AJU Tour
If u cannot guess what AJU is, let me tell u that it
just stands for Agra (Ag), Jaipur (Jr) and Udaipur (Ur). For the rest of the
write up, I intend to use the short names.
So where do I start? Right from the beginning of
course ;-)
26/11/1999 - Friday:
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It all started with the three of us (Father, Mother
& I) boarding the AP Express to Agra. Since it was an LTA trip, we thought
we'd travel in style by booking throughout in II A/C.
27/11/1999 - Saturday:
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We had to alight at Ag at 5:30 am. It was terribly
cold. We reached the first platform, had a cup of chai and were out. We wanted
to visit Taj Mahal before boarding a bus to Jaipur. We came out of the station
only to find ourselves surrounded by auto & taxi fellows. Somehow managed
to get into an auto and off we went. We thought it was ridiculous to visit one
of the 7 wonders of the world in darkness. I desperately wanted to take some
snaps. ‘Twas just 8 km from the station. Reached the entrance at around 6:30am,
only to be told that the entrance fee between 6 to 8 in the morning was 105/-
per head! After that it is a mere 15 bucks. One word of note for future
visitors. The entry fee is free on Fridays and the Taj Mahal is closed for
public on Mondays. The entry fee is high because lots of foreigners want to
shoot the sunrise here. Also most of the film shootings take place during that
time.
It was already daybreak by the time we went inside.
We realised that we were the only Indians apart from the caretakers of course.
All the foreigners had their cameras ready as if they were awaiting some event
of the millennium. There is a cloakroom for visitors to keep their luggage
within the premises. No eatables, newspapers, pan, supari etc is allowed to
prevent littering. The monument was really breathtaking and simply magnificent.
No amount of time is enough to fully admire the monument. We spent almost an
hour walking around the whole campus. We were really thrilled and it was worth
the amount we paid.
The auto fellow was waiting for us to help us board
the bus for the next destination. That particular day all private buses to
Jaipur were cancelled because of the municipal elections the previous day. We
were lucky to get tickets for 9:30am RSRTC bus (Rajasthan State Road Transport
Corp.). We had some breakfast and another chai before boarding the bus. The
Fatehpur Sikri is 36 kms from Ag enroute to Jr. We had a darshan of it from the
bus itself. Bharatpur bird sanctuary is 46 kms from Ag along the national
highway. We’d barely covered a 50kms when the gear handle of the bus just came
off and had to stop at a wayside garage for repairs that went on for an hour.
Ag is very close to the UP-Rajasthan border. Our first stop after 2 hrs was at
a Mehwa. We ate meals and again resumed our journey for another 3 hrs. It was
4:30pm by the time we reached Jr. Jr is 252kms from Ag.
Appa had booked at the agricultural college
guesthouse. But we found that it was in the outskirts of the city and was very
difficult to commute; though our stay was only for a day. Then we found an auto
fellow who took us to a hotel. We checked in, freshened up and at around
7:30pm, we decided to explore Jaipur on foot. We strolled for some time and
found that we were very hungry. After a sumptuous Rajasthani thali, we decided
to retire for the day. We had asked the same auto fellow to take us sightseeing
the following morning.
28/11/1999 - Sunday:
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The auto fellow arrived promptly at 9:00 am. He took
us to the bus stand. There's a counter to book pre-paid auto service for
sightseeing that costs a reasonable Rs. 332/- for the 3 of us for the whole day
and covers almost 7 to 8 places of interest.
We started off by first visiting the Swami Narayan
Temple (Birla Temple). It is very aesthetically constructed and has stained
glass work in the interiors. Our next stop was the Sisodia Rani Palace now
converted to the central museum. It has got some Egyptian and English paintings
apart from scenes from the Indian mythology painted on the walls of the palace,
along with the usual furniture, arms, jewellery, costumes etc. Then we moved on
to visit Hawa Mahal. It was just a building with Jali windows and a spiral
staircase. There's a small courtyard where I presume the maharanis were
entertained in the evenings.
One more note. Each place of interest has an
entrance fee ranging from Rs. 5 to Rs. 35. Foreign tourists have to shell out a
lot more as their rates are higher. A separate ticket is to be purchased if u
had cameras. Next we moved on to a place which was centralized location for
displaying all the handicrafts of Rajasthan. They ranged from razai, clothes,
decoration items, marble statues, ornaments, trinkets etc. We found the place
quite expensive so we moved on to the Amber (pronounced Aamer in Hindi) palace.
