Evening dunes

Some folks have asked me 'what!, no desert pics?'. Fact of the matter is, in a hurricane tour there is hardly any time to indulge in luxuries. Though, we did manage to visit the Sam Desert (near Jaisalmer) even as night was about to set in.

Based on my personal experience I would suggest not to visit the Sam Desert but to check out some of the other more pristine deserts where the number of tourists are fewer and one can truly enjoy a desert safari without irritation.

Sweet child-o-mine 2

Picture says it all !

Aimless

Saw this vacant boat drifting aimlessly on a windy night in the Lake Pichola of Udaipur.

Art of Rajasthan

A collage depicting the various expressions of art in the State. Picture shows traditional folk musicians, the famous glass peacock of Udaipur's City Palace, complex marble carvings in the Ranakpur Jain temples, an intricately painted Lord Ganesha and puppets among others.

City of Gold - Jaisalmer

Panoramic view of the fort at night

Jaisalmer is a city built amidst the vast expanse of Thar Desert in the State of Rajasthan. It's called 'The Golden City' owing to widespread use of sandstone in houses and 'hawelis', which gives the city a distinctly yellowish appearance. The fort, pictured above, towers over the city and houses numerous Jain temples, a palace and some hawelis. In fact, like the Red Fort in Delhi, there are people residing inside this fort.

Inside the fort

One can easily spend an entire day inside this fort marvelling at the various structures inside. Unfortunately I had only an hour to spend :(

City view

Enough gold out there.

On the window sill

Such ornately carved windows and balconies are quite common in Jaisalmer.

Bada Bagh

Bada Bagh is located enroute to Lodurva (site of beautiful Jain temples) from Jaisalmer and is worth a visit for those who want to go back in time and spend some quite moments admiring the architecture.

Some of the other attractions in and around Jaisalmer are Amar Sagar, Ghadisar, Patwon ki haweli (must see), Sam desert and Lodurva.

Empty vessels and an Angel

Some abstract visualisations of a demented mind. On a more serious note these are pictures taken inside a fort (Jaisalmer fort - first pic) and a palace (Udaipur's City Palace - other two).

Shimmering beauty

Literally shimmering in the night, this supremely beautiful Lake Palace is today a luxury hotel run by the Taj Group.

Built in the middle of the 18th century, on an island in Lake Pichola, it served as the summer palace of the Maharanas of Mewar. The palace is surrounded by the City Palace (which today is part museum and part residence of the descendants of the royal family), Aravali mountains and Jag Mandir on its three sides.

The palace is visible from several windows inside the City Palace as well as from Dudh Talai (a nature park). However, one can get a good unobstructed view of it by walking down the narrow lanes that start from the Jagdish Temple (locals will be your best guide) towards the several ghats (embankments).

The other attractions which one must not miss while in Udaipur (also called City of Lakes / Venice of the East) are the City Palace, Saheliyon ki Bari, Moti Magri (memorial of Maharana Pratap), Dudh Talai, Gulab Bagh (park and zoo), Sajjangarh Fort, Jagdish Temple, Sukharia Circle and the Nehru Garden (located on an island in Fatehsagar Lake).

People of Rajasthan

Smorgasbord - thats the only word which comes to my mind!
These pictures were taken at various places in Rajasthan and a collage (of picture postcards) was the only way, I thought, it could have been depicted.
The gentleman twirling his moustache (second from left in last row) apparently has one of the longest moustaches in the world!

For a slide show of complete set of street photographs from Rajasthan, please click here.

Playing with fire

The man in picture was actually trying to contain the fire on a very windy night. He was carrying steaming coals within the precincts of a temple for a ritual, but the breeze was making his task difficult - I was walking behind him when he crouched to protect the vessel thereby offering me a click!