Jodhpur - A Bharat Ceremony, Tea Shopping & a Friendly Boy

Find the groom.

I’ve finally fulfilled my itinerary in Jodhpur, including a day trip to the old kingdom of Mandore. But on my way back to my guest house (Ganpati GH), there was a bit of traffic. My auto rickshaw (CNG) had to wait at the shoulder of the road to allow a parade or procession. A congregation was parading a groom around town. There was a band playing, and a white horse was decked in colorful garments and accoutrements. At first, I almost missed the groom. He was sitting behind the horse (see first photo above), immobile, with his face garnished with mostly white garlands. His face was hidden, which must mean something in Bharat Ceremonies. I've seen a ceremonial wedding program in Hyderabad as well and I found it fascinating. As for this parade, it was fun to witness this matrimonial rite and I had ring-side seats to the marching crowd.

I was told that the pre-wedding ceremonies include engagement (involving vagdana or oral agreement and lagna-patra or written declaration; probably analogous to the marriage contract and the exchange of "I do's"), and arrival of the groom's party at the bride's residence, often in the form of a formal procession, such as the parade I was witnessing. It involves a lot of flowers too. In fact, this includes a flower bed ceremony (the marital bed, expected to be consummated on their wedding night, is filled with flowers by the groom’s family).

From my reverie, a young boy suddenly appeared before me, while I was comfortably sitting inside my “tuktuk”. He smiled and pointed at my camera. “Take my picture,” he ordered. Then he smiled. He was good looking despite his gapped teeth, I had to laugh while he waited for me to show him the finish product. Then he left and rejoined the parade just as fast! Indian children, as I have mentioned time and again, are among the world’s most delightful and hospitable population. They are good natured – and, well, cute!

"Take my photo," he ordered me.

TEA SHOP

Later in the day, I ventured in Jodhpur's new city limits near the train station. I was checking out tea products and bought 3 varieties. I’ve taken to the taste of tea, something I didn’t acquire during my London stay. I’ve begun to favor India’s masala tea (the one that’s being peddled during train rides) – with milk, of course! I found myself in a shop selling only tea products. There were wall to wall shelves of teas originating from the different regions of India. They had mint tea, rose tea, chrysanthemum tea, chocolate tea – every flavor you can imagine! My favorite – since then – has been the ones coming from Kashmir! After purchasing some, the owner’s children (photo below) went up to me to say hello! Children – MY welcoming party, didn’t I say?

I was to leave Jodhpur that night. There was a lingering feeling of sadness. It was a pleasant place to visit, and I felt safe! I will see you, Jodhpur! May the heavens bless its people.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Note: We shall cut our Indian journey for now and continue on with a local place for "variety" - Cebu City, but once we're done with that, the fascinating city of Jaisalmer at the fringes of the Pakistani border and the Thar Desert will unravel. Sand dunes, camels, freezing nights in desert skies...

Market scene


A view from Ganpati Guest House's rooftop. Terraces with views.

Hall of Deities, Government Museum & a Temple in Mandore

I once traveled with a Berlin gentleman who bewailed Asians' penchant for colors. "Asians love to color their world with such vivid colors, they are sometimes tacky," he observed. True enough, Thais loved their yellow Mondays; Filipinos love their nationalistic yellows as well. Who can deny the interplay of reds, oranges and golds in Chinese Temples? I don't see anything wrong with that. I don't think India has a unified color scheme. The world would be a dour place without a multi chromatic hue. "Berliners prefer blacks, grays and blues and anything in between," he added. So does most of Europe. I am aware.

The Hall of Deity or Hall of Demi Gods is a bigger hallway next to the Hall of Heroes. In this "room", decked with white pillars, stone carvings (from a single huge stone) of 33 crore Gods adorn the place in lurid colors! It's more of a "shrine" which holds "allegedly" 300 million Hindu Gods. Some quarters call it 300 million Devis and Devtas. I could swear there are just a few dozens.

