Horse Puzzle

Before you scroll down further observe this picture carefully.


It is a horse, right? At least it looks like one. Can you make out anything else? …some human figures? Yes? The tail seems to be a human leg.

This clay figure of horse puzzle was displayed at the Albert Museum of Jaipur, and it was getting the maximum attention. It is not a very huge piece, visitors to the museum crowded around. They tried to count the number of human figures in different yoga postures that made up the Horse. Here are two more shots.

Click, enlarge and count.



Dear blogger friends, I will be on a short vacation.
I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!
See you in 2009!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Dhurries of Rajasthan

Another nameless weaver toiling all day long, sitting at his loom at his house… he is weaving a dhurrie (a floor rug), a dream dhurrie, to add color to your crystal studded drawing and living rooms. He selects the yarn, dyes it in different colors, and weaves interesting patterns with exciting colors… all in his house. He is single handedly running this small scale industry.



The villages of Rajasthan are dotted with many such houses providing a steady supply of dhurries to the market. They use primitive ground looms and natural dyes. The colors are fast and washable and the weaves interlocked in such a way that the rugs are reversible. They are light yet durable, casual yet ethnic, simple yet stylish and so sought after by rich and poor alike.


The carpet and dhurrie weaving was introduced to India by weavers of Afganisthan in the 17th century. Today this art has flourished and is the main source of income for many small time businessmen. Many variations have come up, there are not just cotton dhurries, silk and woolen varieties made of camel and goat hair, too are available.

The weaver showed us dhurries of different shapes, sizes and colors. No two pieces were same. And when you see so many, the mind starts working in different directions, in different rooms, in all combination and permutations. May be one for the children’s room with animal motifs…

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Rajasthani Men and their Moustaches

You may not believe this: While at Rajasthan I was searching for faces with long well groomed moustaches. Men of Rajasthan are famous for them. I have heard and seen pictures of men who are paid to flaunt their moustaches, which go well with the Rajputana spirit that symbolizes the valor and glory of Rajasthan. They maintain their moustaches. It is a daily practice for them to massage with mustard oil everyday and then press it in to shape by tying a cloth around the face.

At Mehrangarh Fort of Jodhpur we saw this gentle man with slightly long but well maintained white beard and grey moustache. It was obvious he was paid to sit there.



Then when I was touring the villages, I saw this caretaker of one of the wild life divisions at Jodhpur. Initially I was focusing on the wildlife around and as I was slowly turning with my camera to focus on a flying bird, this gentleman came in the range of my lens and I clicked. Do you think he was aware of my focusing on him?


At Udaipur Palace I chanced to see yet another gentleman with well groomed moustache. He was definitely not paid to sit posing with his moustache. He seemed to an important official there. I was hesitant to focus on him. What if he feels offended? Then on an impulse I decided to get rid of my inhibitions. I walked up to him and requested him to pose for me. To my surprise he very willingly posed.



I thanked him, he just smiled back with his palms folded in Namaste. It was overwhelming!

The world may see this as yet another ornamental display, but for these men it is their pride.

Lodurva, Jaisalmer

While you are at Jaisalmer the ‘Swarna-nagari’ (Golden city) of India, take time to visit Lodurva, the ancient capital of Bhattis-a Rajput clan. It is situated 16km north-west of Jaisalmer city. The town of Lodurva was ransacked several times, by Muslim invaders Mahamud of Ghazni in the 11th century when he was en route to Somnath, Gujarat, and then by Muhammad Ghor in the next century. After Ghori’s invasion Jaisal abandoned Lodurva, and he shifted his capital to Jaisalmer in 1156.



The main attraction at Lodurva is the Parshavnath temple. It is made of bright yellow sand stones and when we were there at 11 in the morning, the temple had a golden glow over it, mesmerizing us completely. Lord Parsavanath is the 23rd Jain Tirthankar. There were statues of other Tithankaras too. We spent around an hour there marveling the intricate Jaali work, splendid arch at the entrance, and the ruins scattered around.



