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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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JODHPUR (CONT.), INDIA
Rao Jodha, of the Rathod clan, started to lay the foundation of this fort in May 1459. But a hermit meditated on this plot of land and was requested to move out so that the foundation could be laid. He rejected the request, so was forced to move out and angrily cursed the land. To this day, Jodhpur suffers from shortage of water (apparently due to this curse). Then, to keep the fort safe, a human sacrifice was required, so a man named Raja Ram volunteered to lay down his life and he was buried alive in the foundation.
Satis are women who choose to burn themselves alive by throwing themselves on the funeral pyre of their husbands. This practice was quite acceptable in the past. It was done by royal and non-royal widows. Even to this day, you can still hear stories of modern day satis taking place on secluded villages. This practice is now banned in India, so a major investigation follows such stories.
After spending 2 hours at the fort, I headed to Jaswant Thada - which you can see from the rooftop of the fort.
The old city has winding streets with colourful street markets and blue houses alternated with white houses. Sardar market is a colurful market located in the heart of Jodhpur. The market has kept alive the old bazaar culture, with the sights, sounds and smells of a town busy with trade in local produce, crafts and textiles. The smells were interesting since it had just downpoured and the sewage had overflowed. But the market was very cool with everything from Ganesh statues to fruit to flip flops to Bollywood cassettes. Nearby is the clock tower which is a prominent landmark. |
Turbans are of two categories, mainly: safa, (10 meter's long & 1 meter wide) which is tied every day, and paag, (22 meter's by 6 inches) which is tied once and worn like a cap till the material gets dirty. A safa (turban) is much more then just an item of headgear to protect the wearer from the sun's heat. By it's shape color, and size, it tells you a great deal about the man, such as where he comes from, what he does for a living and his position in society. It was traditionally considered an essential part of man's clothing and to appear in public without one was a sign of grossly bad behavior. The colour pattern and style of tying the turban vary according to community, religion, and even district. Thus it is said that the style or men's turban changes every 12 miles in Rajasthan. Turban tying is considered a fine art. Men who have mastered it take great pride in the fact. Some colors and patterns are seasonal, such as white, and red phalguniya turban that is worn in spring. Others signify family circumstances, for instance, the dotted chunri pattern or bright colours signify a marriage or birth of a child. On the other hand, colors like dark blue, maroon or khaki signify a death in the family. Wearing the wrong type of turban under the wrong circumstances can make one an object of ridicule. |
Jaswant Thada is a white marble memorial built in 1899 in memory of Maharja Jaswant Singh II. The monument is built out of intricately carved sheets of marble. The stones are extremely thin and polished so that they emit a warm glow when the sun's rays dance across their surface. Within this cenotaph, there are also two more tombs. It is now the final resting place of all following Jodhpur maharajas.The entrance fee is 20 Rs and an additional 25 Rs if you want to take still pictures. You can walk to Jaswant Thada from the Fort (about 20 minutes) or take a tuktuk (about 5 minutes). 
