Walking along Jodphur in the Rain

We took a 5 hr sleeper train (quite grim) to our current location, Jodhpur on Sept. 27th.  We arrived late at night to a light drizzle.  We are staying Pushp Paying Guest House in the old city of Jodhpur, close to Meharangarh Fort one of the largest & most spectacular forts in India. Pushp is a quaint guest house that is very comfortable with a great rooftop restaurant.  Jodhpur is called the blue city:

because Brahmins who moved w/ the Rajput courts centuries ago painted their houses blue so the Maharaja's staff could easily find them.  Blue symbolizes Krishna, Rama, depth of character, bravery, stable mind, & nature in Hinduism.

We woke up to a driving rain which increased in strength as the day progressed.  We spent most of the morning at Mehrangarh Fort ("Citadel of the Sun" built in 1459 A.D).  The fort is massive with 100-200 ft walls built into (and chiseled out of) a massive cliff.  The fort is the "Vatican of India" and many of the rooms are well preserved from the Maharaja's time. You can imagine what the fort was like at its peak of power with courtesans, mighty rajput warriors, Maharaja's & Mughal Emperors, & British Colonists. 

We returned by Rickshaw in the rain & ate a fabulous lunch at Indique in Jodhpur.  We then walked to our guest house in the pounding rain and flooded streets with water up to our knees.  We have spent most of our time relaxing at the guest house reading, talking, & playing cards.

Tomorrow we take the train to Pushkar until Oct. 2 when we go to Bodhgaya. Here are some pictures of Jodphur & Mehrangarh Fort:

Mehrangarh Fort Entrance

Musicians

Fort Party Room

Maharaja's bedroom

Fort hall

Fort meeting room

View of "blue city" from the fort

Fort Woman's courtyard

Fort "guard"

Fort Door

Clock Tower in the Rain

Guesthouse dog ("Mack", but he looks just like a young Gus)

Tracey at the fort

Jaisalmer Musician

Until next time....

xoxo

Jeremy & Tracey