Mehrangarh Fort - 2

The Mehrangah Fort at Jodhpur is one of the most impressive, colossal forts of Rajasthan. Rudyard Kipling called it “the work of giants”. Rao Jodha, the fifteenth ruler of Rathore, laid the foundation of the fort on 12th May 1459, amidst all drama of a curse from a disturbed hermit, Cheeriya Nathji and four (?) human sacrifices. Jodha later tried to appease them by building a temple near the cave where the hermit once lived and promising the family of the sacrificed people that they would be looked after well by the Rathores. Till date the temple of the hermit is being maintained well and the descendants of the sacrificed people are looked after well.

Jodhpur, the blue city of India. Brahmans, the upper caste of Hindus paint their house blue in Rajasthan.



One hundred and twenty feet high, with six meters thick walls, the fort is located on a hilltop 400ft above the city. The already impressive height is further exaggerated by intricately carved windows and jharokhas.





And just as any historical monument has hidden secrets within their walls; the Mehrangarh Fort too has its quota of dark secrets-wicked and scandalous. “Did not the prince Jaswant Singh (1873-1895) throw his mistress out of this very window because she was really his father's and the latter had just entered the room? Was it not from these ramparts that Maharaja Maan Singh (1803-1843) had his Prime Minister dashed to the ground four hundred feet below? Is this not the foul chamber where Maharaja Ajit Singh (1678-1724) was murdered by his son? Was it not from this balcony that Rao Ganga (1515-1532), reveling in an opium heightened cool breeze, fell to his death? Or was he pushed by his son, the great Maldev (1532-1562)?”





More of Mehrangarh fort in another post. :)


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

The Mehrangarh Fort of Jodhpur was founded 15th century by Rathore Rajputs. Today this fort is converted in to a museum, managed by the royal trust. All palaces within the fort are not yet open to public, and the palaces that are accessible and open for public viewing are stunningly beautiful.


The Durbar Takhat or throne room in Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace)is one such place. The octagonal throne in the center of the hall is impressive, magnificent, with seats for the courtiers or the general public on either side.

The deep alcoves that you see above the doors are actually secret balconies for the queens to silently listen to the court proceedings and may be provide invaluable inputs to the king later.


One look at the gold filigree ceiling and your eyes will be glued there. They are covered with mirrors and gilt and is sparklingly beautiful. The lime plaster used in the walls of the room was mixed with finely crushed shells which gave the walls a pearl like luster and hence the name. The windows are all with stained glasses of different colors. Lights filtering in, in different colors you won’t want to move out from there.

This is My World Post.

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At Guru Shikhar...

At Guru Shikhar, we met this man earning his daily bread with his old telescope.



What does he do? Well, he lets you see all important landmarks of his home town, Mt. Abu, through his telescope. Guru Shikhar is the highest peak of the whole of Aravalli mountain range, at a height of 1722m above sea level. Our vehicle left us at the point where the pucca road ends, from there we had to do a steep climb of the remaining distance, almost 300 steps. (One can take a palanquin too!) It was an easy climb. On the way we saw the ancient temple dedicated to Guru Dattatreya, the incarnation of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. The orange-ish temple top projecting out in the lush green background looked magical.


This person with telescope must be walking all the way from his house. He reaches the spot before tourists start dropping in and leaves only after the last tourist has left. He took up this job after he could no longer continue the routine job he was doing when he was younger. He charged Rs.5 per person (I wonder what one gets for Rs.5 these days!) and let us see through his telescope. He talked a bit about the place with us. A huge brass bell that hung there was a new one he said. The old bell which was inscribed with 1488 v.s (1411 AD.) had disintegrated.

Bread earning means at such heights, could be some kind of records!


The views we got from there were simply enchanting. After spending a few relaxing moments there we moved on.

(Please click on the pictures for a better view.)

