We woke the following morning sad to leave the true paradise of the UdaiVillas, yet excited to see more of the land of kings. We climbed into the van for a drive through the countryside of Rajasthan. Brightly colored saris and turbans stood out against the dry, arid desert of the land. Our large passenger van often shared the road with wild boars, camels, elephants and ox—a novelty that never seemed to wear off for me. We passed through many villages celebrating Holi, the Hindu festival honoring the triumph of good over evil. The tradition allows children to throw colors on each other and their elders, making for a truly festive and bright drive through the rural communities. Our patient driver often had to pay young pranksters to avoid our car getting a spontaneous painting of bright green, red and purple. En route to Narlai, we stopped at the famous Kumbhargarh Fort built along the Mewar and Marwar dynasty border. With a 36 kilometer protective wall, the 15th century built fort is in marvelous conditions. Once used as a hunting getaway lodge for the maharaja, the fort still boasts of looming lions, tigers and panthers in the vicinity!
After a sweaty walk through the fort, we were treated with a DVD viewing of my first Bollywood film for the remainder of our drive to Narlai. We arrived in the village of 6,000 with a delightful welcome at our home for the next two nights. Fort Rawla, a 17th century fort converted into a beautiful heritage hotel offered the most comfortable beds in months. We slept like logs and woke up ready to see the village Saturday morning. The walk provided much excitement as we dodged aimlessly roaming wild boars and piles of dung from countless animals. School children on break anxiously approached us, eager to practice their English they so diligently practice in class. We wandered through the streets, greeting the locals and truly understanding what life in a small Rajasthan village feels like.
The afternoon heat began to wear on us, meaning an afternoon dip in the pool is just what we needed. After the cool down, we hopped into an open air jeep for a safari trek to the lone lake in the middle of the desert. With a coffee in hand, we enjoyed a perfect twilight view of the surrounding Aravali Hills and surrounding villages. In the distance stood the sacred mountain of Shiva, easily spotted with the massive marble white elephant standing atop. Our jeep dropped us at the bottom of the stairs and the climb began! The thousands of stairs were worth it, as the view from the top was absolutely spectacular. However, the fiery orange sunset was somewhat overshadowed by the thousands of colored turbans spotted in the city center of Narlai. We knew we were missing quite the party, so we grabbed one last view and trudged our way back down the mountain.
The last day of Holi is never a party that you want to miss in Narlai and thankfully we made it down just in time. Every man over the age of thirty donned an all white outfit with splashes of pink, accessorized with a bright neon pink turban. Not only were they dressed to impress, but every man carried their own opium pipe and wooden stick. Chanting and singing, the men circled one another raising their wooden sticks in the air and their opium pipes to their mouth. It was quite the scene! I graciously declined a drag of the opium, yet thoroughly enjoyed the party unfolding before my very eyes.
The excitement continued through the night, as our evening transportation arrived in front of our hotel to escort us to dinner. As we opened the gate doors, three ox driven bullock carts stood waiting to shuttle us to our secret location. We bumped along through town, stopping to enjoy local musicians and gazing up to identify the perfectly seen constellations. We stepped out of our bullocks, to a stunningly beautiful step well, used for hundreds of years by the local villagers. Our hotel had decorated the step well with hundreds of oil lamps, leaving you with an incredibly magical feeling. We enjoyed a spectacular multi course Indian meal, with an ambiance like nothing I’ve ever experienced. As the owner of our hotel versed us in Narlai history with rhythmic Rajasthani music in the background, I truly felt as if I had been transported back to an ancient time. With full stomachs and smiles on our faces, we piled into an open air jeep for our ride back to our home away from home.
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