Nearby the Hall of Heroes is a simple Hindu Temple with few local visitors. Also nearby is a Mandore Government Museum. You have to walk through a gate (shown below, the one with a green gate) and turn right. The museum contains relics from the nearby rock terrace temples. There's nothing much to see inside, to be honest. Free entrance but photography is not allowed. When I forgot this rule, I was reprimanded. I didn't think it mattered because I was snapping "outside" the museum hall - you will see this particular photo (2nd to the last) below. It's just a secluded place outside the museum building so I don't understand the restrictions.

I love the entrance gates though, very princely. It would cap my visit in the ancient royal capital of Mandore - a kingdom that flourished for 700 years before the rise of the Rajput maharajas.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Buddhist temple


Walking towards the entrance to the Mandore Government Museum.


Gate through the Mandore Government Museum


Photography of this place is prohibited. Oooppps!

Hall of Heroes at the Mandore Gardens

I'm into folk tales and folk heroes. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of materials to find about North Indian folk stories in Manila. I should probably content myself with the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. It's such a blessing then when, during my travels, I get to find places with attributions to these colorful, mystical stories.

Within the Mandore Gardens' compound stands a "Hall of Heroes", a decidedly guileless hall dedicated to Rajput folk heroes by way of a single piece of rock! Yes, a single huge rock has been used to carve out 16 figures dating back 17th to 18th century. The hallway is supported by white pillars. If you look at the roof, it's the same piece of rock displayed inside the hall. Such masterful work. How they were able to preserve this - when they've pretty much neglected the amazing rock terrace temples nearby - is also a wonderment.

These statues have been exquisitely conjured, coated with fine plasters, and painted with white or light brown (tan), a far contrast to the luridly painted figures of deities and Hindu Gods at the bigger hall (Hall of Deities aka Hall of Demi-gods) next to this hall. Earthy heroes, monochromes: check! Demi gods and Hindu deities, vivid colors: check!

In front of this hall is a grassy lawn with a shrub shaped like a camel and a solitary bench facing sideways. You could rest there but there's so many better places for introspection or relaxation in the compound than here.

It's an easy visit and it's free of charge! Nearby this simple building is a sparse working Hindu temple with few locals offering flowers and other stuff. It's comforting to watching people exercise their faith. We all have prayers to offer, and it's always an inspiring thought to know that people believe in a Higher Being. Otherwise, this sentient life is but an accident of nature. I'd rather not be one. I'd prefer my existence to mean something more than the vagaries of accidents.

This is the Eye in the Sky!


Hall of Heroes



A single rock to carve 16 statues.

















Ek Thamba Mahal at Mandore Garden


Secluded spot at the Mandore Gardens


The distance from Ek Thamba Mahal.

Mandore - Splendor from the Past

Royal Cenotaph of the Mandore Garden (above)

Mandore is home of rock terraces clumped together in a single area at the Mandore Gardens in the district of Jodhpur, Rajasthan. It's gated as a park, patronized mostly by locals. But it doesn't have a lot of visitors. I was mostly on my own, roaming and soaking its rich atmosphere of a once vibrant past. I'd noticed a few rubbles and displaced stones just lying at the center of a temple building. Most of the people I met were just lazing around, bored to their turbans. Some were napping. Most of these structures have been left unnamed or unlabeled.

Sometime in H.G. Wells' lifetime, he enthused that "Human history is more and more a race between education and catastrophe. " Our past should teach us a thing or two about the missteps of our ancestors to prevent a vicious cycle of wars, calamity, even of bigotry, and ignorance. Our history provides a mirror to the passing of time, and we should reflect from these images. Much like life, it is a rich embankment of emotions and of lessons to be learned. Mandore elegantly represents history in its derelict state. It's beauty implores that the present shouldn't forget.

This garden is located 9 kilometers north of Jodhpur.

When all is said and done, all that's left to do is stare at such creations.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Ceiling with elaborate design.


Rock terraces


These temples stand on a hill. The ruins also indicate the existence of a huge temple inside the fort. The outer wall of the temple depicts finely carved botanical designs, birds, animals and beautifully carved planetary system.

