Jaipur, Rajasthan

Raphael with snake charmer near Jaipur (I learned how they get the cobra to perform)



I am on 3 trips -

1. I'm experiencing each place we visit, seeing the sites, meeting people, etc.;
2. beyond that, I'm experiencing the gestalt of India - the subtext of all these experiences, and how they all fit together to comprise my overall impression; and
3. an adventure with my two older kids - regardless of the backdrop. We are sort of like the 3 musketeers (or, perhaps, the 2 musketeers and their dad).

Jaipur, Rajasthan

Rajasthan is a rugged area in northwest India. It was populated and ruled for a long time by the Rajputs, a warrior class (or caste) who resisted foreign domination for a long time. Thus, Rajasthan is full of old forts and still retains a distinctive regional flavor.

Jaipur is known as the pink city. The old city was built by Maharaja Jai Singh in the 18th century (it is Jaipur after him) and it was painted pink by a later maharaja to honor the arrival of the prince of Wales.

What we did in Jaipur -
- visited the Amber Fort and the Winter and Summer Palaces of the Mahajaras (very cool and beautiful)


The palace at Amber



Amber Winter Palace Gate


Detail of Ganesh in the Amber Winter Palace

- rode elephants


Raphael and Becky riding the elephant

- visited the old city, the city palace, and lots of stuff within it


Old city - Jaipur


Raphael and Becky with our guide, Najendra at the observatory in the old city - built in the 18th century for astronomical and astrological research


world's largest sun dial in the old city of Jaipur


- visited a gem polishing workshop (along with the requisite visit to the shop) and a textile workshop (along with the requisite visit to the shop)

- visited a private school for disadvantaged kids (Len Lehmann connected us to the Mamta Vidhya Mandir School). We met with the headmistress, the president of the board (the headmistress's brother) and visited some classrooms. Even the the government provides public education, there are no schools in the area where many poor Jaipur people live - without this school, those kids would not get an education. $30 covers costs to educate one child for a year.


Raphael with a teacher at a private school for disadvantaged children in Jaipur.


The very polite students of the Mamta School - this is a typical classroom


Becky with a couple of kids at the school.

- visited the outdoor bazaars in the old city

- visited a tribal arts and crafts festival

- visited a Hindu temple at a holy site during a pilgrimage day (see next entry)

- ate lots of Indian food

- dodged lots of honking cars and auto rickshaws

While I was riding the elephant, I felt my Blackberry vibrate - a message from Carol Winograd (who'd been in Jaipur a few weeks earlier). I thought it would be cool to email her back and let her know I was riding an elephant at that moment. This (me checking my Blackberry while on top of an elephant) was captured by my children on camera - a photo that no doubt will richly come in handy for future abuse of their dad.


Riding an elephant to Amber Fort while reading an email from Carol Winograd on my blackberry

Ellen later wrote to me that she thought using my Blackberry while riding an elephant must be at least as dangerous as using my Blackberry while walking. I have to report that this is definitely NOT true. here is why -

Walking outdoors in India requires tremendous concentration. If you are not alert, you will very likely -
1. be hit by a moving vehicle
2. bump into a human or animal
3. step in cow, camel, donkey, elephant, dog, or human shit
4. step on a human who may be sitting or lying on the sidewalk
5. fall into a hole
6. stumble over a pile of bricks, sand, dirt or trash

Any of these things are likely if one is walking and not alert. NONE of these things will occur if one is simply sitting on top of an elephant. Sitting on an elephant requires one thing - making sure you don't fall off the elephant. That is not very hard. Thus, to summarize - using my Blackberry while riding on top of an elephant is far LESS dangerous than using it while walking.

I had not run since coming to this country. Last year I visited Becky in South Africa and I ran almost every day near my hotel. Here in India, the streets and sidewalks are clogged. Trying to run around here would be like trying to drive fast on the Long Island Expressway during rush hour.

Two discoveries helped. First - I found a park, about 3 km from my hotel. Second, it turns out that India is a late-rising country -the roads are pretty empty early in the morning. In this sense, India is like a country of teenagers.

No one at the hotel could give me directions to the park, but I found it myself. I ran the 3 k - leaving at 7:30 and the roads were, well, like normal for Palo Alto, which means - totally empty by Indian standards - then I ran around the park and then got back for breakfast. It was great!

I'm struck by the juxtapositions - walking along the street I can see on the sidewalk an altar to Ganesh, and nearby a billboard for thin crust pizza.

People often say what a religious country the U.S. is - and it certainly is in comparison to Europe. Walking around India, it's common to see altars to Hindu deities everywhere. I would walk in the neighborhood of my Mumbai hotel and pass someone doing a puja (Hinda prayer ceremony) in a storefront or even outside.

On the other hand, while Hinduism seems more present in public life, Becky says it is a more laid back religion than Western religions. Hinduism is more about the practice and about one's relationship with the deities. But there is less about one's relationship with other humans. There is certainly dharma - righteous path, but dharma can be different for different groups and people. There doesn't appear to be halacha, in the sense of codified laws that everyone must or should adhere to. On the other hand, Indian society is full of taboos. The taboos seem more cultural than religious, but it's hard to know where religion ends and culture begins. And there are numerous different strains of Hinduism. So - Becky would argue with my observation that India seems more religious than the U.S. Of course, what do I know? I've only been in this country 5 days .



Pool of water at Hindu temple in Amber, outside palace. Looks like an M.C. Escher painting.