar Mantar was my favorite stop in Jaipur.

If you want to learn a bit more about how some of the instruments work this is the best site I found.

A weekend in Jaipur

While my mom was here visiting we managed to fit in a quick trip to Jaipur, about 5 hours southwest of Delhi. I hadn't been there before, so was uncertain what we'd find to keep ourselves busy. The answer to that - is plenty! While 5 hours can seem like a long time in a car anywhere, I consistently find it fascinating to stare out the window and get a glimpse of what seems more like real India. I can't deny that I live a mostly expat life, with less contact to what I'd consider real India then I'd sometimes hope for. Long drives help me to feel a bit more exposed to a more common country. This trip I was fascinated by forms of transportation. Horse carts, water buffalo carts and my favorite - camel carts! We even got a chance to ride an elephant (but I'll post more about that later when I tell you about the Amber fort).

Jaipur is known as the pink city because in 1876 all of the buildings were painted terracotta pink to welcome Prince Albert. To this day the buildings within the old city walls are still pink; although according to our driver the shade of pink varies depending on the color mixed when it is decided that a new paint job needs to occur (usually when someone important comes up for a visit). I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much there was to see in the area, and in the city itself. My favorite turned out to be Jantar Mantar, an old observatory (which I loved so much it will get its own post) that had fabulous lines and was incredibly accurate. There there was the city palace where the royal family of the state of Rajasthan still lives. The best thing there were some detailed decorated doorways, my favorite was one that had a peacock theme. Then there is the Amber Fort (sometimes known as the Amer Fort) where we spent several hours wandering around (this will get its own post too), Jal Mahal - the water palace which you can no longer visit but is worth the stop to take in the view across the Man Sagar Lake, the chance to check out the traditional Rajasthan dance, some amazement at views out of the car window as you drive along the road glimpsing walls rolling along the hills and streets lined with raised pavilions where the women used to welcome royal visitors by throwing flowers down, and of course some shopping!

There is so much to see in Jaipur that I don't think I would have any trouble taking another long weekend to explore the city. I just made a small dent in what the city had to offer. However we left early Sunday morning to head to Agra so that we could make a short three hour stop in that town to check out the Taj Mahal (I was the only one in our group who had already visited) before heading back to Delhi.

Add color to your life

Add some color to your life

Celebrate Holi!
Let them spray you with water
Drop colored powder on your head
Shoot water through the window of your taxi
Create a splash of color on your white clothes.
Say goodbye to winter
Welcome spring to the world
Add some color to your life
Celebrate Holi!

Mom arrived just in time to celebrate Holi with me. Rather than take her directly to the streets of New Delhi on what is one of the craziest day we decided to participate in the smaller celebration going on at school. That didn't keep us from getting blasted through the taxi window on our drive home, but it did mean we got a ton of smiles from locals when they realized that we had "played Holi." Thanks to following some of the suggestions I received (put oil in your hair, make sure to slather on the sunscreen, wear old clothes) we managed to escape without much long term coloring. Mom has a single purple spot on her toe nail she has been enjoying as a memory. I'm just glad my hair is still blonde and not a mixture of yellow, red and purple like many of my fair students. This is definitely a colorful, light-hearted and fun holiday.

Hiking in the foothills

5 days with 13 students. 3 days of hiking. 2 days of safari. This was mincourse (the equivalent of week without walls) last week for me. I have to say it was a enjoyable event. It gave me an opportunity to see a bit of India I hadn't seen before, vaguely northeast of Delhi. My first glimpse of the Himilayas, snow covered peaks with several other levels of mountains adding to the beautiful scenery. A quick stop to take photos before the cloud cover settled in and then we were off to start our hiking. Three days of 5-6 hours mostly downhill. We passed through a few small villages, vistas showing the field terracing, past a stream (and a few dry stream beds), down the winding paths, through a single tree type forest (where is the diversity?), and after several falls and some ugly blisters for certain individuals we made it down. To the cheers and pleased expressions of the students for sure. I was kind of sad to be leaving the clean air and heading back to a city.

The second half our trip was to safari in Corbett National Park. The first protected area set aside in India was made a national park in 1936. It is home to a large diversity of birds (including almost 50% of the bird species in India) as well as tigers (we only saw paw prints), three types of deer and a variety of other animals. In our two early morning starts we saw no tiger (don't be disappointed, some of the road signs remind - there are many other worthwhile things to see in our park), a few wild elephants shaking the trees, some deer and plenty of birds including a wild peacock and my favorites, kingfishers and a pygmy woodpecker.

Have to say I enjoyed the week; getting to know a few more students here at school, spending time out in the fresh air and visiting a new piece of India.