The temple was destroyed in 1152, but was reconstructed in 1615 by Seth Tharu Shah and further additions were commissioned in 1675 and 1687. The inner sanctum of the temple contains an image of Parshvanath in black stone with a multi-hooded serpent canopy.


The temple complex houses the Kalpavriksha or the celestial tree. A tree was once believed to have grown here. After it died it was substituted by a true to life sculpture in an alloy of eight metals, making it an ‘eternal tree’ symbolizing enlightenment. The copper leaves are believed to have the power to fulfill the wishes of any devotee.


If you are at Jaisalmer just for a day, visit Jaisalmer Fort in the morning, the tour there will take at least 4 hours. Have your lunch and then proceed to Lodurva and then to Sam Sand dunes for a camel ride and see a beautiful sunset there. Happy journey!

To see the World visit other participants at: That's My World Tuesday.

'Rebuild India' Online Survey

Dear Readers,

Please take the following survey. The motive behind conducting this survey is to get the suggestions presented by bloggers, certified by general internet users. (For further details on the 'Rebuild India' plan of action, please click here). The survey comprises of 17 questions, which would hardly take around a couple of minutes to respond to. However, since the survey consists of proposed actions steps as options, it is advisable to ponder over each and every option mentioned in order to gain valuable perspective on where the nation stands at this point of time.


Get This - Survey Results - GlowDay.com

Chetak, Maharana Pratap's Brave Horse

At Rajasmand district of Rajasthan, we visited the mausoleum of Chetak the gallant horse of Maharana Pratap Singh who fought valiantly in the Battle of Haldighati.

The famous battle of Haldighati was between Maharana Pratap Singh leading the forces of Mewar and the Mughal army led by Emperor Akbar’s general Man Singh. It lasted for only four hours on 21st June, 1576; Maharana Pratap Singh was on his favorite, faithful and obedient horse Chetak. Chetak was made to wear a baby elephant's mask to confuse the elephants of the enemy. The Mughal army was numerically superior, while Maharana Pratap’s men’s morale was at its peak. It was a fierce battle and in that short period Pratap personally attacked Man Singh and the folklores has it that his horse Chetak placed his hooves on the trunk of Man Singh’s elephant. Pratap threw his lance at Man Singh; unfortunately it missed the mark and killed the elephant driver instead. Man Singh soon retreated from the scene. However Mughal army and their artillery finally succeeded in surrounding Pratap.

(Please click to enlarge and see the baby elephant mask put on Chetak.)

Chetak was injured badly while Pratap was trying to attack Man Singh. He was bleeding profusely, but on sensing his master in danger, rode him to safety. The Mughal soldiers were chasing them; Chetak labored on and managed to give the enemies a slip and took a final leap over a small brook few kilometers away from the battlefield. The brave and mighty horse, Chetak collapsed and breathed his last, his master Maharana Pratap Singh weeping over him. The Chetak Samadhi is located at that spot.



The Haldighati Maharana Pratap museum houses many weapons and paintings of the famous battle. It is located at 40km. from Udaipur and worth a visit if you are there.

Rebuild India

Ashutosh Didwania and his team have given a call to all right thinking people for suggestions for “Rebuild India” mission. “We need to form a core group of people who would decide on the subsequent plan of action. Since you all have contributed to the forum, I would request you all to pitch in and suggest as to how do we proceed from here on and make the mission a successful one.”

Here are 10 factors that need attention and implementation as soon as possible:

1. India is a democratic country so vote we must. In the coming elections none of us must sit at home. All eligible voters must compulsorily cast their vote to dislodge the non-functioning politicians sitting there at the top.

2. The top portfolios must be filled with people qualified for the post. Portfolios like ‘Defence minister’ and ‘Home minister’ should go to defence personnel, just as Manmohan Singh a non-politician had been roped in to head the finance ministry in 1991. A defence personnel as home minister would definitely not have taken six hours to send commandos to Mumbai, that too all in one single aircraft.

3. Air Defence should be given the top most priority now.

4. Another immediate step to be taken: All Pakistani passport holders must be sent back to their country, a thorough combing operation to be carried out all states of India, deport all refugees back to their respective countries, issue National Identity Card to all Indian citizens. Every villager in the remotest village should be proudly able to display their identity card.

