here I was free ............. there I was fearless!!

It happened sometime in June last year when I summoned myself (एक दिन अचानक…) and started booking tickets for … what do we say these days? Yes… Solo Trip! Patience and poise are not my strengths. I love being agog. This fidgetiness has caused me accidents, estrangements but it has also brought me happiness, the happiness of living in the moment. 

The Rajasthan trip is one such decision. Travelling alone needs courage. This courage is not the fear of getting robbed or being coerced by outsiders. This courage comes from self-knowledge, from fighting your own limitations. When you set an alarm for 5 am to see sunrise from Sajjangarh fort and miss it, the failure is yours. You must bear it alone. When after a tiring journey you reach Chittorgarh in the evening and yet being so exhausted, you decide to reach the fort that same evening to witness the famous Light and Sound show of Chittorgarh fort. This victory is also yours. You are your own manager. No one would come and encourage you saying, “ Just a few steps more. Now that’s your top after this bend”.  You must encourage yourself. This part is very tough.

I managed this trip relying on Rajasthan Parivahan and Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation. I had thirteen to fourteen days at my disposal and all I did was to fix the spots and identify the most suitable mode of transport between them, and book accordingly. 

AJMER

The most interesting place I found in Ajmer was Adhai Din Ka Jhopra. It was built in 1192 by Qutub Uddin Aibak under Mohammad Ghori. The order was to make a masjid in sixty hours, i.e., in two and half days. This was next to impossible and only the front wall having been made, named as Adhai din ka Jhonpra. This monument is behind the Salim Chisti Dargah. The Dargah was also phenomenal. I reached inside it at the time of Namaj. I had never seen so many men praying together. I wasn’t allowed to proceed until Namaj is being prayed. So, I sat with other women in galleries and saw them waiting too for the prayer to end.

PUSHKAR 

Well, it’s just 15 kms away from Ajmer. Pushkar can be accessed by local or RSTDC buses which runs every half an hour from Ajmer bus  stand. Ajmer and Pushkar is separated by Aravali mountain range. It’s a very short drive and many people at  Ajmer  loves to go for a long  drive to hang out near  Pushkar Sarovar in the night. I woke up and went to the bus stand which is 200m away from RTDC hotel Khadim. I was about to get in a bus when an autowala convinced me to ride with him. I agreed but was not very sure how an auto would manage to climb the uphill road. But soon I realised that the Aravali range over here is very small.

As soon as I checked into Kanhayia Haveli (my stay at Pushkar), I moved for Savitri Devi Temple. The manager at Kanhayia  Haveli  arranged  an auto for me, which took me at the base station which is 2 kms away from Pushkar Sarovar/Kanhayia Haveli. One can access Savitri  Pahad  either by stairs (890 steps) or the  comfortable ropeway ride. 

Yes,  anyone can  guess  that  I  jumped inside  a cable car and placed myself for a window seat. It is a 15 minutes journey. Once you reach the temple at the elevation of 800 feet, the whole Pushkar unfurls before you along with Pushkar Sarovar. There are lots of monkeys. They won’t harm you but can get provoked by enthusiastic tourists. It is a very small temple with a tiny campus around it. Once we get down from the cable car there is no need to climb further. After enjoying the surrounding beauty, I entered the main mandir at Savitri Mata which was closed and reopens at 2 pm. After spending some time I came down. 

Next was Brahma Sarovar. The distance of the Sarovar and  Kanhayia  Haveli is 300 meters. It is advisable to keep ones shoes in the hotel room and wearing a normal slippers. Barah Ghat is nearest to Kanhayia  Haveli and has the same view of Varanasi. The only difference is the presence of Brahma Temple, the only Brahma Temple in the world. I headed for the Sarovar Parikrama to reach the Brahma Ghat and thereby Barah Temple. Here, no one will let you do parikrama on the stairs of the Ghat  with shoes on. I tied the shoes behind my backpack and moved on. It was not an easy task to   reach Brahma Ghat through the stairs of the Sarovar. There were some high stairs which were very difficult to climb and get down. There is a total of 52 ghats on the lake and some are very secluded like Varanasi. After half an hour of up and downs, I reached Brahma Ghat. Autos or any public transport are not available around the lake. However, scooter on rent is enabled. On the way to the temple, I enjoyed Rajasthani  dish Kadhi Kachori. The temple was small and pleasant but taking pictures is completely banned. The idol of Brahmaji  was  very  cute.  On return,  I enjoyed the evening Aarti at Bhrahma Ghat and then started going back to Barah Ghat by the market road surrounding the lake. This road and its shops were filled with art work, silver jewellery  and perfumes made of rose petals were so beautiful that you can’t take your eyes off them. Roaming on the ghats during the day and strolling in these shining streets near the lake at night is what sets Pushkar apart from other places. 

