Durshet

This week was spent two hours outside of Mumbai with sixty 7th graders at the Durshet Forest Lodge.  We hiked rivers and mountains, rappelled down a 'waterfall' and zip lined across a creek (monsoon has been light so the water was minimal), rode ox carts, visited with villagers, watched the threshing of rice,  and watched a demonstration and show of strength of the local martial art form.

A boy walking the road to the village.

 The monsoon season has only just ended, so everything, everywhere was green.

We loaded the students onto ox carts and road up to a small village.

 A young girl minds the herd as we pass by.

This shepherd was bathing his flock of goats in the river when one ran off. He chased and captured it and I snapped this just before he flashed a big grin. 

Jakarta

Visited Jakarta for a theatre festival with my students. Wonderful workshops on Saman hand dancing and wayand kulit, plus cultural excursions to an Indonesian theme park. Here's a few photos: 

Traditional Javanese dancing lesson

Wayang Kulit - Indonesian shadow puppet

Elephant Charging

The last few posts have been quite photo heavy, so I thought I'd treat you with a quick elephant encounter tale.

While exploring one of the markets in Jodhpur, mostly taking photos and trying to avoid the 'commission monkeys',  I needed to pass through one of the city's arched gateways. Although high and quite thick, they're not necessarily wide, especially when the walls are lined with people and animals resting in the shade and cramped with more people and animals trying to pass through.

I was maybe two steps into the gateway when in the distance, I saw an elephant approaching. I followed everyone else in the gateway as they backed out the way we came to make way for the elephant...who was now moving quite quickly. In fact, it was running!

On top of the elephant bounced a little man with a little stick with a great big grin. He flailed his arms happy as could be as he charged the elephant through the gate, right at me, then spun it around and backed it towards us.

I snapped this photo right before I scampered away, repeating, 'Oh, I'm scared! I'm scared! I'm scared!' much to the amusement of the locals familiar with the elephant and its owners antics.

Jodpur - Brahmin Town

The Brahmins traditionally lived north of Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. They painted their homes blue with a mix of whitewash and indigo to identify themselves as Brahmin, to keep their homes cooler, and to ward off the mosquitoes.

Today, anyone can paint their home blue and Jodhpur is known as the Blue City.

 

The old and the new are side by side.

Jodhpur - Mehrangarh Fort

Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur was once the residence of the ruling Rathore maharajas (kings). Dating from the mid-1400's, it contains several richly decorated palaces and courtyards. The fort overlooks the city and although attacked by invading armies, it has never been taken by force. 

For years after India gained its independence in 1947, the royal princes around the country struggled within the new nation to maintain their status and roles, but were ultimately 'de-recognized' by Indira Ghandi in 1971. His Highness the Maharaja Gai Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur had assumed the throne in 1952 at just four years old after his father's death in a plane accident. The first Maharaja not to live and rule from the fort, he reorganized his inheritance to share and maintain his family's history.

The fort is now a museum and cultural center. He opened schools for the study of traditional music and painting techniques. He's opened schools for girls, foundations for desert development and famine relief, and foundations for nature conservation - among others. He is well-loved by the people of Jodhpur and I was quite impressed with his restoration efforts and royal museum.

North gate leading to the Brahmina

Tall doors for entry on horseback, carriage, camel, or elephant.

Spikes ten feet up to ward off elephant attackers.

The small door is called the 'eye of the needle' and it's what Jesus was referring to when explaining it's easier for a camel to get through the eye of the needle than a rich man into heaven.

Frescos of battle scenes.

Beautifully ornate cannon heads

coronation throne

Royal Palinque - 'carriage' 

Gorgeous sword hilts

Phool Palace - This is the pleasure palace for entertaining with food, music, dancing girls.

The royal court

Everything, everywhere is decorated.

Jodphur

Gandi's birthday is a public holiday which gave us a long weekend so I headed up to Jodhpur to explore. It sits on the edge of the Thar desert in the state of Rajasthan in the northwest of India. The city draws merchants for it's textiles, jewelry, furniture, and spices - most notably saffron at just $2 USD a gram! Jodhpur is also famous for having invented polo and the jodhpur pants, at one time they had the best polo team in the world.

Most of the markets are filled with 'commission monkeys', as I like to call them. The lurk outside hotels and hostels and offer to take tourists to the 'best' shops for spices, jewelry, textiles, whatever. They nag and nag and nag until you either give in or firmly tell them off. If they get you to a shop, the prices are then hiked up by the shop owner who is harassed by your 'guide' for his 'commission' for bringing in customers - even if the shop owner wasn't in on the 'plan'. It's a total racket.

The city boasts several markets and an imposing fortress overlooking the city. Most buildings are made of sandstone decorated with intricate designs, most notably windows etched into complicated lattice that enables the breeze, but not the sun to enter, and preventing outsiders from looking in while those inside are able to see out.