Friday, March 30, 2007: Jaiselmer

Jaiselmer is in the Thar Desert in western Rajasthan, about 150 km from the Pakistan border. Founded in the 12th century, Jaiselmer used to be a huge trade center before the sea ports developed. The weathy traders and rulers built huge palaces and havelis from the local golden yellow sandstone. Havelis are a type of mansion that have golden stone facades that are so finely carved that they look like lace. I have included photos below with more explanation. Ron, Diane & I made good conversation with our guide this day, as he was very familiar with Western humor and how to apply it. At the end of the day he gave us each a gift of an embroidered camel leather bracelet. It is really neat. You won't find things made of cow leather in India, as the cow is the Holy Mother of anyone who is Hindu.

I snapped this picture as the train was traveling through the Thar Desert. The land was just so barren; I still wonder where the people that live here get their food and water. Most people do not have running water in their homes even in the more developed areas, let alone in the middle of the desert like this.

This is Jaiselmer Fort taken from alongside Gadsagar Lake. The fort rises up out of the desert floor like some sort of mirage. There are 99 bastions outlining the fort. It was built in 1156, and it stand on top of Trikuta Hill, 263 ft above the surrounding landscape. In medieval times, Jaiselmer's entire population lived inside the fort. Today thousands of people still live here, making it India's only living fort. Inside the walls are a cluster of Jain temples that were built in the 15th & 16th centuries. In the foregraound of this photo is a Muslim cemetary. You know it is Muslim because there is no such thing as a Hindu cemetary as Hindu's believe they must be returned to the earth, so they are cremated and their ashes are dumped in the Ganges River. See the cell tower on the left hand side of the picture? The infrastructure required for land telephone lines is too expensive and impractical, so there are cell towers EVERYWHERE. One morning as the train was arriving at the station I saw a man herding goats, talking on his cell phone. It is not uncommon for people to have 2 and 3 phones each. Nitin, Sharad's brother, lent me one of his extras so I could keep in touch with the family while I was on the train.

This is the entrance to the Jain temple within the walls of Jaiselmer Fort. Jainism is a religion that was founded in the 6th century B.C. and is based on a doctrine of absolute non-violence against anything living. Orthodox Jains even cover their mouths with cloths to prevent themselves from inadvertantly swallowing any living organism. I think Ron got a picture of an Orthodox Jain; I'll check his cds and post it if I can find it, so check back in regarding that. Jains do not believe in the Hindu gods, but in 24 crossing-makers that guide others through the journey of the soul from one life to the next. As with Hindu temples, it is inappropriate to carry anything made of leather inside the temple, or to wear shoes of any kind. This British guy was looking for his wife and was hafway up the stairs with a gigantic leather handbag and his shoes on before our guide nearly tackled him and brough him back down to the street.

Here's Ron's photo of the Jain. And that statue he is standing by is not Buddha--Buddha always has his eyes closed.

A close up of some of the carving inside and outside the Jain temple.

Here's a picture of one of the better sewer systems I came across while in India. Because of my 6 year tour of duty at Baltimore City DPW, I have a strange appreciation for water distribution and wastewater management, so seeing the pipes from the buildings dump into cut channels right along the outside of the stucture at street level was really something. Notice the stone around the pipe at the bottom--a splash guard. The channels were not angled very well; most places had standing wastewater in the channel. Yep--it was just as gross as it sounds.

Here I am sitting on one of the 99 bastions circling the fort. It gave an amazing view of the surrounding city.

Here is one of the intricately carved havelis within the fort. The balconies are called jharokhas and are more decorative than functional. They gave the stonemasons the opportunity to display their full range of carving skills and creatvity.
The streets within the fort were really narrow and the buildings were really tall. This was so that there was always a shadow being cast at street level so that it wasn't so hot. Pretty ingenious in my opinion; it was maybe 85 degrees at street level whereas the surrounding city was registering 113 on this particular day.

Another example of the carving. There were no open windows, but instead jalis, or latticed stone screens, that keep out th eharsh desert sun but let in the air. They also allowed women to see out to the street but to not be seen.

These are my friends Ron & Diane. I went halfway around the world to meet people from Scranton, PA.

One of my more artistic moments--this is me & my camel.

My camel "driver" was this little boy who couldn't have been more than 8 or 10 years old. They may make 1000 rupees a month, or about $20 USD.

Me & my camel.

Looking out at the desert. It is really difficult to take pictures while riding a camel. They do not have a very even gait and my photos kept turning out blurred because of the up & down motion. Who knew...

The dunes were amazing--I had never experienced sand dunes before. It was amazing to watch them shift before your eyes, each grain of sand sliding over the one below it.

This is Gadsagar Lake, a rainwater reservoir built in 1367. I would love to know how this text is a hyperlink. It doesn't go anywhere. Oh well.

Here a woman washes her clothes in Gadsagar Lake. Look at the piles of trash and debris behind her at the base of the steps. That is very, very common.

This is a random picture I snapped at the train station in Jaiselmer. It is so hot in India that people take advantage of any spot of shade that they come across. The white thing is a public water fountain. It is very different than what we are used to here in the States--the water flows down like a faucet as opposed to the traditional arc up we are all used to.

This was unfortunately another very common sight: sickly stray dogs rummaging through trash for any salvagable bite to eat. While Indian's don't eat animals for the most part, they also don't keep them as pets. Stray animals such as this puppy are everywhere.