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Shankar Math at Mt. Abu

Mt. Abu the only hill station of the desert state of India, Rajasthan, has plenty of sightseeing and religious places to boast about. The Shankar Math here is one such place. This is a small temple but unique. It is made out of red stone, the top part of the temple structure is given the shape of ‘Shiva Linga’ believed to be washed with rain waters by Lord Indra himself.



Inside there is another huge Shiva Linga almost four feet tall cut out of a single green marble block. When we reached here the puja had just got over and it was beautifully decorated with flowers.

(Please click to view it large and clear.)

A very calm and serene place even though situated near the main market of the town; we started our sightseeing for the day after offering our prayers here.

Peacocks of Rajasthan

Rajasthan seems to have the kind of terrain that is hostile, but it is the home for India’s national bird, the Peacock. Through out the drive along the roads of Rajasthan we spotted peacocks moving freely in abundance. Mornings we woke up to the calls of the peacocks “may-awe, may-awe”. Peafowl (peacocks and peahens) have 11 different calls, but it is the peacocks that really yell. My daughters woke up quite early those days to collect the fallen peacock feathers. Most of the blue peacocks we saw there, were going through a molt, so did not look their best. They shed all their tail feathers every year and grow new ones.



The large flowing feathers at their back (more than 60 percent of the bird’s total body length) are called the train of feathers. When a peacock is just walking around, his train drags on the ground behind him, like the train on a wedding dress. India and Sri Lanka is home to the blue peacocks, while in Java and Myanmar you will find the green peacocks. The Congo peacock, inhabits African rain forests.

The humble peahen is drab mottled brown in color which helps it to merge with the surroundings and protects while it incubates its eggs. At Jodhpur during a village safari we were lucky to spot a peahen’s nest. Our guide took us closer, the peahen flew off and we were able to see the eggs.



In spite of seeing so many peacocks, peahens and even their eggs I still came back with the disappointment of not being able to see the peacocks using their large train for mating rituals and courtship displays. :( The train arches into a magnificent fan that reaches across the bird's back and touches the ground on either side. Females choose their mates according to the color, quality and size of these hypnotic feather trains.

The sparrow is sorry for the peacock at the burden of his tail.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Sabarmati Ashram

I consider myself very very lucky to have got the opportunity to visit Mahatma Gandhiji’s Sabarmati Ashram. Since there was no direct flight to Jaipur, we had to start our Rajasthan trip from Ahmedabad, Gujrat. The Satyagraha Ashram as it was previously known is just 7km. from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport.

Gandhiji’s ‘Three Monkeys’

Gandhiji lived in this Ashram from 1918 to 1930. The house where he stayed was named ‘Hriday Kunj’ by Kakasaheb Kalelkar as it was in the heart (Hriday) of the Ashram. Many national and international leaders came to meet Gandhiji here. It was while living here that Mohandas Gandhi came to be known as Mahatma Gandhi. It was from here Gandhiji set out for the famous Salt March to Dandi, vowing not to return to the Ashram until India became free.

Some of the rolls of thread spun by him preserved here.

... his walking stick and footwear

... with his wife

One hut, two names; Vinoba Kutir, Mira Kutir. Vinoba Bhave who was drawn to Gandhiji’s ideology lived here from 1918 to 1921. Vinoba’s total commitment to truth led Gandhiji to hail him as model satyagrahi. Madeleine Slade, a young English woman, learnt of Gandhiji’s ideology from Romain Rolland’s book. She lived here from 1925 to 1933, Gandhiji named her Mira because of her great devotion.

Gandhiji’s disciple Maganlal’s home; Maganlal was one of the first converts to the Gandhian way of life and the smooth functioning of the Ashram was possible due to his organizing capability. After he died in 1928, Gandhiji stayed in the Ashram for a few months.


One is forced to witness the chaos of construction on the opposite bank of Sabarmati River from the peaceful Ashram.


"His simplicity of life is child-like, his adherence to truth is unflinching; his love for mankind is positive and aggressive. He was what is known as the Christ-spirit." - Rabindranath Tagore.

For me this piece of land is holy, holier than all the religious holy places I ever visited. (Visited on 27 Sep. 2008)