Day 4 started early for us. Sreejith and I got up at 6:00 AM because we had to pick up my friend Ravi, (Ravi and I've been friends since the time my memory goes and my memory goes back till 1982) who was arriving in Jaipur from Bikaner and had a flight to catch at 6 in the evening. After picking him up from the station our GPS took us around Jaipur back to the place we were staying (the GPS was configured to take us via the route with lesser traffic so it took the by-pass).
After taking in a shower we had another elaborate breakfast. Our meals have started to become so elaborate that I will no longer attempt to count them or name them. I'll just post a picture of each of them whenever I have time. After the hearty breakfast the four us went into to the city for some shopping. Vinay and Ravi got themselves some really cool shades from Shopper's Stop at GT.
After GT we went to Johri Bazaar, the oldest market in Jaipur, and all its pink shops. Sreejith bought some bangles, dress material and Jooti for his wife and a couple of Ghagra-Cholis for his daughter (he is like the perfect Husband/Father, isn't he?). Just to ensure that my wife does not get back to me on this, I would like to say that he spent 4 times the money on his Jooti than he did for his wife's. I would never do anything like that :). Ravi too got a few dresses for his kids.
In between all this shopping we had lots of cool (literally) stuff. We had Kulfis and Golas at GT and had glasses of Nimbu Pani and Jal Jeera on the road side at Johri Bazaar. Our lunch was at very well-known place called LMB. Vinay and Ravi had Shahi and Rajasthani thali respectively. Sreejith had his favourite Roti and Dal. I just had a glass of Lassi for lunch (I was preparing myself for the evening).
We then headed towards the Airport to drop Ravi. After dropping him and saying our goodbyes we went back for a shower to get some relief from the heat and refresh ourselves. We took some rest and then went to probably the biggest non historical attraction of Jaipur: Chokhi Dhani.
How does one describe Chokhi Dhani? Well, let me try. Chokhi Dhani is like a typical Rajasthani village, or at least the way it was supposed to be. To be more specific its like a village during the festive time with a mela (fair) visiting it. You had everything happening there: from puppet shows to traditional song and dance. From camel rides to elephant rides. From bow and arrows to air guns. From bullock cart rides to horse cart rides. From mazes to joy rides to champi tel malish (head message) to magic shows to almost anything that was a mode of entertainment during centuries gone past.
Last but not the least was the food. And there was lots of it. Every possible Rajasthani dish was there to be had. Bajara, Makai and Wheat Rotis. Dal and Kadhi. Gutta, Aloo Pyanz and Gobi Mattar Subzi. Kair Sangri, Chawla, Chanch, Kichda, the list was endless. And all this was with lots of butter and Ghee. I ate my heart out (now you realize why I had only Lassi for lunch :)). Sreejith seems to enjoy food from this part of the world. He seems to have been a Gujarati or Rajasthani (or both) in his past lives. By the way Sreejith and I both drank the extra Ghee left in our bowls (I've done this before but it was the first time for Sreejith). Vinay who has been digestively challenged for the last couple of days was a little more cautious.
With this our Day 4 for the journey came to an end. This was the first of our rest days with no long drives, we drove only within the city. Tomorrow we will be back on the roads on our way to the National Capital.
No comments:
Post a Comment