MOUNT ABU

Next day, I headed for Ajmer Railway station at around 10 am in the morning from Kanhayia Haveli which took me 45 minutes. I had a ticket on the Aravali express (train no. 14701) which runs between Shri Ganganagar and Bandra (Mumbai), reaches Ajmer at 11:50 am everyday. After reaching Abu Road station, I walked to Abu Road Busstand next to the railway station. RSRTC bus to Mount Abu which is 33 kms away runs one at every hour. The main attraction is Nakki Lake and Dilwara Temple. Nakki Lake is clean and descent, but Dilwara Jain Temple is worth dying for.  Photography  was  again not allowed over here. I was mesmerized seeing its intricate white marble carvings inside the  tm  .         

temple, particularly above the corridors, pillars and ceilings. I spent two hours sitting on the Chataal and looking at those carvings. The place was very cold and peaceful. Then again I reached Nakki Lake and relished Pav Bhaji and boating. But Mount Abu did not suit me enough and I caught fever. Anyway, after having an early dinner and popping in a Calpol, I was feeling fresh the following morning and started for my next destination, Udaipur. The bus to Udaipur was scheduled to depart at eight in the morning.     .         

UDAIPUR

I reached the Udaipur Udiapole Busstand at around eleven-thirty in the morning and took an auto to reach my hostel. The  reason behind my “successful Udaipur” was  Dreamyard  Hostel (place of my stay) situated at the bank of Lake Pichola. It is a four-storied building with a rooftop restaurant. The first amusing thing I noted was a section of sticky notes and photographs displayed near the stairs. It gives a glimpse of connectivity that the boarders share with this place. As I climbed up, different seating arrangements at every corner and balconies attracted me. I enjoyed the Lake Pichola seating on almost all the couches during my stay. Another attractive thing is the wall painting on every floor. I was on the second floor which has two sharing rooms and one library and one sitting cum dining. This dining is full of fun with play things, carrom, wooden bricks, chess, etc. and a big television set with music system which plays Sufi or light instrumental in loop. 

I,  after a long day of travelling, when I used to reach this dining area before entering my room, the music always stopped me. I shared my room with three strangers. All of us have our cosy bunk beds. One of themis a travel agent from Delhi and the other two are solo travellers like me. The former is specialized in taking groups of people to slums of Mumbai and other major cities of India and understand their living and earning. Our fourth roommate being a German didn’t participate for long, due to the language barrier and went  to  sleep.  But  the  three  of  us  had  a  nice chat feeling like home far away from home.I made many friends  in this hostel. I travelled  alone the first two days,but on the third day I went away with hostellers. All the top attractions of Udaipur like City Palace, Lake Pichola Boating, Saheliyon Ki Badi, “Yash Ki Dharohar”-Light  and  Sound  Show  at  City  Palace,  SajjanGarh Fort, Manshapurna Karnimata Mandir, “Dharohar”-Bagode ki Haveli, Haldighati, Alsigarh& Raita Hill. Udaipur is a very glamorous city. One need to stay near Lake Pichola to enjoy the beauty of   Udaipur. Dreamyard was located 300m away from City Palace and every evening I went there to visit local shops and enjoy street food. On the last day, before moving to Chittorgarh in the afternoon, we the hostellers  booked   five  two-wheelers  and  went  on scooter ride at six in the morning. Our destination was Alsigarh and Raita Hill, on the outskirts of Udaipur. It was an amazing ride on the bends of Aravalli hill.

Due to my shoulder condition, I was not in the original seat (driving seat) but that’s good for me. I was making reels at back.  I think I was the eldest of the group. I learnt an amazing thing from them. Where are you from? What you do? How many siblings do you have? What does  your father do? Even, what Is your name? Yes, Name. They are not interested  even  in  knowing  names. I was the only one in the group asking these silly questions.  But soon I checked myself seeing the true example of “No string attached”.They are glad to know that I am a joy loving person riding scooty with them. My name, salary, religion, gender doesn’t matter here. We reached hostel at noon. I was in hurry because I had to catch Chittorgarh bus the same day. So, after bidding goodbye, I went to the Udiapole bus stand and boarded in right bus for next three-hour journey. It was two-thirty in the afternoon.

CHITTORGARH

My last destination was Chittorgarh. If Udaipur dazzles you then Chittoor depresses you. Its mournful history is sad.  Chittorgarh Fortis enormous. If someone blindfolds and leaves you directly inside the fort, you won’t be able to understand that whether it’s a town or fort. It’s such gigantic. One need to book a vehicle to move around the whole place and see the historical monuments. Places like Suraj Pol, Vijay Stambh, Samadhishwar Temple, Ratan Singh’s Palace, Rani Padmini’s Palace, Meera’s Palace and Meera’s temple are some famous place which are scattered throughout the area. I was thrilled to see Suraj Pol, the gate through which Mughals and Khiljis seized the fort thrice in history. I was lost when I was looking at Meera’s Krishna Mandir & I felt the valour of Rani Padmini when I entered her Mahal and Jauhar place. Next day I boarded in train for Delhi with so much memories to take back home and cherish forever. 

I covered local sightseeing mostly by auto rickshaws except in Mount Abu where I travelled through Jeep. I met local people. When I was travelling from Udaipur to Chittorgarh, the passengers were locals, mostly city dwellers. They were amazed to see a woman from Kolkata travelling with them in their state bus. Like their people, the state is also providing twenty five percent discount on accommodation in their RTDC hotels except Pushkar and Udaipur. It was not a normal holiday, as I said in the start, it was judging my own strength and weaknesses and come best out of it. 

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