5. The border areas have to be given high security for 24 hours, 365 days. Communication equipment provided should be of latest technology.

6. Money allotted to Defence ministry should be put to right use. The arms and ammunition provided to security personnel should be of latest technology. The terrorists had better bullet proof jackets than our officers. It pained me to see the Maharashtra police men fumble with decades old rifles.

7. Government should issue directives to the citizens how to conduct in a public place to face any kind of emergency. And these directives should be issued in regular intervals. No sensitive information received should be taken lightly.

8. Government should issue directives to the media how to conduct itself in case they are covering emergency. Nobody wants a ball by ball commentary in such situations.

9. Any politician found preaching communal hatred and sowing seeds of disharmony should be banned from entering politics and dealt with severely. They should be urged to give up their high level security.

10. Rehabilitation centers should be se up to take up the cause of families who have lost a family member in mindless violence. Emotional and financial support should be provided to those left behind.

Your chance to pitch in and contribute to the nation.

.

Rajasthani Women, a Mural

I got this mural framed and it was delivered to me yesterday. It took me a little more than three months to complete the mural. 1 to 2 hours of work on it every working day for those three and half months. I had given it for framing and almost forgot about it. The guy who does the framing gave a date last week, with all the chaos that was going on, it slipped off my mind. Yesterday he reminded me again, his payment was stuck up.

(Please click to enlarge.)

Seeing my own work, neatly framed, I was filled with happiness and satisfaction. It cheered me up beyond words. I had been dreaming about it, just as I was dreaming about my Rajasthan trip. When I was rolling the M-seal strips for outlining the drawing, I was dreaming about the Rajasthani women. Do they really look like this?


Half way through the work, I left for the Rajasthan tour. I came back to paint in colors like the ones I saw there. I could give shape to the jewelries in the mural I was making because I saw the women wearing these there. Soon it was complete; it was like bringing the Rajasthani women to my drawing room.


The post will be incomplete if I don't mention my teacher's name, Mrs. Mridula Banerjee, an accomplished artist. I am grateful to her for the immense amount of patience she had in teaching 'a not so talented person' like me.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

My first mural: Mother and Child

Jaisalmer Fort

The tourism industry of India was doing very well in this last decade. Not only the inflow of foreign tourists had increased, the domestic tourism too was thriving. The disposable income of Indians had increased by 10.11% and India’s middleclass had just started spending in traveling. Unfortunately the ongoing recession hit the tourism industry and now this terrorist attack. There have been mass cancellations, and 2009 is going to be a difficult year.

But I guess blogging makes things easier… here is a virtual tour of Jaisalmer Fort.
The Jaisalmer fort, the yellow sandstone fort is atop Trikuta, a triangular peaked hill. It was built by the Bhati Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal in 1156 AD. The fort got the name Sonar Kella after Satyajit Ray wrote a detective novel based on the fort and made a film titled Sonar Kella.


It still houses the palaces of Maharawals, Jain and Hindu temples and some havelis. The houses of the people residing in the fort have intricate work and carvings on their walls and balconies. They almost look like yellow fabric rising skywards.


The Dussehra Chowk becomes alive during festivals, the king sits on the marble seat and watches the various entertainment programs held here. The stone paved lanes from here lead to various parts of the fort. Plenty of restaurants and hotels have opened up within the fort.

... where the queens may have sat once...

The Rajputs are devout Hindus, yet for centuries they have permitted and promoted Jainism to be practiced. The 12th to 15th century temples within the complex are dedicated to various Tirthankaras.


Jaisalmer fort by nightfall is a sight to behold. It is one of the marvels of Rajasthani architecture and stone carver's art.

We traveled Rajasthan by road for 15 days, not even once did we feel insecure. It is unfortunate that the terrorists are creating terror and fear in the minds of tourists. All I can say is in case you are traveling not only in Rajasthan but any part of India, may be any part of world be cautious and be prepared for all kinds of situations.

To see the World visit other participants at: That's My World Tuesday.