It’s actually a fort that was occupied by the royals before the city palace was
built. It is built on a hill and can be reached by Jeeps that charge Rs. 100
per head and go on a long and winding route or by foot through a shortcut. Of
course u have to climb some 70 to 80 steps. We decided to go for the latter.
It’s the same palace that is shown in the Tamil film 'Kadhal Kottai' during the
'Sivappu lolakku...' song. The serial Tipu Sultan also seems to have been shot
here. Within the precincts of the fort there are several mahals the most famous
of which is the Sheesh Mahal (Glass Palace). It is ornamentally covered with
convex mirrors. The grandeur must be seen to be believed. Proceeding into a
chamber within the mahal (about 10 to 15 people at a time), a tour guide closes
all the doors, it’s completely dark and then he lights 2 candles. When u look
up at the ceiling as he's waving the candle up and down, the ceiling resembles
the sky with each piece of mirror coming alive reflecting specks of light like
stars. It’s truly enchanting. We came to know that it was one of the royal
bedrooms. Whew! What a luxury! We had lunch and resumed to visit other places.
That took us to a place called Gaitore or the royal cenotaphs. We didn't spend
much time and proceeded to another cottage industries emporium. The Jaipuri
Razai (quilt) is supposed to be world famous. We bought one made of velvet and
stuffed with wool. It’s very light to carry. They are made of all types of cloth
like cotton, satin, velvet and silk. The cotton one is most famous because it’s
supposed to weigh only 100 grams! It’s called the ‘Sou gram ki Razai’.
We also bought got 2 bedsheets and one bedspread all
with traditional Rajasthani prints and motifs and a tie and dye sari for Amma.
The next stop was at the famous Jantar Mantar. The instruments are massive
structures & amazing and 100% accurate even today. The best thing about
this place is that it is well maintained. It was evening by the time we finished.
We couldn't
make it to the city palace that was the last place
on the agenda as it was almost closing time and we had to board the train to Ur
at 10:00 p.m.
29/11/1999 - Monday:
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The journey from Jr to Ur is 402 Kms. Since it was
metre gauge, it takes exactly 12 hrs to Ur. We were again lucky to find an auto
fellow who took us to the agricultural college guesthouse. The facilities were
ok. The campus is very big and is situated right in the middle of the city.
After a nice hot bath and breakfast, the auto driver took us for sightseeing
within Ur. The first place we visited was the City Palace. It’s very well
maintained and no wonder that the entrance fee is Rs. 35/- + 75 for cameras.
Since the fee for camera was so high, we couldn’t take any snaps. This palace
also has several Mahals or palace apartments – Moti (Pearl) Mahal, Badal
(Cloud) Mahal, Manak (Ruby) Mahal and the fabulous Mor Chowk or the peacock
courtyard. The whole courtyard walls are lined with beautiful peacocks made of
stained glass. All the mahals are painted with delicate frescoes. Ur is the
birthplace of Rana Pratap, Meera & Heera Panna. Panna is said to have saved
Prince Udai Singh who later grew up to become a very famous king after whom the
city itself is named. There are several paintings that depict the life and
times of these great people. Many of the paintings also show hunting and war
scenes. There is a small museum on the arms, ammunition, costumes & weapons
used by Rana Pratap during the famous war at Haldi Ghati (that is about 20 Kms
from Udaipur) where he was killed by Akbar’s forces. The premises also enclose
a separate palace for the queen(s).
What is most striking about these paintings is that
they show a lot of greenery, from which we can deduce that the land must’ve
been very fertile in those days. Jr & Ur are set amidst the Aravalli
ranges. Now we do not get to see so much of greenery, as rains are not so
abundant. In Ur, there has been no rain for the past one year. Ur is called the
city of gardens and lakes. There are 4 big lakes within the city and 2
outskirts of the city. Each lake was a memento to the people by each ruler of
Ur and is also named after them. We got to see Fateh Sagar Lake, Sajjan Lake
& Pichola Lake. The Pichola Lake is one of the most magnificent of the
lakes. The famous lake palace that one gets to see in movies or documentaries.
Its called the Jag Niwas Palace, once a royal summer residence, seems to float
like a ship in the blue placid waters. Now it has been converted into a luxury
hotel by the Taj group.
