It's no news that I'm not unhealthily obsessed with the place. Every second post on my noise.cash is about Rajasthan, but how did it all begin?
It is multi-faceted, I must agree, but it began with a folk dance 'Ghoomar', which is a part of a movie by the name 'Padmaavat'.
Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the movie is a period drama. His movies are big-budgeted, grand, colorful, and meant to be watched on a big screen. They're a visual treat. Period dramas are his forte. The plot of the movie is a spoiler so we won't talk about it. It's based on a Poem, which is based on a historic moment. I'm a sucker for good historic drama. My friend who watched the movie before me told me it's about Queen Padmaavat's beauty. No doubt she's beautiful, but the movie is about her wit and courage. She failed to understand the movie, what a loss!
The picture is a still from the movie 'Padmaavat'
It happened in the 1300s. The event was engraved so deeply in the hearts of the people of Chittorgarh, that people don't celebrate Raksha Bandhan (Indian festival), even after so many years!
The picture is a still from the movie 'Padmaavat'
The event happened in Chittorgarh, located in Rajasthan, which is one of the largest forts in India, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site too.
On the other hand, Rajasthanis are luxurious and opulent people, and they know how to celebrate, which easily attracted me. For example, their weddings are 4 to 7-day events!
A culmination of all this began my obsession.
Thus, I packed my bags and began my 20-day journey to Rajasthan. We had planned to visit 5 cities, out of which 2 days were reserved for Udaipur. The town of Chittorgarh is around 100-150 km from Udaipur. The plan was to explore Udaipur city on the first day and visit Chittorgarh on the second day.
We reached Udaipur as early as 5 in the morning. We dropped our luggage and went straight to the terrace to witness the Sunrise. The view of Lake Pichola was fascinating. Udaipur is aptly called, "The City of Lakes" or "The Venice of India".
The first half of the day was spent exploring the city. The small lanes and cottages were adorable. We almost crashed someone's wedding procession on the way. Some of us *not me* danced in the procession.
I almost never leave a chance to visit a museum or an art gallery if it's on the way, so we stopped by the City Palace Museum. As exquisite as imagined, the grandeur was breathtaking!
For lunch, we had Italian food at the rooftop of Jheel Cafe.
The evening was spent quietly by Fateh Sagar Lake viewing the sunset.
This picture was taken by me.
Someone mentioned a cultural show at Bagore ki Haweli happening the same evening. We quickly booked our tickets and reached on time.
It began with a traditional string puppet show and proceeded with folk dances of various regions of Rajasthan.
Some women danced with swords, extra-large bangles, musical equipment and some danced on a plate and broken glass too. They all had explained the reasons behind the unusual props. There were all graceful and so pretty in the traditional attires.
This picture was taken by me.
It was 9 in the evening so we returned to our Hostel. The next day was reserved to achieve the aim of my travel to Rajasthan- To visit Chittorgarh.
In Udaipur, we stayed in a Hostel with fellow solo travelers, within two days I had fallen in love with them- yes, all of 12 of them.
We met them in the late evening (11 pm) of our first day.
We chatted all night by Gangaur Ghat (lake); it was nice learning about their stories, learning about where do they come from, where are they going. We played some games too.
This picture was taken by me.
We located a small Cafe that was open till late. We had coffee and Maggi.
Since it was getting late, we returned to our Hostel and went to the rooftop to gaze at stars till 4 in the morning. The skies looked different here with lesser light pollution. The view was breathtaking.
It was all so romantic, the whole experience, almost like being on the date with 12 other people. Who says dating is a two people affair?
I woke up the next morning in a zugzwang. On one side was my dream to visit the fort of Chittorgarh, on the other I wanted to spend more time with these wonderful people.
"I have to go today", I confronted.
"The fort will always be here, but we might leave soon. It's always best to leave a place behind so that you have a reason to come back".
My gosh, they stole my heart; I knew I had to cancel the tour.
The next day morning, we all went out to explore the city to hunt places to eat.
We had a lavish lunch together- 'A Rajasthani Thali' (Platter). A scrumptious meal always makes me happy :)
This picture was taken by me.
The second half of the day was spent playing Mafia until we realized that there was an upcoming singer within our group. She brought her Ukelele, and we began a singing session.
At the end of two days, my friends and I had to leave, tears rolled our eyes, but we had a schedule to follow. Everyone hugged everyone to bid goodbye. It was very emotional, is it possible that I had fallen in love with them?
As time went by, other people started leaving too, they too had further plans.
After a month, only one of them remained. The common area of the Hostel looked quiet and sad. He sent us a picture of the empty common area.
It's aptly said, 'It's not the places you travel but the people you meet'.
I hope I can travel like you. and oh, I even love the song that you shared.