Please check previous post for more photos, history and information - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2011/10/mandore-rich-historical-relics.html

Up next: Hall of Heroes and Hall of Demigods

Mandore - Rich Historical Relics Neglected

Mandore is a mere 9 kilometers north of central Jodhpur. It is officially part of the district. But way before the accession of Jodhpur and the rise of the Rathore clan, the capital of the Marwari state was Mandore! It dates back to the 6^th century. If there was ever an existing ancient town, this would be it. And the structures that still stand on its grounds have been sturdy witnesses to its past glory.

The name Mandore has an interesting origin. A Sri Lankan king named Ravan had a wife named Queen Mandodri. Their marital union happened here when it was then called Mandavyapur . It has been renamed as such to honor the queen. King Ravana was the most powerful Tamil king of Lankapuri in the Ramayana epic. It seems like a long way from Sri Lanka though, considering the antiquities of travel of the ancient past, but Ramayana is steeped with mysticism making such displacements possible!

My auto rickshaw drove past ordinary looking abodes. I’ve read about this ancient capital’s garden and rock terraces, but they all seem footnotes, lost in the voluble clutter of magnificent Rajasthan. In fact, it’s basically an inconsequential two-paragraph item in my old LP. But I wanted to see vestiges of what should be a glorious past. We parked in front of the gate leading to the Mandore Garden. Had this been treated with an iota of significance, there would have been payment for entrance. This one was free. There was no fan fare at all. In fact, what greeted me was a gardener down on his knees picking weeds; a monkey that was practically uninterested with my presence; a friendly horde of Boy Scouts (see photo above) and a little boy in white playing his ravanhatha (a guitar-like string instrument) for a few rupees.

NEGLECTING HISTORICAL GRANDEUR

A block or so from the gate, I gasped when I saw some of the most beautiful structures this side of India. Dark red stupas (sacred Buddhist spot) rise beside each other, most of which house cenotaphs (sepulchral monuments that honor deceased persons) of a few of the kings who ruled the region for 700 years or so. Seven hundred years can’t be inconsequential, as it is several lifetimes and piles of generations! Unfortunately, most of these solitary temples are left to “rot” and crumble, it made me wistful walking around seeing rubbles and proof of gradual disintegration. Such neglect feels like a mystery to me. If we had these temples in the Philippines, they’d all be declared cultural gems. Maybe India has lots of these, thus the Mandore structures are mere leftovers? Was there really a vibrant ancient kingdom here?

PARIHARS AND RAJPUTS

It was indeed the seat of a branch of the Parihar Dynasty which ruled the region in 6^th century A.D. lead by King Nahar Rao Parihar. Sometime 1395, Mohil, a princess from the Parihar rulers of Mandore, married Chundaji, a scion of the Rathore clan of the Rajputs. In 1459, Rao Jodha (chief of the Rathore clan), in an effort to unite the irresolute region under his rule, shifted the capital to Jodhpur. Mandore has since been relegated as an afterthought, underlining the decline of an ancient capital.

Despite this, it’s hard to ignore the staggering beauty of these rock terraces, built on a stony hill. Yes, you’d need wide steps to climb up the temples. The pillars are imposing, and the designs are intricate – many of which depict plants, birds, animals and even interplanetary objects! The devals (cenotaphs) of Maharaja Jaswant Singh (of “Jaswant Thada”) and Maharaja Ajit Singh are housed here. Some of these reddish structures have turned almost black, further adding character to these domed edifices. There are no guards manning these “temples”, and visitors are few.

There is a Hall of Heroes somewhere in the garden, as well as a Hall of Demigods. There’s also a small Mandore Museum in the compound (photography not allowed) as well as a spare temple. We shall feature the Hall of Heroes in our succeeding posts. Right now, we shall bask in the ancient beauty of these rock terraces.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Up next: More photos of temples in Mandore - Splendors of the Past - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2011/11/mandore-splendor-from-past.html

My rickshaw driver poses for posterity.


Animal magnetism. Gray langurs are large and fairly terrestrial, inhabiting forest, open lightly wooded habitats, and urban areas on the Indian subcontinent. They are primarily herbivores, with leaves of trees and shrubs as their preferred choice of food. They have less aggressive behavior compared to other primates, thus they are not considered pests in India.


From the gate, this is the view towards the cluster of rock terraced temples.