Our next stop was a very ancient temple that is said
to be almost 600 years old, called the Jag Mandir. It’s a Vishnu temple built
of pure marble. A striking feature in Ur being a tourist place is that at every
place of interest one can find elderly people serving water in earthen pots to
the visitors. The service is free and u can pay them if u want to! You must remember
that there’s a shortage of water because of poor rains. This indeed shows the hospitality
of the people.
After a brief stop for lunch, we resumed our tour.
Atop a small hill a memorial and a museum called Rana Pratap Smarak is built to
immortalize the brave ruler. There are two beautiful terraced gardens called
the Aravalli garden and Verma Garden, the latter being named after a freedom
fighter. Even to this day they’re well maintained. The next garden that we got
to see was called ‘Sahelion-ki-bari’ or the ‘Garden-of-the-maids’. This was
built for the entertainment of royal ladies. It houses two very big fountains
surrounded by a lotus pond. There’s another garden called the Gulab Bagh, which
was once resplendent with different varieties of roses, but now there are none.
Moving on the next stop on the agenda is the
Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal. This is a museum cum auditorium where the
handicrafts of Ur are displayed along with regular puppet shows and traditional
dances.
Towards the end of our local sightseeing, we visited
a govt. certified cottage industries emporium and purchased some saris and dresses.
Then we returned to our room. The locals advised us that the trip to Ur is not
complete without visiting the temples in and around Ur. So we booked 3 tickets
in a tourist bus for the next day. We were told that the bus would pick us up at
our guesthouse.
30/11/1999 - Tuesday:
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After a long wait for the bus (almost an hour) we
finally boarded it. We were going to be shown
5 places, the first stop being ‘Ranakpur’ that is
about 90 Kms from Udaipur. The route is a one way road 75% of it on the ghat
section. The guide informed us that every year at least one vehicle falls in
the gorge below. What was more macabre is he had the nerve to say that a vehicle
for this year had already fallen and we need not worry! We saw the mangled
remains of a Tata Sierra and a Jeep. Ranakpur is famous for a Jain Temple that
is considered second only to Dilwara temples of Mount Abu. It forms an
important pilgrimage for the Jains. The entry is free, but a ticket of Rs. 20
is to be purchased for photography. The temple stands a solitary sentry amidst
the hilly forest. Wild animals are said to prowl freely in these forests. We
were informed that the temple architecture was identical to that of Mount
Abu. It is totally constructed in marble
and consists of 100 pillars each being a unique beauty in itself. No two pillars
are identical. No food items and leather items (belts, wallets and purses) can
be carried into the temple.
The next stop another 50 Kms away was a Krishna
temple called the ‘Charbhujaji ka Mandir’. Here the deity has four hands, hence
the name. This temple is believed to have been built by the Pandavas during
their exile. The whole route is a round trip of about 280 Kms. The above 2
places being on the forward journey and the next 3 on the return route to Ur.
After a brief stopover for lunch again we set off to the next stop called the
Raj Samand Lake. This lake is on one side of Ur. There’s another on the other
side of Ur called the Jai Samand Lake. Both are said to be Asia’s largest lakes
but unfortunately both have gone dry. Since we didn’t have much to see at Raj
Samand Lake, we proceeded to the 4 stop to visit the Sri Nath Temple at a place
called Nadhwara. This temple is most revered by the Rajasthanis. It is equivalent
to Tirupati for the South-Indians. The deity is Lord Krishna and the idol is
believed to have been brought from Mathura. History says that kings fought
battles to be in possession of the idol because there is an invaluable diamond
on the throat of this deity. Even now the diamond is intact and shines very
brightly. The idol also is very attractive.
Moving on to the last lap of the journey is the
‘Ekling Ji’ temple. This is a Shiva temple, constructed on white Jodhpuri stone
that’s quite different from marble. The deity is a Shiva Linga having 4 faces
of Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu & Surya on each side. Just outside the sanctum sanctorum
of the temple reside Parvati, Ganesh and Hanuman. Surrounding the premises of
the temple there are 101 small shrines each containing a Linga. After a hectic
day we returned to Ur. The next day we boarded a train to Ahmedabad and then another
to Secunderabad. During the course of the trip, we had the pleasure of covering
7 states – AP, MP, UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and a part of Karnataka.