| Journey to Rajasthan | Mendawa Town |
| Mendawa Castle Hotel | Shekawati Mud Huts |
| Shekawati Views | Shekawati Camel Ride |
| Shekawati Henna | Shekawati Meal |
| Shekawati Puppets |
Shekawati
We drove from Delhi to into the Shekawati (or Shekavati) district of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is one of the poorest states in India and relies on agriculture for it's income. However, a recent series of drought years have restricted the Rajasthani's to little more than scraping by. If there are many more years of drought the situation will deteriorate into famine conditions.
We arrived in the town of Mendawa, a large town but not exactly thriving with the hustle and bustle of people as it should. The reason is the Mendawa was a trade route town, dealing in all sorts of produce from around India. As with many towns on trade routes, the route changed and left the town stranded, with an insupportable population. Although the wealthy traders left to seek business elsewhere, they generally retained their properties, protected by watchmen as holiday homes for when they returned. Their homes (Haveli's), some still occupied, are beautifully decorated and can be visited on foot easily. Some of the haveli's are really nicely preserved inside and out and offer very attractive stuccos and doorways.
Although this sign points the way to the Mendawa Castle Hotel, we were relieved we didn't have to move into this tiny temple to Shiva.
Instead we got to stay in a really nice place: half hotel and half private manor. The castle is owned by two brothers, both traders, one spends most time in Jaipur and rents his half out whilst the other has let his fall into disrepair and under the rule of monkeys. Of course, they didn't bother us and we spent Christmas night very comfortably in this top hotel and enjoyed the evenings special curry supper.
I don't know what your idea of muds huts is, but the day after staying in the castle, we moved just around the corner to this peaceful spot. We didn't quite have 5 star mud huts in mind when we heard about the place, so it was a very nice surprise to find the adobe cottages fully fitted with air conditioning, electricity, hot and cold water and en-suite bathrooms. Mud, mud glorious mud !
The views from the top of a tower in the mud huts village were tremendous. The weather was hot but not humid and when I took these shots, people were gathering to watch the sunset. A group of Kites were circling out over the plain and a warm breeze was blowing. Altogether a dramatic and memorable scene that you just can't get at home (unless home is India). Although the trees look spent, they've just been cut back so the green sprouting can be used as animal feed. The trees are cut back 2 or 3 times annually, more often in wetter years.
We took a camel ride, and although we had ridden camels in the UAE before, we had never seen camels as big as these before! The camel we held onto was a 30,000 rupee (about 2 years earnings), henna drenched, bull-in-his-prime Rolls Royce model of camels. We were grateful the we weren't on our own, who knows where we would have ended up without the owner. We were walked down to the nearby village where we had sweet mint tea with a local family before riding around the village proper, children running around the legs of our transport all the way.
Back at the chalets, my wife and others indulged in some henna makeup, a common decoration throughout asia. Once applied to the skin, it dries in about a quarter of an hour, then crumbles off and leaves a sort of tattoo for a week or so. My wife is pictured wearing a traditional Rajasthani design, showing the flounced skirts of the ladies, applied by expert local women.
Super supper time again, and once more we were treated to the dining ceremony. Before the meal was served (and during) a procession of musicians and soldiers lead by a fire wielding dancer, tip-toed around the diners, recreating an old tradition. In days of yore, the food for the Maharaja had to be protected from poisoning / theft on it's way from the kitchen to his table (normally outdoors in the evening) so the procession was used. These days it is a fun way to entertain the tourists, and the for the fire dancer (known as the Michael Jackson of Rajasthan) to earn an honest crust.
After supper, why not settle down to watch a traditional puppet show ? The Rajasthani's are expert puppeteers, managing to persuade string and cloth to perform the sort of acts too gruesome for TV, too fantastic for any gymnast and too fast for any athlete. A thoroughly enjoyable show, even if we didn't understand any of the stories.
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